HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BRONSON, GRANDSON OF GUENTHER AND BESSIE, MY MOST BELOVED FLEMISH COUPLE!!!!

I wish I had a resized picture to include here: he is the sweetest, gentlest, funniest, most sensitive 18 pound sandy sweetheart in the world! But he’s definitely had a tough first year: I always feel so badly when a young one experiences pain.  At four months his recessive (bu-bu) glaucoma appeared in his right eye; three months later he had no sight but the glaucoma continued to cause great pain so he had to have anaesthesia to have the eye injected/killed.

Bu-bu glaucoma is only supposed to effect one eye at between 4 and 7 months– the recessive gene has to come from both parents and his breeder inadvertently had bred two rather distantly related rabbits.  But Bronson must have had an additional mutation because he then got glaucoma in his good eye.  This past weekend he lost the last bit of his sight in that eye.  We were trying to arrange a special laser surgery for him to save what little sight he had but didn’thave the pieces in time.  He had a great deal of pain last weekend when this happened, but he is once again feeling very good.  Of course, he still has glaucoma in that second eye and still has to take medicine to control it, but I am so happy that heis comfortable and happy and cheerful enough that he still binkies.

Must think of something special to do for him this evening.  He’s been so good and so brave.