Trying not to blame myself

[clubharriet]

My 7 year old rabbit, Spencer, was euthanized around 2:30 this morning.

On Thursday, October 15, I brought him to the vet because he seemed sluggish and unwilling to eat. The vet gave him a shot of Regnal, for anti-nausea and to get him eating again, gave him fluids, drew his blood.

Within 20 mins or so of the Regnal, he was visibly more energetic and even ate some orange. We have home a force feeding at the vet and he willingly ate at home. He seemed back to normal that night.

The vet called the next day saying his white blood cell count was high and he had an infection of some sort. She prescribed him antibiotics. I went to the vet to buy them and only had $14 left on my debit card after paying for his visit the day before. I didn’t realize I was so low on money. I bought him 3 days worth of antibiotics. I had to crush the pills and syringe them into his mouth twice a day. I have him the 3 day’s worth that I bought. He hated it and was fighting it. Since he had already seemed better before the antibiotics and because he was so stressed taking them, I didn’t go get more.

He’s been acting normal and healthy since we got home from the vet that Thursday. Yesterday, he was cuddling with us on the couch and seemed totally fine. At midnight, I offered him a piece of Apple before bed and he didn’t want it. I picked him up and he was lethargic and weak. I took him to the emergency vet and he had a seizure on the way there. She said he was in a lot of pain and he was euthanized. She suspected he may have had a rupture of his intestines or something. I told the vet about the antibiotics I hadn’t given him and she said he didn’t die of an infection and that it wasn’t my fault.

I’m trying to not blame myself but I don’t know for sure why he died. The vet just made a guess.

How do I not blame myself?

Spencer lived indoors and was a free range, neutered male. I loved my little guy and have him lots of attention. His girl, Zoey, is now a lonely bun. She is spayed so I’ll be finding another mate for her soon.

[Bam]

I moved this post to the Rainbow Bridge-section.

I’m very sorry that you lost your bunny. I think you should trust your vet, that it wasn’t an infection that took him. In most cases we don’t know the actual cause of death in pets. To me it sounds very likely that he had something wrong with him that antibiotics wouldn’t have cured. White bloodcell counts go up for very many reasons, not just bacterial infections.

You really shouldn’t blame yourself. 7 years is a good long life for a rabbit, and the age of him alone proves you are a good, caring bunny mommy. He was free range, he had a girlfriend, he cuddled with you on the couch and when he got sick, you took him to the vet. A rabbit couldn’t ask for more.

I hope Zooey is coping.

[BB & Tiny]

You gave your baby seven years of love and when it came down to your last bit of money, you spent it on your bunny.

I don’t think there could be a more profound declaration of your love for your baby. I realize you may still feel guilt over not continuing treatment despite how obvious it is to us you cared greatly for your baby. I can only hope with time you can find peace in the love and care you had for him.

In addition to Bam’s statement here is a link about bunny blood testing. If anything the vet should have done more specific testing of the high white blood cell count.

Attention to the paragraph WBC near the bottom

http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/articles/blood.shtml

[clubharriet]

I tried to reply the day you two responded but it won’t work from my phone.

Thank you so much for your kind words. It really made me feel better.

I spoke to Spencer’s vet about what happened. She said it wasn’t an infection that killed him since it happened so suddenly. He would have declined slowly if it was an infection. She worries she may have missed something and said she should have suggested investigating possible causes for his elevated white blood cell count. She wonders if he may have had cancer. She is a very caring vet and is always looking to provide better care for pets so I’m glad I spoke to her.

I feel more at peace with his death and will be taking steps to prevent this type of thing from happening again.

I have also decided to weight my rabbits regularly to see if their weight is fluctuating.

Thank you both!

[Author]

Messages