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The Animals at Paws Here

IMPORTANT NOTICE: We are not prepared to support the mass breeding of pet animals. If you buy pets or products from pet shops you are supporting this unethical practice. In fact, due to the sheer numbers of rescues in shelters at the moment, it is unethical to breed small animals AT ALL.

There has been a recent spate of customers buying their cage and accessories at these places, then coming to us for a friendly, healthy pet. Please support our animals by buying your cage and pet products here - every penny made goes to support our work with rescue pets.

Also, we now require that anyone wanting to take home one of our pets who has bought a cage elsewhere must bring the cage in so that we can check it is suitable.

We price match our cages against the bigger chain stores to offer a competetive price. Because we keep and rehome our animals ethically we make a loss on all pets rehomed. As an example, we ask for a £30 donation for a rabbit but will usually have spent at least £80 on vet bills alone for that rabbit.

Please note that you do not have a right to any of our animals, and we can and do refuse to home pets with people who cannot convince us that they will provide an excellent home for the pet in question.


Our Animals:

We are incredibly proud of our pets, and the standards by which we keep and rehome them. Key to this is our policy that we never support mass breeding centres, or other companies which support them. These are the small animal equivalent of puppy mills, and most pet shops, including the large chain stores, get their pets from these places. See our page on Ethical Breeding for some reasons why it is important not to buy a pet that has started life like that.

Here is a recent list of what kinds of pet we have currently available. Please call to confirm because we might have forgotten to update this list.
  • Syrian hamsters
  • Gerbils
  • Guinea pigs
  • Rabbits
  • Rats

Almost all of our pets are rescues. Because of this we can't always give you the exact pet you want exactly when you want it, e.g. "I need a purple mouse by this evening!!!". It helps if you contact us as much in advance as possible, as even our baby hamsters are reserved when they are a few weeks old and then collected when they are old enough to go to new homes.

I know it can be frustrating to have to wait, particularly when a child's birthday or Christmas is concerned. I would urge you to encourage your child to see this as a valuable lesson that pets are not toys, and can't simply be produced on demand.

When you first come to the shelter to see the animals you will usually be able to hold them. The only exception is if the animal is too young. Obviously we don't encourage small children to handle some of the trickier animals like ferrets or chinchillas, but they are welcome to stroke them and say hello.

Our animals are generally very used to being held and played with by people of all ages. We work with our rescues until we are happy that they are suitable to rehome.

You will be able to ask any questions you might have. We don't keep animals that we don't have long term experience with, so we should be able to help with any questions or problems.

If you adopt a pet from us you will be given an "adoption certificate" with all your new pet's details on. It will also have my details, including phone numbers you can use to contact me any time day or night should you have a problem.

A final note. We pride ourselves on looking after our animals extremely well and only placing them in suitable homes. If you are adopting a pet from us please support us by also buying your cage and accessories here. If you decide to go elsewhere or you already have a cage please check with us beforehand that it is suitable.

(c) Paws Here, 135 Comiston Road, Edinburgh. Tel: 0131 4477464.