Our Legacy

It has been a peculiar week of extremes. We've had the best news we could have wished for and seen the most extreme form of neglect I hope I never get to witness first hand ever again. In between there has been much, much more turbulence, but we are at least ending the week on a high note with some long overdue reserves on animals and a sense of achievement after delivering a very successful Vintage Tea Party yesterday, which achieved a whopping profit of £675!

The exceptionally good news came in the form of a legacy that has rescued us from us pending closure. We had no idea it was coming but it has meant that our future is definitely secure well into 2014. Of course we won't be resting on our laurels, the fundraising events will be plentiful and two in the planning are already exciting us, but for now I want to focus on the one of the reasons why people are so kind enough to support our work and leave such bequests.

Pictured above in the carrier is a petite, black and white cat that was found by a mother and her children as they walked home from school one afternoon this week. The cat and the carrier had been abandoned, just as you can see, on a residential street in Chorlton. Thankfully the family were not far from our offices and brought her to us. The initial panic of where we were going to put her quickly subsided when a very apparent stench came wafting from the carrier. 

As you peered into the carrier it became clear that the poor cat was quite badly matted. I assumed the stench was because the cat was an entire male and so swiftly named him Pepe Le Pew, after all what else would you call a stinky, black and white male cat? I didn't get Pepe out of the carrier and instead went straight down to the vets knowing full well that if nothing else he would need to be sedated to remove all the matting.

Nothing, and I mean nothing, could have prepared me for what myself and the vet discovered as we took Pepe out of the carrier and examined him. The pictures below are upsetting, hence the warning. So, if you don't want to continue, stop now.

This is a view of Pepe's belly. Matts are so bad that they obscure limbs and are caked in faeces and urine.

View from above. The cat is virtually unrecognisable.

The vet holds a solid matt that is so large that it is the size of half a football. This matt is just above the tail.

View from above, my hand stroking the cat's head, and the massive matt and on the back.

Distressing full image of the extent of the matting.

Lower back matting is just one solid mass.

The lower back matt and below the tails that is solid with faeces and urine.

Pepe was actually a girl. The stench was from matts impacted with faeces and urine. It is unfathomable how the poor cat managed to move around, which she clearly did because embedded in her matting were plant seeds. The extent of the neglect worsened as an exam of her mouth revealed terrible dental decay and she must have been in considerable pain from her rotting teeth and would have struggled to eat.

I'll be honest, I was in a state of shock at the extent of the neglect that stood before me. The most I could manage was the occasional swear word, but as I drove away, knowing she was finally in safe hands, I began to well with tears. I hope I never witness such extreme neglect first hand ever again; it really was incomprehensible; the pictures don't illustrate just how bad it really was.

The next day Pepe was relieved of her coat of burden after a lengthy procedure under sedation. Her matts filled a large carrier bag. Myself and the local RSPCA inspector went to see Pepe and to discuss investigation but with nothing to go on there was little we could do to find the perpetrator. Even more of a blow was the fact that blood tests had revealed that Pepe was in renal failure. It was the worst news and not what we were expecting. 

With great reluctance Pepe was put to sleep to end any further suffering. She had at least had a day of freedom from that hideous coat of matts, but what a hideous abuse of an animal. My sadness very quickly turned to anger, and I am still angry. My greatest thought was simply, "Why couldn't her owner have abandoned her sooner?" Pepe could have been saved from months of misery if only her owner had simply cared about her enough to abandon her sooner. Please don't get me wrong, I'm not condoning animal abandonment, it is illegal to do so, but given that some was motivated to do this in the first place, and in such a random location,  it just feels like a natural thought to question why they left it so long.

Whilst there is no evidence to go on to investigate Pepe's case further, I was somewhat reassured by our local inspector. He felt that she was part of a jigsaw that would likely reveal itself some day. I hope he's right because no-one should be allowed to get away with this level of animal cruelty. 

Whilst we may not have been able to save Pepe this time I am grateful for the fact she is no longer living in pain and misery. Her emergency care and vet treatment amounted to £240. Thankfully the legacy we received means that we can continue for some months to come to help animals like Pepe when they need us most. But really, I don't want to see another Pepe ever again.

Really Splendid People Compassionate about Animals

I'm exceptionally tired after an exhausting week of working long hours. Much of it has been taken up with and preps for the fair and fun dog show that was supposed to take place today. But trying to set up stalls in the rain and battling against the wind with gazebos was no fun whatsoever. The weather was the reason why we decided not to do such an event last year, but we came back after a year's break determined it might just work out this time, but alas the weather got the better of us yet again.

Maybe it's over-tiredness, maybe it's a sense of pride, but I'm sitting here feeling quite emotional looking at the pictures of the rehomed dogs that came along to say hello to us today. I think seeing all the pictures of the pooches has given me a jolting reminder of what incredible work the RSPCA does and what incredible adopters exist out there: thank goodness!

Here's the stories behind the pictures on our Facebook page from today:



This is Rolf on arrival. He came in with his mum and dad, Sadie and Bobby. They had been well loved dogs but their owner was simply incapable of meeting their needs any more, which is evident by the state of his coat.


Rolf was a delightful dog and found a wonderful new home in South Manchester. His human mum and dad came along today and surprised us with the Rolf you can see below.

The rain soggied Rolf somewhat but believe me when I tell you he looked amazing. He was such a happy, healthy looking lad and so incredibly well loved.

I recognised him in an instant and I have to say he stole a piece of my heart right there and then!





 

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this donkey! I've tried to find the picture of him travelling in my car when I collected him when he was just a wee 4 month old pup, but alas I have failed. But let me tell you this wonderful natured puppy has grown up to be an 18 month old BFG! Arthur is his name and he has turned into such a beautiful chap and such a doting family dog.

I remember Arthur came over to us from the South Yorkshire inspectorate and I tootled along to collect him in my old micra and there he sat, strapped up in the back of my car, good as gold. No evidence of worry or puzzlement, just taking everything in his stride and enjoying the company.

I had the privilege of doing Arthur's home visit, and boy did he get lucky finding his forever family. Seeing him a year on was just marvellous - he's grown so much and is so lovely.

For me this dog can be described in one simple way; a hero. I still fill with pride when I see Benny or talk with his mum about him. I hope for animal kind everywhere we never meet another 'Benny' because what he went through was just vile.

Benny was thrown out into the backyard and left to starve to death. He was so thin that he weighed less than half of his ideal body weight. He was so thin that the female inspectors that rescued Benny were able to lift him with just one arm.

Benny's owners were successfully prosecuted and Benny was successfully rehomed two years ago.His mum and dad remain great friends and supporters of our branch and only last week the three of them raised £85 for us collecting at Tesco for RSPCA Week.

Benny now weighs more than double the body weight he had when he was removed from his cruel existence and is so fit and well now hat he accompanies his mum on endurance runs! I love seeing Benny and knowing that there is even hope in the darkest of places.



I bloody love this dog! We all bloody love this dog!

Ellie is her name and for the life of me I will never understand why she was overlooked for so very many months.

Ellie is probably one of the best dogs you could ever wish to meet and it was simply a crime that it took so long to find a home.

Thankfully her mum and dad could see exactly what we could in Ellie; a personality bursting with love and a heart of gold. Ellie looked as wonderful as ever and undoubtedly very happy and it was definitely worth the very long wait for Ellie as she couldn't be in better hands, with super proud 'parents'!

For as long as I live I will never, ever forget Harley. He was adopted earlier in the year just as we were beginning to give up all hope.

Harley had been returned to us after 4 years following a house fire. He was a different dog to the one that had left us and took quite some time to build his trust. After 3 months in our care he was in great shape but an ageing, bull-breed cross was not at the top of everyone's shopping list.

Harley caught the eye of a Twitter follower who spent 10 days thinking about him, revisiting his pictures and write up. And then we got the call - "Can we meet Harley?" I nearly fell off my seat in disbelief. The rest, as they say, is history and his new mum and dad have worked wonders with him. It may have taken us 5 years but we got there in the end. Harley genuinely deserves the moon on a stick and I reckon he's got it!

Peggy is without doubt the best dog in the world! Peggy was well loved by her original owner and it shows through to this day. She was a result of an accidental breed between a staffie and an American Bull dog. One of a litter of eight her owner understandably struggled to feed so many mouths so the inspectors came to the rescue with food, neutering vouchers and taking in the remaining pups. We got got Peggy and her sister Poppy.

Peggy is unquestionably the best friend anyone could wish for and her new mum and dad certainly had their dreams come true when they adopted her. They saw through the breed prejudice and to the beautiful girl that she is. I heart Peggy and always will.

Jacky (left) is our Deb's dog and here, for the first time in a year, she is reunited with her sibling Barry. They were a large litter of collie pups that got snapped up by the amazing adopters. Barry was an absolute credit to his family and such a handsome, well-behaved lad.

All the litter have grown up to be leggy collies. Just goes to show you can't always tell how they'll turn out. With Peggy we thought she'd be huge but she's just a classic staffie size.

The day would not have been complete without these two sisters being reunited. Hand-reared by the staff team from 10 days old after their mother rejected them, we are all immensely proud of how Molly and Dag have turned out.

The girls are nearly 5 months old and are just the apples of our eyes.

Molly and her mum and dad have well and truly become members of our 'family' and we get to unite the girls regularly.  I love watching them together and can't wait for the next play date!

Harley was thrilled to see his 'kennel mate' Deb. The pair of them developed a deep and lasting bond whilst he was in our care and as you can see he hadn't forgotten her.

Rolf enjoying a fuss and he too remembered his old friends.











And perhaps my favourite picture of the day is this one below of Jacky. It's because it sums up the great washout that it was with a quizzical look of bemusement from Jacky as if she is saying, "Can we please go home!"

It may have rained, it may have poured but we had a fantastic time catching up with old friends. Tiredness is greatly creeping on me but my welling eyes are most definitely through pride.

A Week in Pictures

Sunday 28th April 2013

Hannah running the Manchester Marathon in aid of the branch. after months of training it was all worthwhile as she raised £737 for the branch and did an amazing time of 5 hours and 27 minutes.

The cake eating team cheering Hannah on at the 15 mile mark.

Cuddles with our newest member of the team.

Monday 29th April 2013

An unexpected surprise arrived through the post. I discovered that lots of people had nominated me for this award!

Tuesday 30th April and Wednesday 1st May 2013

I got to spend two days at the International Animal Training Conference at Twycross Zoo thanks to the national RSPCA.

Preparations for a window competition to promote Rabbit Awareness Week. Our Urmston shop window even has flowing fountains!

Thursday 2nd May 2013

A week full of new arrivals including 4 month old Clara.

Friday 3rd May 2013

RSPCA Week Tesco collections kick start the weekend of fundraising. We start training our volunteers from a young age! Little Claudia helped raise over £50 in just two hours.

Saturday 4th May 2013

Dagnabbit did her bit to promote RSPCA Week by helping at both the Northern Quarter and Didsbury shops.

Didsbury shop held a book sale for RSPCA Week and raised loads of money.

Sunday 5th May 2013

We hosted the Northern Quarter Dog Show and enjoyed the company of 65 dogs! It was a brilliant day out.

Last day of Tesco Collections and volunteer Emma Garvey really gets into the spirit of things. The final total is yet to come in but we think over £1200 has been raised for the branch. A massive thank you to all the collectors for this amazing achievment.

We start the new week with a lot of excitement and anticipation.....

After waiting two months to find a home Rosie dog has been reserved and the home visit takes place this week. Paws and fingers crossed please.

We are really excited about this big event and hoping to get a brilliant turn out. Please come along and join in the fun.

To insure or not to insure? That is the question...

 Guest blog post by trustee & volunteer Chris Newton:

Some of you may remember me from my five-part blog I did during October/November last year about how my life has been transformed by the adoption of two ginger kittens from the branch in February 2011.

Since those blogs Emma and I have caved again and we added Frosty to our troops (that is it, we are now full for adoptions until we get a bigger house!). Frosty first came to us as a foster kitten having had a prolapse when he was just a few weeks old. He had already been moved away from his mum which can’t have helped him stress-wise and unfortunately his new owners couldn’t afford the cost of his operation.

We instantly fell in love with Frosty from his super confident entry into the foster kitten room (where we had Santa, Claus, Holly and Ivy foster kittens already), he greeted each one with a bosh on the head, to his infectious purring when you just looked at him. He would fall asleep as soon as he settled in your lap, or as I found out, my back when I was lying down playing with the kittens!

He has settled in really well into our zoo, always the live wire and starting play fights with his much bigger brothers and sisters. He can’t stand to be ignored and his new favourite game is grabbing daddy’s glasses when he comes from hugs! It is a good job I have plenty of spare specs dotted around the house just in case!

By now I am sure you are thinking ‘Crikey, here he goes into another ramble about his cats’ and that is where you would be wrong. This blog entry is purely to do with Pet Insurance. I am on absolutely no commission here, it is to alert other pet owners about the potential costs of pet ownership and how they rapidly increase when something goes wrong. I even asked Susie the branch manager if I could write about it to get the message across.

For those of you who I have done home visits for I always mention pet insurance, again not because I get a cut from the policies, but to really drill into people just how expensive vets bills can be. Up until now the example I have used has been about Tigger and his burnt paw when he decided he wanted some of my spaghetti on toast while I was filling the pot up with water (about 1 metre away from the hob). It was only one paw, and as I live round the corner from my vets he was seen within 15 minutes and made a full recovery. That little episode cost me £150, which was for ONE paw. I had taken out per insurance a month before so reclaimed all but the £65 excess.

Since Thursday 25^th April though I now have a new story to tell home visitors. In short my little lion Murray jumped up to see Emma who was on the sofa, knocked a glass of wine over, the glass broke which startled him and Murray slipped off the sofa landing on the glass cutting his right hind paw. A genuine accident if ever there was one. First thing is first, call Susie for help, panic had well and truly set in and we were determined that none of the other four cats would hurt themselves too with glass all over the floor. A wash of the wound and then wrapped in a tea towel was up next followed by a call to the vets, it was 10pm so it would be an emergency trip. An hour later he was bandaged up with an operation due in the morning when there would be a full compliment of staff in to monitor the lion. Last time he was under anaesthetic he had a problem breathing so he was treated like an old fuddy duddy.

The operation went smoothly but it was found the cut was so deep he had lacerated his tendons to all four toes on his paw. They had repaired them but there is a chance the tendons may not fully recover and he may walk a bit ‘toes up’ for the rest of his life. He came home on Friday evening with a nice new bandage, medications and limp accompanied by a bill of just under £600. Since Friday evening Murray has been back to the vets on Sunday and Monday with his stitches due out next Friday. The total cost of this accident is likely to get close to £800.

To insure Murray for a year it is around £140 with a lifetime cover (covers any long-term illnesses for his lifetime, not just the policy year). I cannot express my relief enough for having this meaning that Murray is getting the absolute best care for his injury. I genuinely hope that none of you ever have to experience what Emma and I have been through the last few days with your pets, but should you have to then I really hope you consider taking out some insurance for your little furry friends, or at least have some spare pennies tucked away for a rainy day.

You will be glad to know his wound is healing very nicely as you can see from the picture below and although he will be on cage rest for a few weeks it won’t be long until he is charging round chasing his brother and sisters again. But still, ouch!

Scaling Back

Butterscotch was born in our care last year and for a reasons beyond us he's still with us.

I'm enjoying a rare moment of peace, as my house rabbits snooze and the puppy is having a mooch. It won't last long but that's my own fault for filling the house with so many wonky animals!

You'd be hard pushed to find anyone who works (or is a relative of someone who works) in animal welfare that doesn't have at least one member of the family as a result of their work. Anyone who is able to resist has my total and utter admiration! But paying for the animals when they become ill is something not everyone seems to anticipate when they take on a companion animal.

I'll not lie, I'm guilty of falling for too many bobtails and not always thinking through the consequences of potential ill health, but then I am armed with pet insurance and a expectant attitude. I am surrounded by friends and colleagues (not that there's a differentiation) who similarly go to the ends of the earth for their animals. So, when we get the calls in (on a weekly basis) from someone who cannot even get their pet to the RSPCA animal hospital for treatment, it can, at times, prove hard to have empathy for the human owner. Don't get me wrong, we all need a helping hand at times, but when there is help available but someone still insists on more it is hard to contain feelings of disappointment.

Take for example a recent call from someone who had left their dog suffering with an illness for 5 days, slowly getting more and more ill. The reason for not seeking veterinary help was because 'money is tight cos we're going on holiday tomorrow'.

I hope your heart sank, just like mine did, when you heard those words in your head. I wish I could tell you that that type of call is rare, but it isn't. There seems to be an attitude amongst some fractions of society that a problem is always someone else's except theirs. I've seen it in the varied careers I've had over the years from seeing parents believe it is not their duty to get their child to go to school, to people who don't see there are consequences to the crimes they commit. Yup, always someone else's problem but their own.

Some people think that the RSPCA must have an unending amount of cat and kennel spaces and money to deal with every animal problem that exists. We get people ringing about all sorts of random things like removing ducks that are sitting on a lawn, pigeons hobbling on Market Street or a pet hamster someone is bored of and wants 'to get rid'. Contrary to popular belief there really is limited resources and finances.

I think people don't know or forget that the RSPCA is a charity and everything it does is done on a voluntary basis. It means that the RSPCA cannot be everything to all people, and inevitably that can create disappointment and frustration in the public sometimes. There are, however, waves and waves of people who do understand and do support our work, to whom we are incredibly grateful. Alas, goodwill alone is not going to see us through these hard times.

Our charity, the RSPCA Manchester and Salford Branch, is facing closure. This is not said to shock but to merely state the reality of what we are facing. We are not alone, so many other branches are in a similar position. We have just three months reserves left and if things continue the way they are we could well have to close by the end of the year.

Income is at an all-time low. The shops have seen the worst sales in years, adoption figures are the worst in nearly two years and donations are few. I know you've heard me say this before, but things really are very bleak.

We've been forced to close our doors to dog, rabbit and guinea pig admissions in a bid to claw back costs (no pun intended). We are scaling back staffing levels where we can and upping the fundraising effort. There is a  solid month activities ahead to try and boost income and raise our profile. Of course a month isn't enough, but it's a start and it's an indication of how determined we all are to survive.

Today saw a great start to it all with a vinyl records sale  at the Didsbury shop for 'record day'. Thankfully we received massive support and for the first time this year the shop not only reached target but exceeded it too. A massive team effort from the staff and a very big well done to them all, I;m sure you'll agree.

Tomorrow the Northern Quarter shop are taking part in St George's Day celebrations with a vintage stall at the Night and Day Cafe in Manchester and next week we have two microchipping events and two collections in Asda in Wythenshawe (that we need help with). The list goes on as we celebrate RSPCA Week (w/c 29th April), then Rabbit Awareness Week from 4th May, then on the 5th May we'll be at a street party on Edge Street in Manchester hosting a dog show. On 11th May is a joint venture with Eccles College....I think I'd better stop there, cos I could go on and on. You get the drift and can see more on our website.

The point is, we've hit desperate times. We need to reopen our doors to animals but until we make savings of £10k per month, or increase income by £10k a month, we simply can't. We'll do our best, that I promise, but we need you by our side.

Feeling deflated? Yeah, you're not alone.

World Where We Live

Is there anything you do obsessively, near religiously? I don't mean any kind of OCD thing, let's face it, most of us have such quirks. I mean like my Doctor Who watching. I can't watch it with anyone else or with any distractions. It has to be me, the TV and Matt Smith or else it's ruined. To be honest, it's largely because I have to concentrate so much to get what's going on but I do love nothing more than entirely immersing myself in the drama and experiencing it vividly.

That pretty much describes how so many of our staff and volunteers feel about their involvement at the RSPCA Manchester and Salford Branch. We aren't merely actors going about our daily performance, we live and breathe, grieve and celebrate the corner of the animal welfare world we inhabit. It means that when bad times happen we all feel it, we all reel from it and we all help each other to deal with it. That's something I value more than anything else about my work and life: the support, friendship and camaraderie we share. It's like we are all in it together - buying into the good and the bad times, united in our love of what we do.

What's really nice is that we have an extension to our team now, with the staff at the RSPCA Adoption Centre at Stockport Pets At Home. We've all become firm friends and we visit weekly to help with events and enjoy an escape from the office! They live the ups and downs just as much as us and are often just a text or a phone call away to get us through the day.

This week has been a blessing in so many ways, as we've seen first hand how much love and support there is out there for the work that we do. One supporter sent a £20 donation and told me how much she had missed the blog over the last few weeks. Another supporter decided to spend her weekly food budget on cat food for us. The Ocado delivery guy must've have been very confused delivering 330 sachets of cat food to our office! Another supporter raised £65 by raffling an Easter Egg he'd won. It's things like this that make you feel so lucky.

But to be honest, the outlook is far more bleak than we first thought. The week ahead involves some difficult meetings to look at ways to keep the branch running beyond 2013. Things really are that bad, I can't deny they aren't. What I can say is we will face this head on and do all we can to improve matters. For now, we'll keep hoping for homes for our animals, that people get involved with our events and that donations to our shops keep coming in. I've always been an optimist but even my 'default' button feels like it isn't functioning properly.

Perhaps my inspiration for this week comes from our Chair, Hannah Brookfield. We've barely seen of late because she has been in training. She has taken on the challenge to run two half marathons and one full marathon in aid of the branch. Before last year Hannah had never run in her life but she chose the Manchester North Run as he first goal (again to raise money for us) and since then she hasn't looked back.

Blackpool Pleasure Beach living up to its name!

Today she ran the second of the two half marathons in Blackpool, and smashed her personal best in the process. She's so far raised nearly £200! The worst is yet to come, and she'll be the first to admit she's having sleepless nights over the rapidly looming Manchester Marathon.

In training Hannah has accomplished as much as 18 miles in one go, but the marathon is so much more scary. With just 21 days to go we are all counting down with her but suspect we won't be seeing much of her as she pounds the streets nightly after work to make sure she is ready for the challenge of a life time.

It's people like Hannah that make you believe you can achieve anything if you just put your mind to it. I'll keep reminding myself of this thought over the next coming days.....

Easter Bunnies

Easter - what does it mean to most? Chocolate in abundance, rabbits hopping around, cute fluffy chicks and maybe, somewhere in there, a nod to a religion or two. But as whole Easter means time off from work and stuffing your face.

Easter for us takes on a whole different slant as it marks the start of kitten season and boy has it begun with a bang this week. The phone line has been the busiest it has been all year with dozens and dozens of misdirected calls (we are not related to the national RSPCA Helpline) reporting stray, heavily pregnant cats and nursing queens. Single, stray kittens are making their appearance too and my heart is fluttering with anxiety, as I just don't know how we are going to cope with so few foster carers this year.

We are very lucky in that the reason we have lost foster families is because they've given such wonderful homes to their charges. But it doesn't change the fact that we have nearly filled all the homes we have for mums and their kits and motherless, stray kittens. This is going to be a tough Spring/Summer if we can't recruit foster carers soon, but for now we welcome to the branch our latest victims of irresponsible pet owners.

Easter has one other connotation for us all. Yes, you guessed it, the purchase of rabbits as Easter presents for children. What awaits ahead for hundreds, if not thousands, of rabbits is a life of solitary confinement in space you wouldn't dream of keeping a cat or dog in; condemned to live a pitiful, miserable life confined to a hutch eating inferior 'junk food'.

Keeping rabbits in hutches is no different than making a human spend their life in a tiny box bedroom. If you stop and think about this image for just a minute it becomes deeply disturbing and upsetting. Can you imagine having to live 24 hours a day in one small space? I can't and don't want to.Yet so many people perpetuate this problem over and over again by keeping highly active animals in little more than 'boxes'.

As I type i am surrounded by house free-range house rabbits. Rabbits who have lived that miserable experience and now have the freedom to come and go as they please. In the wild rabbits will travel up to 5 miles a day and so our domestic companions need the opportunity to travel at will too. (Take a look at this link.) They also need to be able to express themselves when they choose - which is most commonly at dawn and dusk.

We keep our bunnies in a bunny hotel (because we don't have our own animal centre). Our bunnies come out to play at 7am and don't get locked away until 7pm a night. But arguably this in itself is not meeting their needs in the lighter, warmer months when the days are longer and dusk and dawn are so little apart, but at least we go a lot longer way than most to meet their needs, and besides, in theory, the bunnies we have are only with us on a temporary basis. Reality, however, is altogether a different matter.

Like many other animal charities we struggle to rehome rabbits. I don't strictly know why, but I can hazard a good guess as to the reasons why:

1. My first thought is that people are not willing to pay the adoption fee of £35. Last year we reduced it from £40 but it didn't make any difference to adoption figures. To buy a pet rabbit from a shop it probably costs around £10, maybe £20. But how many of those rabbits will then be vaccinated (£40), microchipped (£20) and neutered (£45 male/£90 female)? Well, I think we all know the answer to that.

2. Housing - we have very strict criteria for how rabbits can be housed with minimum hutch sizes and an essential permanent run attached. I've had people in the past argue with me over the dimensions (because their yard can't fit a larger hutch) or because they aren't prepared to attach a run to the hutch. People don't hear the rational explanation for the 'rules' and instead just want to hear what they want. When they don't hear what they want they go elsewhere, buy a rabbit from a shop and condemn it to an inferior quality of life so it meets the human's needs rather than the animal's.

3. Single rabbits should never live alone outdoors. Rabbits are sociable creatures that need company; they crave it, just like you and I. Single rabbits kept outdoors alone, unless they have several hours of human company a day are unlikely to have their needs for contact met. Neither is a guinea pig sufficient company for a rabbit; they are entirely different species with an entirely different set of communication signals that neither can read. And all this is without the health/physical implications of pairing a rabbit and a guinea pig.

4. Diet - this is probably my biggest bug bear of all. It's simple, really, just ask yourself, "What do rabbits eat in the wild?" Are there dried food dispensers? Are there carrot and lettuce patches for them to eat in abundance? No. Rabbits need to eat grass and hay in infinite abundance and not fed bowls of processed dried food. It takes effort to feed a rabbit a proper, well balanced diet, not to mention money. They need to be fed really good quality hay, access to grass or dried grass and a range of leafy green vegetables, and if you really have to, an egg cup full of pellets a day - not muesli mix, not overflowing bowls of dried food, but fundamentally hay!

5. The actual average lifespan of a pet rabbit should be around 8-10 years. I've had 2 rabbits that nudged 12, but others that have barely hit 5. The average age of a hutch rabbit, living alone, is around 4. If loneliness hasn't killed them then it's likely to be dental disease as a result of a dried food diet or, worse, death as a result of not being neutered (by the age 4 80% of female rabbits will contract uterine cancer).

6. Rabbits are commonly sought after as pets for children and responsible animal charities will not rehome rabbits for this very reason. There are a whole host of reasons why rabbits don't make good children's pets but the brief version is best expressed by the House Rabbit Society: "Many people are surprised and disappointed to find that rabbits rarely conform to the cute-n-cuddly stereotype in children's stories Baby bunnies (and many young adult rabbits) are too busy dashing madly about, squeezing behind furniture, and chewing baseboards and rugs to be held. Also, rabbits are physically delicate animals which means they can be hurt by children picking them up. Because rabbits feel frightened when people pick them up, they kick and struggle which means children can also get hurt Rabbits are also built to react to sudden changes which means they may either run away or try to bite when approached too quickly and too loudly. Stress-related illnesses are common. For these reasons, many children, especially young children, will find it difficult to interact with a rabbit and soon lose interest."

It's the loose interest that is the focus of my last point.

7. Did you know there are more than 67,000 rabbits in UK animal sanctuaries looking for homes at anyone time? I think this is a shocking statistic but believe or not it's actually thought to be even higher. Few people actually do know that they can get rabbits from sanctuaries and so we need to do a lot more to encourage people to go to charities first before stopping in at the pet shop.

The thing is, let's face it, going to a pet shop is easier, isn't it. What we all want these days, is an easy life, instant access to things and everything our own way, on our own terms and now. But that's my point, animals shouldn't fit in with us, we should fit in with them. We should be meeting their needs not solely having them meet ours.

Caring for an animal is hard work, but it is a privilege that no-one should ever take for granted. I know more than anyone how much work it is, how time consuming and how expensive it is. The estimated annual cost of caring for a cat, dog or rabbit is £1,000.

So, the next time you go into a pet shop and see the baby rabbits on sale I hope you'll see what I see - a future ahead for those animals that potentially holds loneliness, misery and pain. In my opinion the main reason people don't adopt rescue rabbits is because they aren't prepared.

This isn't a happy Easter for us, and never will be because we will forever be waiting for hundreds of unwanted Easter presents to be freed from their life of misery. To see some of the rabbits we have in our care please take a look at this link, all the rabbits featured have been removed from unacceptable conditions, abandoned or found stray (which often equates to abandonment too).

N.B. The opinions expressed in this blog are solely thos of the author and do not represent the views of RSPCA Manchester and Salford Branch (registered charity 232255) or the RSPCA (registered charity 219099).