Oakley died very suddenly last night. We are all in shock. She was running laps around the house just two days ago and her last meal was a small snack of a bit of strawberry and banana. She seemed so healthy and she was young too. Only 2-3 years. I don’t know what could have happened. I heard a terrible squeaking sound at 3am and ran into the bun room. I flicked on the light and it looked like she was in respiratory distress. She convulsed a bit and I picked her up and held her for just a moment before she squirmed out of my arms. She lay down, took two more breaths, and died. Just like that. I’ve never heard of such a sudden death in a healthy adult SPAYED rabbit. She was at the vet less than 2 months ago. I’ve had her for 8 months and I already miss her terribly. If anyone has any insight into what went on I would greatly appreciate it. I’m looking for a vet to do a post-mortem, so that I know if it’s something that could affect Healy too.

Here is Oakley’s story. I visited an spca in July of 2011 to see the buns. I was thinking of giving Healy, my other rescue bun, a friend. Oakley caught my eye right away. She was a gorgeous lionhead mix with adorable coloration. I held her and she was so sweet and cooperative. I took Healy to meet her the very next day. She seemed interested in him, he couldn’t care less. That was good enough for me. I arranged the adoption, but she had to be spayed first. I returned a week later to pick her up. She lived in my bedroom for a month following the surgery and then I began introductions. They went horribly! After many failed bonding sessions I sent them to Little Miracles Rabbit Rescue, where Healy was from. They bonded them for me and I picked them up from “camp” a week later. They lived happily as free range bunnies for many months until they got too destructive. Oakley liked to chew bed sheets, rain boots, duffle bags, guitar cases, t-shirts, you name it. I broke down and moved all my furniture around to give them their own room. They loved it.

Oakley was the sweetest bun I’ve ever met. She was so docile, whereas Healy is a small terror. But for as gentle as she was to Healy and I, she didn’t take any crap from my cat. She would beat him up every chance she got, it was a sight to see! She hated slippery floors so I was always putting fleece down to make her more comfortable. One time I guess I took to long to put the fleece down and as I was knelt down and bent over trying to smooth out the corners she jumped up on my back and sat there for a good 5 minutes before I could get her down. She loved Healy so much and was always trying to be near him. Neither of them seemed to know how to groom one another so they would just force their head under the other’s chin as an invitation to groom. Then the other bun would do the same. It was always entertaining.

I think Healy does miss her. He always acted like he didn’t need her, but I know that he loved snuggling by her side. He seems restless right now. He escaped the xpen that blocks off the bun room. Now he is just sitting in the doorway watching me. I don’t think he wants to be alone. I offered him some raisins which he accepted eagerly. I’m going to keep a very close eye on him for signs of grieving. I’ll also take him to the vet asap for a check up. It is very unnerving not knowing why my Oakley died.