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How on earth is anyone suppose to do this?

Hugo's There

Wise Old Thumper
I guess we are just feeling a bit sorry for ourselves today, but I'm starting to wonder how anyone is able to carry on doing what we are doing.

Today we lost Bessie after a week of battling hard to do our best to pull her through. It is the third rabbit we have lost this month, the 5th rabbit we have lost this year and we are only in the middle of March. Tomorrow Moses is booked in for a dental check and will probably need a GA next week. If we loose him too I really don't think we can take much more.

I know we choose to take in the special needs bunnies but we never expected it to come with quite so much heartache. I don't think we have ever had what people might call a "success story" ie. a bunny that has come to us poorly and we have been able to nurse it and make it well so it can go on to lead a happy healthy life. All of ours have chronic or serious health problems that mean we are just managing the best we can for as long as we can. Nearly every bunny we have taken in recently has turned out to have a lot more wrong with it than we initially thought when it first arrived and it is heartbreaking.

I know a lot of our bunnies aren't with us for very long so you might think we do not get as attached to them as someone who has had a bunny for years, but we do. Because they have so many problems we spend hours with them, bathing bottoms and eyes, giving injections, changing bandages etc, etc So the bond we have with them develops really quickly and they leave a huge hole in our lives when they are gone.

I'm not posting this for everyone to say we do a great job or whatever, I know we do the very best we can for our bunnies, what I want to know is how do we carry on doing it without becoming emotional wrecks? Every time we loose one it seems to be harder to deal with not easier :(
 
I know just how you feel, it is so hard when you have nursed a bunny through awful conditions, you do get attached and that is to be expected, it's because we have the very close contact with them, sometimes sitting through the night with a sick bunny, I am afraid the bond will always be there

I look at it that I am making that bunnies life better and happier for as long as I can and I do the best I can, what would happen to them if we didn't take them in?, sadly the heartache come with it

I know how hard it is Liz, keep strong
 
Liz, I don't know what to say. I so feel for you and Steve right now.
Nothing I can say will heal the voids left by these special bunnies that you have lost. But I just want to let you know I'm thinking of you and Steve. xxx
 
I am so sorry you lost your bunnies and I understand how attached you were to them. I know that you don't want to hear this but you are doing a great job: you gave those bunnies the love and attention that their 'owners' deprived them of. I am sure those buns are grateful to you. Take care.
 
We shall fight on the beaches. We shall fight on the hills. We shall never surrender - Winston Churchill

Thats my mantra when life gets tough. To me it says even when you think you're loosing, even when you want to do nothing but give up, you pick yourself up and you do what needs to be done because other people/animals & your own sense of self worth need you.

Sorry you are having a tough time. All I can say if that you are giving these bunnies good quality of life & offering a home to bunnies that need your help. In some ways you have it harder than a normal rescue becuase you know there is very little chance of a good ending, however without you these bunnies would be PTS or worse so you are needed.
 
Healing: A Gift of Self

At the end of life
when restoring health is no longer possible
Healing becomes more
than just the relief
of pain, suffering, and emotional distress.

During this challenging time
Healing manifests on the purest level--
an extension of the soul
a reflection of the spirit.

Real Healing is
an authentic expression of caring and love,
an aide in accepting a life drawing near,
helping a Rabbit discover a calming peace and a place of serenity on the journey leading to transition.

Healing becomes...
A cheerful smile
An open ear
A gentle touch
A warm embrace
Taking the time to hold, to be, and share a part of yourself.

The greatest gift one can give
may be the ability
to lay with a Rabbit
provide them with grace,
strength and courage
on their path to transition

...and then let go.

Adapted from a passage by Kirsti A. Dyer MD, MS.© 2004 All rights reserved.
 
Aw Liz i don't know how you do it, it takes a very special person to do what you do, I couldn't do it, it was bad enough for me loosing one this week.
You are giving these bunnies extra special care however long they have left and i am sure they pass to the bridge happy that they have spent their final days being cared for by you. Stay strong xx
 
I think that what you bring to the rabbit community has to be your reward. That's a lot harder when you lose a rabbit and you have to tap into that internalized satisfaction. You are giving these rabbits comfort and happiness at the end of their lives with pain killers and pets. You are invaluable to them and they will always be grateful to you for your kindness.

Also, you're becoming (already are!) a rabbit expert with all of your experience. By seeing all of these diseases in elderly rabbits, you help a lot of people who have really young bunnies who seem to suffer from similar ailments. The more you learn, the better you can help these rabbits, and possibly you could save more in the future.

You will no doubt hit rough patches with the work you do, but you need to tap into those happy moments you have with bunnies.

Maybe consider taking on a partner to help you out? It's always good to have someone to vent to when things get bad, or someone to share joy with when the bunnies are happy and healthy. We're always here when you have a bad day and we can remind you just how happy you have made these rabbits.

I really admire what you do, and I sincerely mean that. Please let me know if I can help in any way to lessen the burden.
 
Aw Liz i don't know how you do it, it takes a very special person to do what you do, I couldn't do it, it was bad enough for me loosing one this week.
You are giving these bunnies extra special care however long they have left and i am sure they pass to the bridge happy that they have spent their final days being cared for by you. Stay strong xx



Thank you Katie, we are really grateful for all your support at the moment :)
We were so sorry to read about you loosing Jazz.

I still don't really understand how we loose so many, even others who do similar work to us don't appear to loose the number we do. We don't have time to grieve for one bunny before the next one goes to the bridge :(
 
Maybe consider taking on a partner to help you out? It's always good to have someone to vent to when things get bad, or someone to share joy with when the bunnies are happy and healthy. We're always here when you have a bad day and we can remind you just how happy you have made these rabbits.

I really admire what you do, and I sincerely mean that. Please let me know if I can help in any way to lessen the burden.

Thank you for your reply, I couldn't do any of this without my wonderful Husband, but it is hitting him hard too. Its been me who has been comforting him today as he has been sobbing about Bessie.

I also have Faye (fairy13) who is wonderful, although we don't seem to find the time to meet up much I know she is always a phone call or text away. She is always the next person I contact after Steve when things are tough :)
 
I really feel for you and Steve, Liz. I became attached to my own bunnies from day one, so I can totally understand how devastated you must be at each and every bunny loss, regardless of how brief your time with them was. :(:(
 
I have had bad times with all the sick buns that we have :cry::cry: At the moment I am in depression with everything that is going on and am having flashbacks of the bunnies :cry::cry:

The only way I can get through this is to keep telling myself that the good times with the special buns that we get, far outweigh the bad times :love::love:
 
Oh Jay I am so sorry to hear this, sending you all my best wishes.

I was saying to faye earlier that I can't even cry when we loose them because I know i would never stop. I can't even think about Austin, look at a picture of him or have any happy memories of him as it is just too painful. I know this isn't a healthy way to deal with things and I am scared that one day it is going to hit me all in one go and then I really wont be able to go on.

I don't know what help I can offer you both but if there is anything at all I can do I am only a pm away. You are both such wonderful people xxx
 
Liz and Jay,
the thing is very few people do what you do.
To take in animals with known problems means you will lose them, but it doesn't make it any easier!
Sometimes I ask my vet what are we doing wrong and they smile and say, when you have so many animals, and when they are rescues, you have to expect losses, this doesn't make it any easier, but it is true.

It a hard thing to deal with, and honestly, once I have cried and they are 'buried' I tend to avoid thinking about them deeply again- that is how I deal with it. Sad but the only way I can cope and maybe , sometimes it makes me sound less caring.

You both do a much needed job where you give animals a chance of love, care and security, and it will be harder after a period of nursing to lose them.
It won't get any easier, but just keep thinking about the joy you've had knowing that animal and the joy you've given it, its the only way I get through and I don't have the ill ones you have.

Every one you have is a success, not a loss, as you have added to the quality of their live, and at the end of the day, that is what matters. Not how long they live but how good it was- and that stands for all of us.
 
Liz..it is hard but the only way to cope is to remember that the bunnies that pass through your home experience love..sometimes for the first time in their lives.
they spend their last days, weeks or months being surrounded by that love and care.
What more could they ask for?
I'm sure their are so many bunny angels looking down on you with nothing but gratitude.
xxxx
 
Oi Liz! Go an look at Eddie...yes he isn't "healthy" but the difference you have made to him is amazing!!! He has friends, is happy and running around and is loved...that is what you give all your buns :love:

For the buns you tend to take in it is quality of life that matter, not quantity.

You have had an awful time lately :cry: :cry: but think of all the buns you have given a chance they would not of otherwise had.

Really hope thing start to pick up soon xx
 
I really dont know how you guys cope...bit im glad you do..those buns get to experience human contactw ith love and affection not cruelty and neglect....and even tho its a short time..you have made such a difference to their lives and they have enriched yours with their own brand of love and affection or by just being them.

my heart goes out to you losing your buns.....its always hard no matter how long youve had an animal..its the relationship quality that you build witht hem be it days or weeks or months or years......

the first cat i got as an adult when my kids were young got killed when he was 10 months old..the cats afterwards we had for 10yrs 11yrs and 12 yrs respectively....all related.....but we loved our first cat just as much and had so many memories of him..

we havent been fortunate with our buns at all..and now i have decided its not because im a bad buny owner but alpets with helath issues underlying etc seem to make their way to my door...i think its a thing that hapens whether or not we make the conscious descision to take in these animals as you do or just have them find us like we seem to:oops:

sending hugs to you allxxxxxx
 
Thank you everyone, for your kind words and support. It does make things a lot easier for us when we know there are people out there with words of encouragemnet when times are hard.

We have kept ourselves busy this weekend, digging up our rockery to make space for another large run in the garden. And next week Steve is off work for a fortnight so we are planning to build our giant aviary at last!

We are still so upset about Bessie and will never forget her, she was such a special and unique bunny. I also think I will feel a lot better once Moses has got through his dental on Wednesday.

Thank you again :)
 
I feel for you as we've been through it recently too. The only way I can carry on with it is to think of the alternatives if we didn't. Although we can't save the world, it does mean the world to the dogs we take in and give quality of life to.
 
I don't know how you do it either Liz, but I'm glad you do. The buns need you.

The reason you lose so many is because you take in the ones in the worst health when no one else wants them.

I agree with the poster who said it's about quality of life for the buns, not quantity.

Something my vet said to me when I was wrestling with "the decision" about one of my old dogs, was that old/sick pets aren't like elderly people in nursing homes. They don't sit and reflect on the past, they live in the now, and that was what I needed to base my decision on.

So, thanks to you and your hubby, as far as these buns are concerned they've known love, care and happiness. As they cross to the bridge, they live in the now and because of you, their now is a wonderful place - and that's what they take with them.

God bless you both.
 
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