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Vet made me want to scream

Fluffers

Wise Old Thumper
I finally got my good friend to take her gorgeous male bunny "Sandy" to the vets on Thursday for his first Myxi jab (he's 2yrs old) and whilst she was there she booked & paid for his VHD in 2 weeks time - result :D

Both Jill (honeybunny) & I have recommended that she also gets Sandy neutered and then maybe considers getting him a friend ;) He is kept on his own and has a wonderfully large fox proof pen which he has 24/7 access to. Unfortunately though he gets visits from wild bunnies on a regular basis (hence me nagging her about myxi & VHD) and I'm fairly sure he's frustrated as a result of these "visits".

So, whilst we're at the vets my friend quite rightly asks for an independant opinion on neutering and the vet says "well if he was a girl I'd say definitely" (she then explained why which I was very pleased to hear). She then said "but to be honest if he's not humping or showing signs of being unhappy/distressed then I don't think it's really necessary". Now I know strictly speaking she wasn't saying anything that wasn't true but I was wincing in the background. I didn't say anything as it wasn't my place to and I wasn't asked for my opinion so very unlike me I kept quiet :shock: The vet DID explain about the risks associated with anasthetics etc and I thought this was fair enough and she did do a thorough check of Sandy prior to giving him his jab so I'm not suggesting she wasn't a good vet. Just gutted as now my friend won't get him neutered and find him a friend.... :(

Jill & I have both said how much happier he'd be if he were neutered & paired up with a lovely girl bun and he's such a sweetie it seems such a pity.

I'm looking after him this weekend as my friend is away. As I drove down the drive this evening low and behold there was a wild bunny sitting about 20 feet away from his run :roll: Poor Sandy was belting around his run like a wind up toy and when I got to him (wild bun had cleared off by this point) he was panting heavily and digging furiously :(

He digs a lot anyway, always has done and my friend is fine about that as he's on an area of the garden that is 100% his and she's a laid back about him making a mess. The run is edged with bricks so no immediate problem re. him escaping & they plan to improve this further over the summer hols.

Sorry for the long ramble. I really don't know what to do for the best. It upsets me seeing him like this & knowing he's all alone out there when he could have a little friend to snuggle with but at the same time I don't want to fall out with my friend over it :)
 
It was an irresponsible thing for the vet to say that i am amazed :roll:
Maybe in time you will be able to convince your friend that neutering would really benefit the bunny, all you can do is point her in the right direction really, its so frustrating.

I get annoyed with one of my friends too, she wont get her 3 neutered and she also buys a job lot of iceberg lettuce and will not believe me when i say its not good for buns to eat it.

I could cry with temper sometimes i really could. xxxxxxxxx
 
Maybe you can work on the fact Sandy needs a companion and not mention the neuter.. and once she starts warming to the idea that he would love and needs a friend, then you can say the first step to getting him a friend is to get him neutered?

I am sure you have already gone down this route... sorry.. not much help..
 
I've already sent her a text 2 say that there was a wild bun on the lawn last night & Sandy was going bonkers in his run. I didn't do it in a horrible way but I thought she should know. Maybe it will be a different vet next time and he/she will have a different opinion. It's a shame because I thought the vet was actually very thorough and gave some other really good advice :(
 
It was an irresponsible thing for the vet to say that i am amazed :roll:
Maybe in time you will be able to convince your friend that neutering would really benefit the bunny, all you can do is point her in the right direction really, its so frustrating.

I get annoyed with one of my friends too, she wont get her 3 neutered and she also buys a job lot of iceberg lettuce and will not believe me when i say its not good for buns to eat it.

I could cry with temper sometimes i really could. xxxxxxxxx

Could you show this to your friend?

http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/resources/content/leaflet_pdfs/going_green_oct_06.pdf

Maybe send her the link and say something like "oh look, I found this on the net and thought it might be useful to you, I've pinned one to my fridge door!" You'll see that iceberg is mentioned specifically as a :no:
 
I'd talk to her further idea of getting him a friend, suggest going to the rspca and they will explain to her the importance of getting him neutered.
 
I'd talk to her further idea of getting him a friend, suggest going to the rspca and they will explain to her the importance of getting him neutered.

I've done that and Jill (Honeybunnies Rescue) has also explained first hand. It's a difficult one i.e. I had to pick Sandy up for her on Thursday and put him in his carrier because she doesn't pick him up as a matter of course and she was worried she'd do it wrong/hurt him etc (he was a dream & no trouble at all). She was also worried to death about the trip to the vets stressing him so she does care about him and yet getting her to take him for a simple life saving injection was a real battle! I tried to explain that he'd be fine and actually it's HER that's stressing and not him :roll: She says "I don't think he's unhappy though" and I have to agree, although how we ever actually know when a bun is happy I'm not sure???! He doesn't "look" sad but as I've said "you don't realise how happy a bun can be until you find them a friend and see them together".


The trouble is, when an "expert" tells you something i.e. a vet you believe them and I can't be mad at her for that. It isn't her fault and I love her to bits as a friend so I'm very worried about it affecting our friendship.
 
did she say to the vet that she was getting him a friend?

I think the vet was right in saying that it isnt nessesary (which it isnt unless she is getting him a friend) and he did say he would advise it if the rabbit was having problems ( getting all het up/ excited by the wild buns).

So maybe you could say to your friend he is getting all distressed from the wild bunnies and tha neutering would calm him down..and it would also mean he can get a wee friend.
 
did she say to the vet that she was getting him a friend? no because she's yet to be convinced that he should have one :roll:

I think the vet was right in saying that it isnt nessesary (which it isnt unless she is getting him a friend) and he did say he would advise it if the rabbit was having problems ( getting all het up/ excited by the wild buns).

So maybe you could say to your friend he is getting all distressed from the wild bunnies and tha neutering would calm him down..and it would also mean he can get a wee friend. That's what I told her but she's isn't convinced that he needs a friend :( and she doesn't appear to have noticed/seen him getting distressed. It can't be just a coincidence that the first night I go down to feed him he's like it :?I'll see how he is this evening...maybe even get some footage of him!!...

:)
 
We don't have a pair of buns :( I have two gorgeous single boy foster buns waiting for forever homes :) We're toying with the idea of having a pair for ourselves but I need a little more time after losing Inca .... :(
 
Could you show this to your friend?

http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/resources/content/leaflet_pdfs/going_green_oct_06.pdf

Maybe send her the link and say something like "oh look, I found this on the net and thought it might be useful to you, I've pinned one to my fridge door!" You'll see that iceberg is mentioned specifically as a :no:

I have everything and i mean everything,
She said the vet assured her it was ok to feed buns iceberg lettuce :shock:
im no expert but i always thought giving them lettuce was harmful?
she buys about 10 a week and thats what they get, no hay just straw lettuce and museli :shock: xxxxxxxxx
 
I have everything and i mean everything,
She said the vet assured her it was ok to feed buns iceberg lettuce :shock:
im no expert but i always thought giving them lettuce was harmful?
she buys about 10 a week and thats what they get, no hay just straw lettuce and museli :shock: xxxxxxxxx

That's pretty awful :(
 
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