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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.
- This topic has 19sd replies, 10 voices, and was last updated 2 years, 3 months ago by
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Sorry for my absence, my hands are still troubling me and computer use is painful. I wrote this in several stages, because I owe this to Breintje, my dearly beloved buddy… I’m glad that you didn’t suffer much, but I’m really traumatised by the way that you went, and our last goodbye traumatised me a little again… It’s been a horrible weekend, and I’m trying to write down the experience to make it seem more real. I’m sad, happy, yearning for the past and looking forward to the future all at the same time. You wouldn’t understand it, but you’d just lick my hands until I had nothing left but smiles.
Thank you for being my buddy! You were a comfort, always. Humans can’t always be there, even my boyfriend can’t always be there, but you always were. You were so naughty when you came into my life, full of energy and errr… quite full of hormones too 🙄 After we got that sorted out you calmed down and turned into a massive cuddlebug over the years. How I always enjoyed watching you play, how you followed me around, and how curious you always were…
I still laugh when I think about your antics! Anything needed to be investigated and supervised, and you didn’t give a single fluff about practicality, decorum or dignity. You tried to sit on the dust pan when I swept the floor, and you followed me around the house to check on my every action. I couldn’t do a single thing without your supervision and approval. Sometimes you were a little too curious… I remember a warm summer night, we slept at Bas’ place back then because there was a music festival with loud thumping bass close to my house. It was so warm that I slept without my pyjamas. Halfway through the night I leapt up with a yelp when your whiskers tickled me. You were sniffing my butt! Excuse me, mister, can I retain a little dignity around here?! 😳 Oh how we laughed here on the forum: “getting to knoooow you… getting to know all abooooouuuuut you….” 😆
When you grew a little older you became such a wonderful caring cuddlebug. When I was in a lot of pain you joined me on the bed, licked the arm which hurt and even sacrificed your own afternoon sleep to watch over me as I dozed. Of course I always made it up to you in the evening, and so we developed a long tradition of sofa snuggles. You sat by me for hours and hours as I worked on my projects, always having a major moult when I had a costume deadline 🙄 Visitors were always so happy to see you, and everybody grew to love you.
You taught me the meaning of true trust, gentleness and caring for each other. You became a bit of a therapy bunny for the vets at our clinic: your problems were almost always minor and you were so well-behaved. You were one of the few bunnies that was calm enough for them to pet and you even accepted treats for them. You always looked so great, even into your later days. I was so proud of you because you were so friendly and polite.
Right before you passed away you fulfilled one of my biggest wishes that I still had, and became a lap rabbit! How I enjoyed it! And how big the shock was went it all went wrong on that dreadful Friday… I’m trying to treasure our beautiful last week together, but the shock still has to die down. I’ll find my way, but it’ll take time…
This is an explanation of what happened. Warning: some parts are shocking and graphic, but I don’t know how else to write this, to explain what happened… I’ve put warnings in.
- A senior bunny living the life!
Breintje lived the life of royalty in the past year: I was mostly on the sofa and the bed because I have pain when using the computer. He didn’t mind it one bit because he got even more cuddles! He spent over 6 hours a day laying next to me: napping, licking me, just snuggling up, and watching me as I knitted.
Last week he did something that I’ve always dreamed of him doing: he climbed onto my lap and laid there for hours on end…I was extatic! I left all the chores and housework to pile up and we enjoyed ourselves tremendously! He wanted cuddles, and that’s exactly what he got, didn’t matter how long or how much! I did see the dawn on more than one occasion, and let Bas bring me my tea instead of the other way around. Breintje occasionally sneezed a dry sneeze, but he’d been doing that for more than a year. We had that checked out more than once and the vets said he may be sensitive to the dust generated by my knitting activities. He ate well, was a happy bunny, and so incredibly cuddly and sweet 😀
- Some worries creep in
On Thursday his sneezing suddenly changed: it became wetter. I called the vet, but they were booked full and they asked me to come in on Friday because everything else was normal: from his pooping to his peeing, to his behaviour. By Friday morning his eating had changed: he didn’t eat all of his pellets but he was still scarfing down every snack I offered him. Luckily we had an early appointment. The vet was beaming when he saw Breintje: such a picture of health at his age if 9 years and 2 months! His heart and lungs sounded fine, his fur looked gorgeous, and he was casually sitting on the table: not stressed, licking my hand and accepting treats from the vet. The vet only heard a murmur in his nose and he gave us some antibiotics, metacam and some CC to give him a bit more energy.
He told me that it was so special that Breintje came to cuddle me, even though he was feeling a bit under the weather, because animals tend to hide. He said that it showed how much trust Breintje had in me and how much comfort he found in me. He was always so happy to see Breintje because they see a lot of rabbits in a… different condition. Breintje was very popular with the clinic’s staff because of this. With a big smile he waved us goodbye, and told me to keep him warm and his tummy full. I comforted Bas over the phone: he was on his way to Belgium for an event and was happy to hear that the vet visit went well.
After some nose drops and a tummy full of CC Breintje hopped onto the sofa for more cuddles. Even after that vet visit, even after that feeding session where I had been a bit strict. He liked the CC a lot but he didn’t eat his whole portion, so I did end up using the syringe for the last bits. He happily laid on my lap for most of the day, laying between two blankets and doing a lot of purring, licking and napping.
- this is where it gets bad, really awful… Graphic…
Around 3 in the afternoon he suddenly went wild on my lap. I got scared and gently tried to set him down in his litter box. He went limp, slid forward out of my arms and made a forward roll into his litter box. A bit dazed, he panted and laid down. I called the vet immediately and rushed him to it. I ran through all the red lights in my mobility scooter, with him in my arms, but he was already slipping in and out of consciousness. His little head hung limply over my arm, so I begged him to stay with me, and he awoke several times during our ride. He was panicky in those moments. In the street right before the clinic he had an awakening, but when I laid him down on the table there was something odd in his eyes. The vet rushed him to the ICU to give him oxygen, but he drew 2 breaths and he was gone… Just like that… Everybody was devastated and shocked: how could this have happened?
I called Bas, but he wasn’t able to come back because he was transporting people and their luggage to Belgium. He parked the car and we talked, while I stroked my hands through Breintje’s still-warm fur. The vet had another emergency so he had to leave, and the vet’s assistant came and she talked us through the options for burial or cremation. We decided on cremation, but I still could not believe it. I had to leave my little buddy there on the table in the clinic, so they could transport him to the crematorium. He was so small…
Many people called, my dad came over, two friends came over, but I still could not believe that my little buddy was gone. The night from Friday to Saturday was horrible in a very empty house. I’m used to being on my own for weeks sometimes, but without Breintje I was truly alone for the first time in over 7 years… I couldn’t bring myself to get out of bed or to clean up anything until Bas arived late in the afternoon on Saturday.
- so many questions and trying to find closure
We had a really long cry together as we looked at all his things and favourite places, and we decided to clean things up because it was too painful to leave it like that. When we cleaned his litter box we noticed that it was drenched with very clear urine. That must have happened in his last hours, because I’d changed the box recently. We were too shocked to think about it, and we were called by the crematorium to make arrangements, so it was a crazy day. On Sunday the first shock had faded, but the burning questions remained: HOW? And WHY? And why didn’t we see this coming? Even the vets were shocked.
Then the penny dropped: the vet had measured a weight gain on Friday. He always weighed 1300 g but that Friday he weighed 1400 g, a pretty big increase within 2 weeks. I talked it through with Bas: we didn’t feed him that much, surely? And then the soaked litter box… Probably something in his kidneys?Today I had a phone call with the vet, we just had to talk things through. The vets had discussed it too, and went through his files to see if they’d missed anything. Breintje was a popular bunny, and a bit of a therapy bun for them. We talked about the litter box and his weight gain, and puzzled the things together. It was probably a combination of a small respiratory infection combined with hidden kidney problems, leading to organ failure. The vet told me that it was very shocking, but likely not very painful or a long suffering for Breintje. There was nothing that we could have done, there was no reason to suspect that Breintjes condition was so bad or they wouldn’t have let me take him home. Even if they had treated him in the clinic, this quick illness couldn’t have been stopped.
- One last goodbye, with a big shock at first, but a better ending (GRAPHIC)
Breintje had been taken to a local pet crematorium, and the staff there was very helpful and friendly. They told me that they always try to lay animals out nicely, but that they had to check on his condition first to check if he was fit to show him to us. The rabbits they get usually look horrible, and they cover most of them up to the neck. Breintje though, was beautiful and unique to them as well: he was the first rabbit that they could fully lay out! His fur was in such a good condition and he was so clean, it made the staff really happy to have such a beautiful bun in their care.
_Graphic_
We went into the room where he was laid out, and the first thing that caught my eye was his eye. His cornea had dried out a bit, so his eye was wrinkly. It looked like something out of a horror film, and Bas told me that he won’t feel it anymore and told me not to dwell on it. He looked beautiful and peaceful, except for that scary eye… Bas and I petted him a bit, and we went out again to have a talk with the lady. We talked about the eye, and she said that there was nothing that could have prevented that. She would only have made it worse by trying to fix or cover up things. Then we talked about what excellent condition he was in, and that his fur looked so beautiful. Even in death he was unique. Halfway through our conversation she asked me if I wanted to go back. Actually, I did, and went to him again.
/_Graphic_
I covered his eye with my hand, and kissed his beautiful face. I played with his paws, his feet, his tail, and went back to his face. To say goodbye for the last time I did our little routine that we had before I went to bed. I’d been doing that for over a year now, because I was dreading that he’d pass away silently in the night. I was so dreading his death for over a year… Straight before stepping into bed, always the last thing, was petting him on his head, giving him a kiss on his forehead, and telling him “Sleep well, your girl loves you”. That was the last thing I did before going back to Bas and the lady, and that felt a lot better than saying goodbye the first time. I was so happy that I did go back!
- Memorials
He’s going to get a very cute heart-shaped urn, and they’re going to craft a necklace for me with his ashes in it. I picked a clover leaf. Why? Because it was the only thing that was edible in the whole collection! Breintje was always so food-motivated, and if anything fit him then this would be it! They’re also taking a paw print and a lock of hair. It’s nice that such services exist nowadays, pets often give us more comfort than our beloved humans, so they deserve the same dignity.
I’m going to go through all my favourite photos and make a beautiful album, here on the site as well.
- Living on without you
I’ll be honest: it’s a mess… You ruled every my day, often deciding when I went to bed and when I took my breaks. Everything is wrong without you, and the house is way too clean. Still I find little things you left around the house: a sneaky chew mark, and your fur is still flying around. I don’t know how you got that turd on the kitchen counter, but it made me laugh out loud while I was crying. Rascal…
I hope you’ll understand, but we really need new management in the foreseeable future. We’re not doing well without a bunny to own us. We grieve for you deeply and we’ll never forget you. Even through our grief we smile a lot in your memory. We’re not going to try to replace you, but I hope that we’ll meet a cute little fluff again somewhere in the future. Life is rubbish without a bunny.
Thank you for fulfilling one of my biggest wishes! I enjoyed this so so much!
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