My fur baby died last night 😢😭

[Chloe1989]

My beautiful fur baby blue died last night after a long exhausting weekend and i can’t help but blame myself. I rushed him into the vets Friday morning with fly strike luckily caught early on so they were able to catch it before it got really bad. I brang him home after the vets Friday evening and he was eating kale drinking water seemingly ok. Was eating a little and drinking Saturday and Sunday I realised the vets had missed maggots and I removed about another 10. I rushed him to the emergency vets that night around 10pm as he had completely gone off his food not pooping or drinking. They sent him Home after a shot of something for  his stomach and pain medication altho he seemed alot worse after that visit. I stayed off work Monday to keep an eye on him but he was juat getting worse and worse I was syringe feeding him but he didn’t even swallow it was just dripping out his mouth. After calling my vets and them saying to wait for a phonecall back as they were very busy I decided to go to a new vet as I knew he was dying. After getting looked at the vet said he had a 1 out of 10 chance of survival if I put him intensive care over night as he was in shock and hypothermic but I decided to try with intensive care rather then put him down without giving him a chance. He died an hour later. I cant help but blame myself as  I realised too late that I had been giving him Too small a dose of pain medication. 0.08 rather then 0.8 which means he was in agony for 2 days and its all my fault. I shudnt have waited for a vet to call me I should have demanded an appointment straight away. He was just 5 years old and he left behind his best friend Billy. He died in the most painful slow way and I don’t think I can ever forgive myself.

[lahiza]

I lost my bunny Saturday and also blamed myself. It was the hardest and most sorrowful time I may have ever had, feeling this loss. It appeared that he was in pain for 2 days. Both of our intentions were to help our babies the best way we knew how and we can’t blame ourselves.

it’s taken a lot of tears and breakdowns and sobbing with my family who dearly loved him too, I’ve come to a place where I realize it does not honor him to think of the last days we had with them, but to think of the beautiful years. I hope you soon come to this stage, as it’s a release from the depression and sadness. There’s still sadness, but I can now honor the joy he brought to me.

it’s not your fault. You obviously loved them and did everything you could for them.

<3

[Chloe1989]

I hope so as I’ve barely slept for 4 nights I just can’t help thinking if I had done one thing different he would still be here. I brought him home to be with his friend Billy for a couple of hours then buried him in the garden. Ive seen Billy binkying in the corner where he is buried quite a few times and I’ve heard that’s his way of sending him off I’m.not sure how true this is but it was still sweet to watch. Now just to keep an eye on billy and find him a new friend so he doesn’t get lonely. I’m just terrified of the same thing happening again.

[lahiza]

I know how you feel. I couldn’t even entertain the idea of getting a new bun, it was too heartbreaking to see him go and his absence is felt so deeply. I had to take Tylenol pm to help me sleep the first few nights. That might help you too.

I know how hard it is not to blame yourself and that we all do it at first but again, it shows how much you loved him to do all that you did to try and save him. He was lucky to have you and to have gotten to spend his life with someone who cared so deeply for him. I try and remind myself of the same thing.

[DanaNM]

I’m very sorry for your loss. Fly strike is truly horrifying and often fatal, even with treatment.  🙁

I think we all tend to blame ourselves when we lose a bun, no matter if it’s rational or not. I think the best thing we can do is learn from our mistakes and try to prevent the same thing happening again. Keeping bunnies indoors is the best way to prevent fly strike, as well as making sure diet is appropriate so there are no soft poops stuck on them, but even with the best care things can be out of our control.

I hope you and Billy be some comfort to each other, I’m glad to hear he seems to be doing ok. <3

 

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Bam]

I’m very sorry for your loss. Fly strike is often deadly, as Dana says. The best preventative measure is to keep the bun indoors when the weather is warm. It only takes the one fly though, so daily inspection of the bun’s rear end during summer is strongly recommended. If its really hot, eggs can hatch in as little as 6-12 hours  so vigilance is key.

You did your best to help your bun. You loved him and he had a friend who loved him. They look so incredibly cute together in your pictures 💜

I hope you and Billy will be able to comfort each other.

[Chloe1989]

I still think if I had given him  the right pain medication he would have been OK. The flystrike was caught so quickly it was after he was in pain and it was my fault because I gave him the wrong dose. My babies were house rabbits house trained to use the litter tray and had full run but they preferred being in there house outside. Even now Billy still wants to be outside when he has a cage and full run of the house. I will never forgive myself for what blue went through his last fee days  uo till now they were happy spoilt little bunnies who I loved to bits but my stupid mistake killed my baby and lost Billy his solemate. I did what I could even putting him on intensive care  but I still think if I gave him the right meds he would still be here 💔

[Bonny Girl]

Sweetheart, take a deep breath. Tell yourself “I did everything I could for my baby with the knowledge I had at hand. I cannot know what I don’t know. My baby was loved and cared for.” I, personally, lost my VERY loved senior (almost 12 years old) bunny 2.5 weeks ago.  The hurt, the gut-wrenching pain is palpable — always right below the surface and, often times, uncontrollable tears. I loved my Bonny completely and I know we did everything we could for her, yet I keep trying to find ways to blame myself for not getting a few more months with her.  I ask myself why I dropped her off at 8:30 a.m. (per vet nurse request) when her appt. was not until 9:00 a.m. I had a bad feeling about it. I politely fought with the nurse, who insisted they needed time to prepare Bonny for the Dr.’s 9:00 a.m. molar trim appt. I tell myself that I should have just ignored her and brought her in at 9:00 a.m. I worry that dropping her off ahead of time made her nervous.  I know she died from the sedation, per the vet, and not a heart attack beforehand, yet I still question it all.  I am doing more of what I suggested to you — take deep breaths and tell myself I could not have known the future. My baby was in God’s hands. Who, but God, can predict the future? We blame ourselves because we loved our buns SO deeply and they were under our care.  Therefore, their loss must be our fault (so we tell ourself).  One day, and I hope sooner rather than later, you and I will grieve less and be SO very thankful for the love our babies gave us. It is true that is better to have loved than never to have loved at all. I will ALWAYS love Bonny, as you will ALWAYS love your sweet baby. May God dry your tears and give you peace of heart.  You obviously have great love and compassion to give.

[Bam]

Chloe, I doubt the pain meds would have made a difference for the outcome. 0.8 ml of dog metacam for a 5 pound bun (I dont know what Blue weighed, so I’m just guessing) is a pretty standard dose, so the vets can not have believed he was in a lot of pain. If vets think a bun is in a lot of pain they normally prescribe opioids for short term use. Metacam is similar to ibuprofen for humans.

I think he passed away because of the fly strike. The vets had missed some maggots that you had to remove yourself. Fly strike is very often deadly.

As Bonny Girl says, we bun owners are experts at blaming ourselves when something bad happens to our buns. But we are only humans, and there are many, many things that aren’t within human control. All we can do is try to do our best.

 

 

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