helgalush
Wise Old Thumper
We adopted Starbuck and Fay a year ago today (there is a separate thread about Fay).
Here is Starbuck's story:
We discovered Starbuck in the RU Rabbits in Need Section. Starbuck was a deaf male of unknown age. He had been found as a stray and taken to a vets practice, where the lady we adopted him from worked. She had taken him in and looked after him, but was not able to keep him. They do not know where he came from or why he was dumped. He had not been neutered so his fosterer had him done and also had her suspicions about his hearing confirmed by the vet. The kind fosterer could not keep Starbuck but I know that it was very hard for her to let this lovely little man go. We knew Starbuck was deaf before we adopted him and that he had had a few problems with his eyes but that a tear duct flush and drops had helped with this in the past so it was just a case of looking out for it and taking him to the vets.
We had not had a deaf bunny before but were advised not to make sudden movements near his face, approach from the side, and that he might lunge if you quickly put your hands near his face. He did this quite a bit when he fist moved here and grunted as well, until we learnt exactly how to do it so as not to unsettle him. It is perhaps for this reason, particuarly as he was unneutered, and if living with kids, that some cruel person let him go :evil::evil: However, THEY are the ones that have missed out as he is the most loveable, dopey, skittish, and funny little man, and has truly lit up our lives. Not a day goes by when he doesnt make us laugh or smile.
Anyway, we tried to bond Starbuck with Fay but it didnt work out for various reasons. Starbuck is still currently a single housebunny but we give him plenty of attention while we are at home. We adopted a male for Fay and my husband has had to do a lot of work on building them a home, but I am working on the idea of adopting a girly for Starbuck. Not least because hopefully she would help keep his eyes clean.
Starbuck continues to have weepy eyes. He has had x-rays, flushes and drops but it continues, despite him not having the worst tooth roots or tear ducts the vet has seen. We keep his eyes clean and try to prevent them getting sore with vaseline. Starbuck is a regular dental bunny and we take him for conscious dentals at our local vets. We are very lucky that we have this option and I am very proud of him for being so brave with them. It means that when he gets back home he can go straight to eating his hay or pellets. Starbuck has taught us all about looking out for the signs of dental problems, and that enabled us to have the confidence to adopt Kenco for Fay, as Kenco is a dental bunny with bad tooth problems, and is also an older bun and had been in rescue for about a year, so it was nice to know we could give him a home, and create a new space in the rescue for Tracy.
Starbuck is so gentle and lets us snuggle right up to him and fuss him for hours - usually only if he has all paws on the ground though. He can be grumpy though and usually makes us laugh by playing in and out of his curtains. He is a bit of a hustler for treats - one is never enough in Starbuck's books and he doesnt understand why he cant have one more!
We know we sometimes have to take you to boarding and to the vets Starbuck, but we hope you know how much we love you, and that you will always be safe with us.
Here is Starbuck's story:
We discovered Starbuck in the RU Rabbits in Need Section. Starbuck was a deaf male of unknown age. He had been found as a stray and taken to a vets practice, where the lady we adopted him from worked. She had taken him in and looked after him, but was not able to keep him. They do not know where he came from or why he was dumped. He had not been neutered so his fosterer had him done and also had her suspicions about his hearing confirmed by the vet. The kind fosterer could not keep Starbuck but I know that it was very hard for her to let this lovely little man go. We knew Starbuck was deaf before we adopted him and that he had had a few problems with his eyes but that a tear duct flush and drops had helped with this in the past so it was just a case of looking out for it and taking him to the vets.
We had not had a deaf bunny before but were advised not to make sudden movements near his face, approach from the side, and that he might lunge if you quickly put your hands near his face. He did this quite a bit when he fist moved here and grunted as well, until we learnt exactly how to do it so as not to unsettle him. It is perhaps for this reason, particuarly as he was unneutered, and if living with kids, that some cruel person let him go :evil::evil: However, THEY are the ones that have missed out as he is the most loveable, dopey, skittish, and funny little man, and has truly lit up our lives. Not a day goes by when he doesnt make us laugh or smile.
Anyway, we tried to bond Starbuck with Fay but it didnt work out for various reasons. Starbuck is still currently a single housebunny but we give him plenty of attention while we are at home. We adopted a male for Fay and my husband has had to do a lot of work on building them a home, but I am working on the idea of adopting a girly for Starbuck. Not least because hopefully she would help keep his eyes clean.
Starbuck continues to have weepy eyes. He has had x-rays, flushes and drops but it continues, despite him not having the worst tooth roots or tear ducts the vet has seen. We keep his eyes clean and try to prevent them getting sore with vaseline. Starbuck is a regular dental bunny and we take him for conscious dentals at our local vets. We are very lucky that we have this option and I am very proud of him for being so brave with them. It means that when he gets back home he can go straight to eating his hay or pellets. Starbuck has taught us all about looking out for the signs of dental problems, and that enabled us to have the confidence to adopt Kenco for Fay, as Kenco is a dental bunny with bad tooth problems, and is also an older bun and had been in rescue for about a year, so it was nice to know we could give him a home, and create a new space in the rescue for Tracy.
Starbuck is so gentle and lets us snuggle right up to him and fuss him for hours - usually only if he has all paws on the ground though. He can be grumpy though and usually makes us laugh by playing in and out of his curtains. He is a bit of a hustler for treats - one is never enough in Starbuck's books and he doesnt understand why he cant have one more!
We know we sometimes have to take you to boarding and to the vets Starbuck, but we hope you know how much we love you, and that you will always be safe with us.
