I registered my rabbits with this practice when I moved to the area and it was fine at first; the waiting area was relatively civilised and the vets knew enough to help my rabbits. They were willing t... Read More
I registered my rabbits with this practice when I moved to the area and it was fine at first; the waiting area was relatively civilised and the vets knew enough to help my rabbits. They were willing to order in the Lapinject vaccine, whereas other practices in the area refused to, even though it was considered safer than Cylap, the alternative. However, those vets left- this practice seems to have a high staff turnover, which I assume, is why your animals are not allocated a named vet.
A mixed experience followed, depending on the vet. One vet remarked, 'if I treat it, it will cost as much as for a bigger animal such as a dog', that sounds alarm bells about how some of their staff regard rabbits. A female rabbit was sent home without pain relief and with a buster collar after having been neutered- both considered to be cruel. The lady on the 'phone forbade my rabbit from having her bonded partner stay with her whilst in hospital (which is considered cruel unless necessary) because, 'there's nothing wrong with the other rabbit is there'. One vet admitted to knowing nothing about rabbits, yet allowed receptionists to make appointments for them with her. Once when I collected my rabbit, she weighed less than prior to having been admitted and was grinding her teeth in pain- no pain relief had been given to her and the vet had miscalculated the dose of Septrin and had lied to me about having done so. On another occasion the same vet did not admit my rabbit because, 'of the cost to the owner'- my rabbit was insured with Petplan and it is considered to be unprofessional to mention such in the clinical records. Additionally, she prescribed 2mls of recovery liquid feed every two hours for an anorexic rabbit who usually weighed 2.3kg! Unbelievable, but true.
During an appointment, I was informed by a vet that a drug commonly used for GI Stasis had not been restocked and that if my rabbit was no better, to take her back and she would be hospitalised. I did, and she saw a different vet again, who informed me that she thought that my rabbit looked cute when she was in pain and responded with, 'that's good' when I told her that my rabbit was not eating, her poo was smaller than normal and that she was grinding her teeth in pain. The vet decided that my rabbit should 'live' in a hutch and that it is too hot for a rabbit inside a house and that must be why my rabbit was sick. She sent my rabbit home without pain relief, so why was I told to take her back? It turns out that that vet was an equine vet! The next day, my rabbit was refused an appointment, 'because we only saw her yesterday didn't we', leaving me to find another vet willing to see her at short notice, despite her not being registered with them- I managed to find a vet, but she did not know anything about rabbits. My rabbit later died in pain, with an intestinal blockage. Abbey does not provide the Filavac vaccine, which evidences how little the management values rabbits.
In response to my complaint, I was informed that rabbits should not live in a house because they won't have the opportunity to dig and forage in a house! (They have a digging box and a sand pit...). I did my research before obtaining house rabbits- I contacted the RSPCA, who put me in touch with the RWAF and I visited a member's rabbit at her home. I also became a member and found a rabbit savvy vet who put me in touch with one of his clients who ran a rabbit rescue, prior to moving to N.E.Lincs. My rabbits are insured, neutered and vaccinated. They are now at least 8 years old and binky, so I must be doing something right. It goes without saying that I would not recommend registering rabbits with this practice. Read Less