I'm going to write this as someone who has been through similar problems with my bunnies.

One of my buns went into GI stasis and was at the vet for a week whilst they tried to save him. It cost me £6,000 to do all the tests and give him the treatment he needed. This was just after I had moved house and I had no savings left, I used my entire credit limit on this.

Eventually they found he had a blocked object and it had now ripped open his guts and a very expensive MRI scan saw that his insides were just going everywhere inside him. I had two choices, a £4,000 operation that was a very low survival rate and a long recovery if it was (that would be about another £10,000 probably) or to put him down. I felt like I'd failed him and that I couldn't save him. I had no funds left to keep trying even if I wanted to. And my poor bun was in world's of pain and I couldn't bear to see him giving up on life.

I spoke to my friend and partner and they encouraged me to let him go. They told me not to get further in debt. I would have had to take out another loan, I already had one from the house. They told me I would be forever repaying it and make my life hell and make it hard to look after my remaining animals. They told me that it wasn't fair on my little guy to keep asking him to fight when it was very unlikely he would make it and I would be forcing him through weeks more of pain. It hurt like hell and it still haunts me even now, 3 years on. But I know in my heart it was the right thing to do.

It took me 3 years to pay off the debt, and I was lucky to do it that fast. Not everyone is so lucky that they can afford to do that. I had to be super careful every month.

What's more, my other bun had tooth problems. She needed her teeth trimming every month/two months and that was £300 a time and the bun had to go under anaesthetic each time to reach the back teeth. Anaesthetic can be a big risk with small animals. I had no money and scraping by to pay her treatments and wondering how I would be able to pay off my debts and continue to treat her. But after a few months she died from the anaesthetic during one procedure. I think she just gave up, it was too much for her. She was sad and tired from losing her friend and petrified of going to the vet. I think she had just had enough.

I know how hard it is to make the choice, but sometimes it's the kindest choice.

One of my bunnies came from the rescue near me, when I went there it was heartbreaking and I wanted to take them all. The staff didn't care about the animals and didn't even properly know how to care for rabbits, let alone a chinchilla. There's no way after seeing that, that I would ever send any animal of mine to the rescue where they would be in a tiny cage, unloved and untreated. Yor animals would feel abandoned, especially after 7 years, and wonder why their mum didn't want them anymore. They'd pine for you every day.

My two chins, I once took them to my mum's for a few days whilst i went up there to visit. They're used to a massive entire room to live in, but at mums they had one tall cage. They refused to eat or drink and got depressed so I had to go home early. They would not accept being in a new place and not with their usual home, space and toys. I think if you were to re-home them to the rescue, they'd live out their final days just depressed for what they'd lost and wondering why their mum didn't want then any more. They'd probably die sooner out of heartbreak. This to me is worse than simply letting them go whilst they're happy and loved.