Please Help — Rabbit Emergency

[Aztirbel]

I am scared to death for my rabbit.  He was attacked by a dog.  A friend was over with her dog and somehow he ripped through the mesh of their enclosure and attacked our two rabbits when we let him loose in the house.  One escaped and seems perfectly fine, but the other is in bad shape.  He has no serious wounds and none of his bones are broken.  I’ve examined him carefully and completely.  But he was obviously chewed on by the dog.  The front half of his body is all wet and covered in drool where he was in the dog’s mouth.  There are some very shallow wounds around the base of his ears, and he is missing hair from his head and ears.  He looks awful.  He has no deep cuts and seems physically sound, but I am most worried about his behaviour.  He won’t move, and for a few hours now he has been trembling without stop.  His heart seems to be going at double its rate.  He pays no attention to food or water, even though has always been the greediest rabbit I’ve had.

I know I need to take him to the vet, but it’s the middle of the night where I am and that isn’t an option for at least a few more hours, so I desperately searched online until I found this site.  I hope that someone knowledgable will be online and be able to give some advice.

I’ve put him in a box on its side mostly covered with a towel, with another towel as a bed for him.  There is food and water right nearby but he pays it no attention.  I have been talking to him constantly in a soothing voice but I don’t want to stress him more by moving him around or doing anything further.  There are two signs that could be considered good.  One is that when I first saved him he would only lie on his side without moving, and now he is huddled on his four feet.  The other is that I went scouring the streets for an open store and brought him back a banana, because banana has always been his favourite treat.  He ate a little piece of banana, although he’s ignored everything else I’ve put in front of him, without even sniffing.

I desperately want to know if there’s anything else I can do for him.

[JackRabbit]

Rabbits hide pain very well. I don’t mean to upset you, but it is possible that your bunny may have internal injuries or be going into shock from the scare. You really need to get your bun to a vet as soon as possible. Are there any emergency vets you could go to?

[Roberta]

OK… The vet is the best thing just get there as soon as possible… Mean while you are doing the right thing keeping him quiet and warm… Shock is one of the concerns at the moment so you want to minimise that as much as possible… If the dog hasn’t already left get it out of the house and try to remove it’s smell from any area’s. If your other bun is bonded with this one get them together so he has the moral support of his bond buddy. Bunnies are very good at hiding pain and it is very concerning that the wounds are around his head and neck. Please get to the vet as soon as possible.
I would also suggest as a bunny owner that you ask friends with dogs not to bring them to your house, they may be good dogs but you do not know what their pray drive is.

[robyn and 'tipps']

What an awful experience for the poor bun and, of course, you. Please get him to a vet asap and lets all hope he wasn’t seriously injured. Please keep us informed.

[Aztirbel]

Thank you for the responses. I know where a vet is but at the moment it’s 4 in the morning. I have cleaned and dried him (very gently) and he looks much better now. He has scrapes, as opposed to what you would call cuts. I am staying up with him until we can go to the vet, but I am starting to feel more hopeful. He has stopped shaking and has ate some food and drank some water. A few minutes ago he came out of his box and poked around a bit. He is with his friend (the other bunny).

If anyone else has advice please feel free to share. I will be sitting up the next few hours.

I can hardly imagine how this happened. I’m afraid I sound negligent, but of course I imagined the rabbits were completely secure in their enclosure. It’s a big dog and it smashed right through, breaking the wooden slats and ripping the mesh open. It only took seconds.

[robyn and 'tipps']

That is sounding hopeful. And you don’t sound negligent. Sometimes you need eyes in the back of your head when you take into account the trouble they can get themselves into and of course the threats from outside to their safety. Hope things improve once you see the vet. Please keep us informed.

[Roberta]

Hang in there, you’re doing well… Don’t blame yourself… I just have a personal contempt of people that think everyone should put up with their dog… We had a situation in Australia where it got so bad with trades people bringing dogs on site to do jobs it had to be banned by the builders association. They were placing their dogs above the rights of the incumbent pets of the homeowners… It was shocking… I have made it very clear to friends, family and tradies… I have pets, this is THEIR home, leave your pet in their home and don’t bring them to mine… I’d suggest your friend pay part of the vet costs.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Please let us know when you see the vet. ((((((Vibes to your little bunny)))))

[Aztirbel]

Okay, we went to the vet this morning and the verdict is that there’s nothing to worry about. I was feeling much better by the morning anyway because he was hopping around and eating and generally behaving normally. I guess he had a terrible case of shock/exhaustion from being tossed around like a chew toy, but he hasn’t sustained any injuries to speak of.

Thank you everyone for your moral support when I was feeling awful last night.

[Roberta]

Wonderful news Aztirbel… So glad your bun is doing OK.

[JackRabbit]

Whew, close call! So glad your bunny is ok!

[robyn and 'tipps']

Great news! Vibes to your bunny, Aztirbel.

[LongEaredLions]

Yay! Glad he’s ok, (((((calming vibes))))) for both of you!

[Beka27]

Thank goodness he is okay!

[Author]

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