Absolutely devastated from losing our very first and newly adopted bunny Crumpet

[tinyhorse]

We had to make the most heartbreaking decision to put our bunny to sleep after he broke his back at the vet yesterday. He was going in for an oral exam/teeth filing but he struggled while they were trying to anesthetize him.. the vet said she had never had this happen to her in 10 years. We only had him for 3 months. He was 5 years old.

Earlier last week we came home to find that he hadn’t finished his breakfast or drank his water and was not moving. By this time most animal hospitals were closed and we frantically started calling around, asking anyone if they had a rabbit vet on staff. One vet said that “he had seen rabbits before” and told us to bring him in. He looked at him and said that there was nothing we could do, that he had a very poor chance of living and our only choices were risky surgery, extensive hospitalization or euthanasia. He kept dodging our questions and looking back on it now we are sure that he had no idea how to take care of rabbits and only wanted us to spend as much money as possible. We knew GI stasis was serious but from our research also knew that it was often treatable and instead asked him to give him fluids, antibiotics and painkillers and took him home. We stayed up with him all night giving him baby gas relief and stomach massages. The massages and baby gas relief worked almost instantly–he immediately started pooping, and a few hours later started drinking and eating veggie puree on his own. By 6am, he was up and hopping around again. We were so relieved.

A few days later however, we noticed he had one watery eye and we made an appointment with a qualified vet as soon as possible (we did a lot of research this time and she seemed far more knowledgeable). She looked in his mouth and said that she saw some uneven tooth wear and that his teeth burrs were poking him, and that she would need to anesthetize him to take an X-ray and get a better look. She told us not to worry, that it was a fairly common problem (*most likely from not getting enough hay during his years at the shelter) and in ten years has yet to have an incident. I dropped him off the next morning with an uneasy feeling, but tried to shrug it off.

I couldn’t believe it when I got a call from the vet a few hours later asking me if I had a minute to talk. She said that Crumpet had struggled and broke his back and I needed to come right away, and she was so sorry. I still haven’t stopped crying.

I know that rabbits tend to die suddenly but we are so heartbroken. We feel that so many humans failed him: his first owner who abandoned him, the “shelter” that didn’t feed or take care him properly, the 2 potential adopters that returned him and 2 different vets. We are appalled by the lack of support for these guys and their parents. He was our first bunny and we only had him for a terribly short time, but we loved him so much. He was so affectionate, and so brave for such a tiny creature. He loved following us around, greeting us at the door, getting pets and giving licks. No one can ever replace him. Part of me wants to try to give another needy rabbit a home someday, but the other part is so afraid of getting so attached only to have them ripped away so quickly and painfully, or that I will never be able to feel the same way about another rabbit. Has anyone experienced this/had these feelings?

*the shelter turned out to be a house with stacks of wire cages, they didn’t give us any medical records, most of the animals were unneutered/unspayed, and they recommended 2 cups of pellets per day which we quickly decreased to 1 very small cup, with 2 cups of dark green veggies and constant access to hay. Again in hindsight it probably wasn’t the best place, but he was the first one we saw and we just couldn’t leave without him.

[litheandgraphic]

So, so sorry for your sudden loss. This is so unfair. Please know you did everything you could and did everything as right as possible.

I encourage you to consider looking into another bunny some day, but only after you’ve had some time to heal. This is never, ever easy, but you did all that you could and for what it’s worth, you gave him a home that was comfortable and full of love for as long as you did, so much better than where he came from.

Take care of yourselves.

{ Binky free bunny }

[JackRabbit]

Im so sorry for your loss. Losing a pet is so hard, but sudden losses are just devastating. I do hope you decide to share your life with another bunny. There are so many bunnies that need good bunny parents and you seem to fit the bill perfectly. Hugs to you.

Binky free sweet bunny . …

[tinyhorse]

Thank you for the kind words. I have been feeling incredibly guilty for leaving him there, like maybe if we had just gone to another vet, or even if we brought him in on another day then maybe this wouldn’t have happened and we would have had many more months with him.

He was very much loved, that is definitely true.

[JackRabbit]

You have nothing to feel guilty about. You took him to have a prescribed procedure by a vet you felt to be qualified. This was a tragic accident. Please don’t beat yourself up.

[jerseygirl]

Absolutely agree^.

I’m so sorry for your loss. Such a sad event.

This must have been difficult for the clinic to deal with also. Have they been supportive toward you?
The rabbit skeleton is fragile yet they have these strong muscles. Too easily a bad injury can occur. But you wouldn’t expect it up happen there and I can understand your shock.

Part of me wants to try to give another needy rabbit a home someday, but the other part is so afraid of getting so attached only to have them ripped away so quickly and painfully, or that I will never be able to feel the same way about another rabbit. Has anyone experienced this/had these feelings?

I think it’s natural up feel this way and things are still very raw.
I used to say I’d always have rabbits in my life for as long as I was capable of looking after them. That was before I had to say goodbye to any.
I honestly don’t know how many times I could go through that… It can leave you feeling vulnerable.
I believe that feeling lessens though. Stay open and revisit the question about adopting again after some time has passed.

***Binky Free Crumpet***
Stay close to your human family who loved you the best.

[tinyhorse]

The clinic was supportive and didn’t charge us or anything. My boyfriend was very upset and wanted to know exactly what happened but that didn’t matter to me at that point, our baby was gone and nothing was going to change that. The vet apologized many times, saying that this shouldn’t have happened and it wasn’t acceptable and she was very sorry. She showed me the X-ray of his back and then brought him in so I could say goodbye. Needless to say it was very hard to see him like that.

I think that’s the part that upsets me the most. I’ve had pets throughout my life, and all but him have lived a very full life and died of old age; my goldfish lived for 10 years, my Old English sheepdog lived for 11, and my guinea pig for almost 6. I still have my frog Elmo, and he’s amazingly still going strong after 15 years. I guess that’s partly why this is so hard to stomach.

Anyway they are sending us a paw print and his ashes in a couple weeks. We have already started working on a memorial book and I plan on painting a nice big portrait of him as soon as it stops hurting so much to look at the photos.

Also thank you for trying to reassure me that we did the best we could. I’m sure the clinic did as best they could as well…it’s just a very cruel twist of fate.

Thanks again to all who replied–I only know one other person who has a bunny and she lives in Atlanta (I’m in the Chicago Area) and it really helps to talk about it with people who understand. I’m not sure how long it will take to grieve but I will try to be open to adopting another bunny in the future. If they are anything like Crumpet they will be an amazing pet.

[Bam]

I’m so sorry for your loss. You absolutely did try to take care of this little guy in the best possible way. I’m sure he felt loved during his time with you. This was very tragic but it could not have been prevented by you. You seem like such excellent bunny-parents. I hope some day some other rabbit will be lucky enough to get you.

[Author]

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