Need to vent… Child’s rabbit *warning graphic photos*

[calipa_st]

So, my boyfriend has a little brother (I think he’s 9) he has emotional issues.. I don’t know. He throws tantrums, they call it bipolar… whatever.

 

He comes over our house, and likes the rabbits. They take him to the SPCA and adopt a rabbit. An 8 year old female. 

First off… I’ve given them a lot of information. My boyfriend says I’m rude, and trying to dictate things so I back off. I know they got her after May, so they haven’t had her for a while.

We rarely go up there, but my boyfriend went up on Tuesday night. Apparently they asked him how to give it a bath. It’s in it’s own room in the basement. Rarely sees people. They use a dog crate as the cage. I do not know the specific set up.

The poor thing has such severe urine scald! It’s missing fur all over the inside of her legs. His mother says it wasn’t like that a week ago, but no one but the 9yo picks her up or plays with her.

I assumed incontinence. Boyfriend texts me, I’m at work, he brings it home. I do not want to risk infecting my four boys, so it’s in the basement (I feel awful about this) he and I give it a bath, I researched it before doing it I swear.

It’s seriously covered in urine, and pooping profusely as we are trying to care for her.

She is hopping around, doing fine. I have metacam and antibiotics I’ve been giving her. She desperately needs to see a vet. We live an hour away from his family.

Gave another bath tonight, she’s stained with urine Teeth look fine, has crusty stuff around one eye, no discharge though. Eating a lot of hay, I am limiting her pellets and greens because I was not sure exactly what she was fed, just giving her some romaine for now.

I’m disgusted. It’s a severe case of neglect. I took photos and asked my vet tech friend what to do, she’s been helpful. Said to put desitin on her legs though, and I need to find out if that is okay.

Boyfriend is angry at me for being so upset and disgusted. I think they should tell the kid she died, and give her to a rabbit rescue. She deserves a good home. Financially and space wise, we just cannot do it. Not at all. We also leave for vacation for a week on friday, and we have this poor thing in our care now. Omg. I’m at a loss

I even had to set up a rabbit vet appointment for them!! They couldn’t even do that. It’s a vet near them that is on the HRS website. There is renal failure fear, but after observing her for two days, I see no incontinence… I think she was literally in her own pee for over a week at least. I’m just so… I’ve never seen abuse up front before. I am apparently a beotch for calling it this. 

They should *not* have this rabbit at all. This is the EXACT reason parents who do not have time or want to care for a pet, should not give one to a freaking child.

I don’t know what to do. I’m at a loss. Boyfriend wants to take it to the vet ourselves, we probably won’t be reimbursed. He just bought a new car, and we didn’t even have the money for that but his was breaking down so he went and just got a new one. I’m not happy at all.

I can’t put it on the HRS FB because his parents are friends with me on there, why the heck is that group public?! I wish they would make it a closed group!

I’ll try to post pictures, they are graphic though

[calipa_st]

[calipa_st]

sorry for the graphic photos. we will be taking her back tomorrow so they can take her to the vet.
they seem to just want to put her down because she’s “old” even though she has quite a lot of life to her. she likes to eat, and hop around. I really hope a vet doesn’t just euthanize her because they don’t want to take care of her.

[BunnyBrigade]

That is just so sad. I would honestly see if anything could be done to prevent them from being able to adopt another rabbit. If they tell the son that the rabbit died, he may just throw a tantrum which would lead to them caving and getting him another one. I’m not one to like to pass judgment on others, but it does look like neglect. I understand how frustrating these sort of situations can be.

[calipa_st]

^ I didn’t even think of that! I also do not know where they could surrender her, maybe the spca they got her from. I think someone with knowledge could give her a wonderful life.
And I just feel like it’s neglect, I have no proof yet… the vet will have to run tests to see if there are medical problems, but given that she is eating normal, pooping normal and drinking water.. I really see nothing wrong with her other than being dirty :-/

[Stickerbunny]

Have you noticed her having any mobility issues? Possible she is beginning to have pain in her legs that made getting to the litter box hard and so she messed herself. But, that looks awful, poor girl. She will probably need shaved at this point. Does look like they could have seen it much sooner if she had been a part of the family, instead of stuck in the basement.

You could ask them to meet you at the vet, that way they could pay. If they refuse, you could contact the SPCA about them … depending on the laws in your area, they may be required to offer vet care for her if she is obviously ill and in pain, or being neglected. They would know if there is any legal way to seize the bun.

[jerseygirl]

At 8 yrs old, something like arthritis is strong possibility.
A sanitary shave will help. The soiled fur just keeps the urine in contact with the skin. Using a barrier cream on the already bald areas will help protect it further. Desitin looks fine to me.
Keeping her on absorbant bedding will also help keep her dry.
{{{Vibes!}}}

[Roberta]

Definitely seems like you are between a rock and a hard place and no matter the decision you make you will run afoul of the family or see the poor bunny continue neglected…
In most cases it would be easy to choose the lesser of two evils but adding the fact that your boyfriend will feel loyalty to his family no matter what and you must continue to live with him makes it so much more difficult… It seems that your boyfriend is already torn between his concern for the bunny and how he feels about the situation… He was obviously concerned enough to bring the rabbit home and may well have had words to them himself which is possibly why he could be a bit sensitive about it if your reaction was also a strong one, he might be thinking it but doesn’t want to hear you saying it.
If your boyfriend is coming to the vets with you and hears what the vet has to say maybe some gentle persuasion will get him to support you in dealing with the family or you could give him a big hug and ask him outright and gently what he would like to do…

The other possibility too is the vet will take one look, hear your story and contact the SPCA directly. Make it very clear to them it is not your rabbit.

[rayray]

Bless your heart! This is absolutely disgusting treatment of an animal. I have a zero tolerance when it comes to animal abuse or neglect. I don’t care if you’re a friend or family.
Is there any way for you to return the bunny from where they got her from? I’m sure once they see the condition she is in, they will not release her back to that family.
I understand when people unintentionally give the wrong care to an animal, but in this case the family is being provided with the proper info from you. If they don’t want to listen, that tells me they are not interested in the best care for their pet.
If they do not have time for the basic, proper care for a pet, then they really should have one in the 1st place.

My apologies for sounding offensive. I’m just the type of person who loves my animals to the moon and back. I can’t imagine others not feeling the same.

[Sarita]

I imagine that HRS would not take in this rabbit anyway as they only rescue from shelters…I think if you took him back though, he would not have a good fate.

I pretty much imagine that once you take him in, you kind of now own him. I wouldn’t take an 8 or 9 year old rabbit anyway to a shelter or a rescue.

It’s very possibly arthritis which can cause bladder sludge which can cause urine scald – try to express his bladder to see if you see any sludge – they can usually evacuate some sludge out that way.

[Zombie-Sue]

Uggh I’m sorry could you have put a warning in there? I so wasn’t ready to look at sick rabbits and I wasn’t expecting it. I’m not trying to be nasty, you just caught me off guard a little is all. Also I was eating lol. I know you said you would try to post them but I scrolled through the whole thread before reading and… ugh xD I just think it’d be better in the title if you don’t mind.

There could be a lot of problems that is causing this problem, but most importantly it seems to me like he can’t seem to escape his own mess, which makes me think they are either not able to take care of him or they just aren’t trying. Sometimes the rabbits get so messy that it’s not possible to keep up with them, so it might not necessarily be their fault, it can be hard to tell. I mean, it’s really best to give the benefit of the doubt, especially with your boyfriend’s family.

In any event, I think she’d do better in a better position in more rabbit-experienced hands, but I don’t think you could surrender her. I think you’d need to reach out to various forums. It’s not allowed here, but you can try rabbitsonline.net . I don’t think surrendering her is an option, I know that it sucks really bad and you really aren’t sure you can take care of her, but guilt is inevitable when our actions don’t line up with our values, and I know you’d be really upset if you surrendered her to a less-than ideal few last years.

The basement is a fine living situation. That’s where all of mine are right now. It’s less than ideal, but really, for a sick old rabbit, some place cool, out of the way, and CLEAN is probably the absolute best thing you can do for her. You’re not ignoring her.

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