A teen calling a rabbit rescue?

[DutchRabbitsFtw]

so i am [edited: a minor] but i went on camfrog (okay, lame i know) to ask how i old i sound and they said around [edited]. ive been emailing this rabbit rescue and one of the foster moms want me to call them! but i dont want to call them because i sound young 0.o.. and im pretty sure they think i am an adult… and whats worst is that im using my moms email. but my mom has a thick accent and plus she doesnt know what i want / what im looking for since its going to be *my* pet(but my parents have agreed.. obviously). but once they pick up theyll know that i am quite young. and if they say im too young and turn me down then that would be totally awkward… 

and what if i decide to get the rabbit from them? even more awkward when they realize that i was the one they were talking to and that i’ve been using my moms email. ugh what should i do? the email specifically states my moms name and theyve been addressing me by my moms name! so how should i go about calling them? should i email them and inform them that i am a teen? but how would i do that? they have some mini lops and ive been wanting a mini lop but what if they say i cant talk to them because i am young? of course they wont know my real age… but they can assume.
HELPPPPP! my dad cant do it since he is a guy and jocelyn is a girls name, my mom knows nothing about which rabbit *I* want and plus has a thick accent that is hard to understand. but i dont have an accent (except for the occasional lisp due to my braces-.-)

what should i do? i am so worried. thanks. ps i sound like an older teen. but maybe not over 18? ugh help

[Monkeybun]

I would be straight forward with them. Your parents would have to sign for the adoption anyway, as you are under age. explain the accent thing, and say it would be better to communicate with you as you can then communicate with your parents and avoid the confusion.

I know with the rescue I work with, that if a teen came to me straight forward with that explanation, I would be far more comfortable adopting out a bun than if I had a teen try to pass off as her parents. I wouldn’t adopt out to that teen, but I would to the first. Well, to the parents anyway

[DutchRabbitsFtw]

thanks should i explain in the email? or on the phone? i think it would be way less awkward if i did it through email. i could just say i was using my moms email (which i am) would that be okay? and how should i go about saying it? “oh and just a little warning my parents have a thick accent that might be hard to understand so i just thought it would be better if i spoke to you on the phone since ….” its me that will be getting the rabbit? or since i will be the main care taker of the rabbit? how should i go about saying it? thanks

[Monkeybun]

I would start with an email, saying that if they do need to speak with you about it more you can do that over the phone.

Just say something like you are a teen, using your parents email, and that if they do want to talk with your parents to do that through email as it is harder to understand your parents accents. Also say that doing that would help to avoid any confusion, as you want the rescue to be as comfortable with the adoption as possible. Another good thing would be to say that if they do want to speak to you on the phone you are more than happy to in order to alleviate any of their fears.

Legally, your parents would have to be the main care taker of the rabbit, as you are under age, so at some point you will have to get them involved. You can’t sign a contract being under age.

Good luck!

[DutchRabbitsFtw]

oh yeah my parents will be the “main caretakers” in the means of, paying for everything (well i have some money but eveytime we go somewhere my parents dont let me pay? but they make me bring my card? so im like….???) and they will also make sure i am taking care of him properly (but ive wanted one/ researched on one for 4 years, so im pretty much set xD). my parents will talk on the phone (my dad most likely.) if they want. i mean its not a big deal, but the reason they want me to call them is cause they dont know which rabbit i want so they would like to figure things out on the phone rather than typing everything out. so yeah

[bunnyfriend]

I adopted all three of my rabbits when I was “under age”. I outright told them I wasn’t 18 and they had no issue working with me, all that they needed was my mom to come with me to sign the adoption papers but other than that they handled everything else directly with me. It is good to be involved because you will be the primary caretaker. What I would do is call them, talk to them about the rabbit you want, and explain that you are under 18 so your parents will be coming with you to the shelter to pick the rabbit up and sign the adoption papers. There should be no reason why they wouldn’t adopt to your family. They must have an adult sign and be legally responsible for the rabbit. But the fact that you aren’t an adult wouldn’t be a valid reason not to adopt out. Don’t worry

[DutchRabbitsFtw]

good! thanks… i’ll just say i was using my moms email. and do what you did! thanks. oh and also…

when im adopting the rabbit do they need to know my name? or can i make one up? you see…. i emailed them on my email account but i guess they thought i was playing with them cause i emailed them (sort of a lot) before and they never replied back while they replied me back on my moms email. and i’ve also emailed the foster mom before too so that would be even more awkward when she realizes i was the girl who emailed them often. but its not my fault >_> cause i would email them about this rabbit but then the next day the rabbit was adopted! its not like i knew he got adopted or anything /: and i’ve emailed the foster mom before too about this other rabbit too… and (this was before with another rabbit) she asked me if i wanted to visit the rabbit and i said that something had come up and i wasnt too sure about the rabbit (bad decision i know) and after that the rescue seemed to take less interest in me -_-…

but it will be so awkward when they realize who i am. do they need to know MY first name? also my middle name isnt even in english and i dont know how to pronounce correctly so thats not an option

[Monkeybun]

Don’t make up a name! Be completely truthful, otherwise it could come bite you in the butt down the road.

[DutchRabbitsFtw]

eh okay /: hopefully they wont reject me or anything 😐

[bunnyfriend]

All they need to know is the legal name of whichever of your parents sign the adoption papers. The reason the rescue knew my name is because I called them and left a voicemail saying “Hi my name is …. I’m interested in meeting Emanuel..blahblahblah” but otherwise they never asked. But it would be good to introduce yourself. And chances are, they won’t remember your name from the other emails, they get so many of them!

[Sarita]

Honesty is always the best policy. Why would you be deceitful?

I had a small fostering group and to be honest, I did not deal with the children when going over care and contract. I did adopt out to families with children and teens but I wanted to make sure the adult was the primary caregiver and understood about possible vet bills as obviously a child or a teenager could not shell out the money needed for this.

I cannot say that now they won’t reject you but you can only state the obvious and hope they don’t.

[DutchRabbitsFtw]

thanks, and well for that my parents have to get involved; i know. but i would be the one who is going to feed it and actually “care for it”

[Elrohwen]

Every rescue I’ve worked with will outright ask your age and most have policies about adopting to minors, so it will come up at some point – you might as well put it out there early and see if it will be a problem. As long as your parents are supportive and willing to work with the rescue too I’m sure there won’t be a problem.

[Beka27]

I edited your original post. You are not allowed to post your age on BB if you are under 18.

Your parents will be the ones held responsible, and since you’re under 18, as has been already said, you cannot legally sign ANY contract, including an adoption contract! I also think it would be in everyone’s best interest for your parents to be VERY involved, and for the rescue to hopefully provide some type of education to them.

In my experience, older people and people from other cultures may not recognize rabbits as PETS requiring proper diet, INDOOR housing, and (sometimes very costly!!!) vet care. It’s a very “old-school” way of thinking that rabbits are farm animals, meant to live outside, and eventually become food, but lots of people in the US and around the world still think that way. I’m not saying that this is the case here, but it’s more of a generalization and you should obviously know your parents’ position.

Rescues are looking for the best possible home for each and every rabbit. They need you to be honest about what your expectations are as far as housing, diet, and the availability of vet care.

Be prepared to answer questions…
Some issues they may see with adopting to teenagers:
time (school work, extracurricular activities, etc…)
money (not having a job/your own money)
long-term plans (colleges do not allow pets in dorms)

If you have all of the above figured out at this point, tell them that. Being honest is the best thing to do. They want the rabbit to have a FOREVER home. Not just until your parents get annoyed with the bunny, not just until you go to college, not just until you get a boyfriend/driver’s license, etc…

[DutchRabbitsFtw]

thanks and sorry ;o. and my parents know somewhat about rabbits, my mom was the one who said that i had to keep the rabbit in doors not outside. so i guess thats better than nothing. i tell them some rabbit facts here and then. and i emailed them that i was using my moms email because my mom wants/needs to know whats going on but is letting me “pick” / “decide” on which rabbit to get. so yeah.

[LBJ10]

My thought was how do you know they wouldn’t be able to understand your parents? I think it’s silly to assume they can’t talk to your parents for that reason. I work with a variety of people from different countries and cultures all the time, I don’t usually have trouble understanding people. Now baby talk, that’s a little harder to understand. Hehe!

[DutchRabbitsFtw]

ha well that isnt the real problem, i guess its mainly cause *I* would like to the pick the rabbit out. since it will be “my” pet. and my parents dont really know what *i* want no matter how much i explain. so yeah… but thats the only reason why im talking to the rescue. once i pick out the rabbit i want then its my parents duty to do whatever is needed to be done. thats all

[Sarita]

You can still pick out the rabbit you want once your family has been approved to adopt. That’s what the meeting is for, to meet all the rabbits and make a choice. The approval part is to make sure that the rabbit is going to the best possible home and it doesn’t matter which rabbit that is, any rabbit in the rescue.

[bunnyfriend]

Most rescues ask that all family members are present at the adoption. Also usually you can go in and see the potential rabbits, pick a couple to meet with and then make your decision rather than going to see just one rabbit. A lot of times they won’t adopt out the very same day that you meet them. It’s a sort of a process.

[LizzyBunny]

I am also a minor and the rabbit rescue I adopted one of my bunnies from and where I get my hay from are always very kind even though I’m younger than everyone else. Just because someone is an adult, doesn’t mean that they know more than you about bunnies!

[DutchRabbitsFtw]

thanks! they didnt seem to care lol. thankss guys, and actually most of the rabbits are scattered in petcos through out the metroplex

[BinkyBunny]

So, you already talked to them? That’s great I am sure that is his a huge relief. Keep us updated.

[Elrohwen]

I’m sure most rescues would be pretty happy to adopt to a responsible and knowledgeable teenager. You can tell that that you’ll be the primary caretaker and your parents are just supporting you – the rescue just wants to know that your parents are in agreement about getting the rabbit and that they’ll be ultimately responsible for things like vet care (since it can get to be too expensive for a teenager and the adults need to be on board if an emergency comes up).

I’m glad everything went well!

[SuperCheesetastic]

I adopted a pet when I was 17.
I recently turned 20, so it wasn’t too long ago.
All you have to do is act mature and have an adult attitude.
I had no problems.

[Author]

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