Copper 4/15/13 to 9/3/17

[Freshjojo]

Our young 4 year old tiger stripped Holland Lop, known affectionately as Copper, passed today.

We came home after being gone for a few hours and our Copper who usually jumps up to greet us was no where in sight. Her bonded friend was nudging a white tail sticking out from her hutch. I pulled open the hutch and found her unmoving with a greenish fluid around her mouth and nose. She was still very warm and must have stopped breathing only recently. We immediately wiped the fluid off and began cpr the best we could guess. My wife is a hospitalist pediatrician and just gave mouth to mouth and compressions the best she could as we scrambled into the car. I called 15 animal hospitals that were open on a Sunday with all of them saying they could not help with a rabbit and half of my calls were to exotic pet vets. We ended up just going to one of ones that said no but had an emergency room. 25 minutes had now transpired. We arrived and they immediately took her. Only a few minutes later they came back and told us that nothing could be done. They left us in a room with Copper for a few teary moments to say goodbye as the warmth from her body slowly left.

We returned to the house and our now widowed rabbit. I knew that bunnies grieve but I had no idea that they could cry, which our black tort lop had tears wetting both sides of her little face. She is withdrawn and destructive in her sorrow at the moment. We plan on introducing her to new potential friends in a few weeks time but that is for now a far away thought.

We think that Copper may either have had some condition as she was drinking 4x as much water in the last week or aspirated on some hay. We should have taken her to the vet. That being said, DO NOT IGNORE CHANGES IN YOUR RABBIT. they are creatures of habit and only deviate when something is amiss.

I’m sorry this is long but if you would allow me to say a few words about copper. Copper was the best rabbit in the world. I mean she was a really good rabbit. She loved to be picked up, petted and played with. After coming home from work she would jump into my lap and expect pets, nudging us hard if not received forthright. She would fall asleep to Long petting sessions and grind her teeth in please. Her favorite snack was bananas and strawberries and would always have a red ring around her mouth afterwards. She was a climber unlike her mate and would try to get on the tallest piece of furniture she could. Once she made it onto the range by jumping on a handle halfway and leaping the rest. Copper was also an escape artist who required us to put a locking mechanism on her hutch as she found a way of using her teeth to open the door. I truly regret not holding her more, giving her more time in the sun, and most of all those times where I ignored her little nudges. I am truly sorry. My fondest memory of copper will always be when she first warmed up to me and jumped into my lap for pets.

Sleep well our little bun. We miss you and love you.

[Boston's Mama]

I’m so sorry for your loss of copper
I would suggest you take your other bunny to the vet for a check up given copper went so quickly – also because you mention the green discharge from copper then wet tears from your other bunny… it could be a discharge. Hopefully it’s nothing but better to have it checked and be able to start medication

[Bam]

I’m very sorry you lost Copper. She sounds like wonderful bunny. The picture is just too precious!

We don’t mind longer posts about loved and lost bunnies at all, quite the opposite, really. The Rainbow Bridge is the place where we come to remember and pay tribute to our sweet bridge bunnies (and also other beloved pets). Bunnies are small, but they make such a big impact on their humans.

Binky free ****Copper****

[tobyluv]

I’m sorry about the loss of your sweet Copper.

[Freshjojo]

Thanks for the kind words. Do tears indicate an issue? I’ll be taking her to the vet today.

[Author]

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