My rabbit Korra died the day before Easter from complications with her spay. It was very sad and frustrating because the vet that spayed her told me to wait it out and that it was just her being a normal rabbit after being spayed. So I waited a day. The next day she began grinding her teeth. I called the vet and she gave me metacam. (I had to drive an hour each time I went to get things from the vet, and on the final visit). I desperately tried to force feed her CC with no results. After 3 more hours, I made the decision to rush her to the vet for fluids. I cried a lot while I tried to feed her, and my other rabbit (Ashe) watched. Ashe is normally very aggressive and grumpy, but she became very attentive and sad while she watched me try to save the bunny she had never met (we were going to bond them after a month).
I think this was the most traumatic loss I had ever experienced (and I have seen a lot of people/animals go). I still can’t share this experience without shedding tears. I do not like feeling helpless, and I still wonder if I could have done more. Anyway, we rushed her in for one last vet visit on the Friday before Easter. The vet stayed in her office with her until she passed, trying everything she could to save her. She said she thinks it was either something wrapped around her renal gland, which caused it to shut down, or a hereditary problem. They sent me two cards and called several times to check on how Ashe and I were doing (Ashe had her spay the same day and bounced back in 2 hours…). They also, cremated Korra for me free of charge and refunded for the spay.
As much as I appreciate the kindness of the vet, I decided to find a new one. I just didn’t feel comfortable sending my babies to her anymore. It took me 8 months to convince myself to get Korra’s “little brother” neutered (yes, we adopted her younger brother from another litter, but that is another story). I will probably chose to adopt from a shelter to avoid this situation ever again.
BTW I think it may have been a hereditary issue, because Moogle took awhile to bounce back as well. He’s Korra’s brother and he goes into stasis when under stress quite frequently. I learned a lot from the experience with Korra, so I feel better prepared to take care of Moogle when he has these issues. I havn’t ever had to rush him to the vet, but I do have a very thorough emergency care kit.
Sorry this is so long and all over the place… I find it hard to keep my thoughts straight when I think back to those days. While it was a very terrible experience, I did learn quite a bit. Also, it was after this time that I bonded with Ashe. She’s quite aggressive (lunging, biting, scratching, kicking) but I also learned she is very affectionate in her own way. I don’t think we would have bonded so strongly if I hadn’t had some time to focus on her and learn exactly what makes her mad lol.
I also lost my 17 year old cat I had since I was 5 very recently. While I miss him the most, it was expected due to health issues he has had for awhile. I think it’s harder to lose a life so unexpectedly and so young. I feel your pain, and you can send me personal messages if you would like to talk anytime I would give your bunny some time to grieve and maybe be your bunnies bonded human for a bit. You guys can comfort each other. Getting another bunny into the mix before you both are ready might cause things to be a bit crazy.