My rabbit died of RHD- potentially triggering* Beyond distraught

[hoppetylop]

Please please dont judge me. I have made some terrible mistakes and am already furious with myself and hate myself right now for making some pretty basic mistakes that an experienced rabbit keeper should know better about. I wanted to get this out as there is nobody IRL I can talk to. Perhaps it will help someone less experienced not make the same errors.
I adopted a rabbit from the adoption centre in my local PAH. I'm known well in there as I'm in there 3-4 times a week and they staff were so pleased I was going to take him. They told everyone on their Whatsapp group and everyone was very pleased. He had had lots of health issues and had been at the store for a long time. He was extreemly friendly and all the staff at one time or another tried to work out if they could be the lucky one to take this amazingly loving boy home Same at the instore Vets 4 Pets. He was much better but would always need to be kept an eye on.
At around the same time my local vets asked me if I could take on a little female rabbit who had been found as a stray and no owner had been found. I was delighted to help. I got them both neutered first as my [plan was to bond them as they were both lonely of course.

That was my first mistake How about getting them vaccinated first like you do your other rabbits??? but no I was impatient and little laddy was getting abit wiffy so neutering it was. After a few weeks I bonded them still unvaccinated- what an idiot:roll:
My PAH boy was due for his first vaccination with my free adption vaccination pass. FREE- no payment but I have a work commitment and decide to get him vaccinated this week instead. Brilliant!! (not)
I went into him yesterday before a longer than usual work day. He and his wifey were fine but he was quiet and didn't want much brekkie. I wended my way to work and came home much later to find him quiet still and only nibbling his tea. He looked tired but he often does after exerting himself during play especially after his health issues from before I had him.
I decided to check him a little later and if he was still quiet I would ring the 24 hour vet local to me who are brilliant.
INSTEAD I fell asleep due to my long day. I woke at 1 oclock and went into see him and his wife. He was weak and couldn't stand so I rushed him into the 24 hour vet. He was deteriorating fast,
The vet rushed him out the back and he went into cardiac arrest and died. He died because I didn't get him vaccinated quickly enough.
Because of my stupidity my gorgeous,sweet,beautiful boy died of RHD. Preventable, absolutely preventable.

His wifey who loved him is now on her own- a liottle confused to say the least. I will never forgive myself for this.

Please people don't make the same horrific mistake. Get your rabbits vaccinated. Please

Thank you for reading this.

 

[Shimmer]

So sorry you lost him. Don't be so hard on yourself. We've all done things a way we later regret - but it still may not have changed the outcome. He found his forever home and a companion, which he didn't with anyone else. RIP special bunny.

 

[InspectorMorse]

So sorry for your loss You have had to learn a very harsh lesson, you are not alone in that. I know of others who have had the same experience I am guessing the Vet said to assume RHD, as to be certain Liver samples need to be sent to a Vet Lab for confirmation.

If I have read your post correctly your Doe is also unvaccinated ? If so I suggest you get her vaccinated with Filavac this weekend. I say Filivac rather than the Nobivac Myxo RHD Plus as the immune response to a Filavac takes 7 days where-as it takes 3 weeks with the Nobivac.Filavac covers for bothbRHD1+2. Whilst vaccinating now might not save her there is a small chance that it might Tell the Vet it isn’t a ‘routine’ vaccination but that you have a disease outbreak.You can get the Nobivac done two weeks after the Filavac to give protection against Myxomatosis.

This information is also useful to read

https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/ar...c-disease/how-to-deal-with-an-outbreak-of-rhd

 

[hoppetylop]

So sorry for your loss You have had to learn a very harsh lesson, you are not alone in that. I know of others who have had the same experience I am guessing the Vet said to assume RHD, as to be certain Liver samples need to be sent to a Vet Lab for confirmation.

If I have read your post correctly your Doe is also unvaccinated ? If so I suggest you get her vaccinated with Filavac this weekend. I say Filivac rather than the Nobivac Myxo RHD Plus as the immune response to a Filavac takes 7 days where-as it takes 3 weeks with the Nobivac.Filavac covers for bothbRHD1+2. Whilst vaccinating now might not save her there is a small chance that it might Tell the Vet it isn’t a ‘routine’ vaccination but that you have a disease outbreak.You can get the Nobivac done two weeks after the Filavac to give protection against Myxomatosis.

This information is also useful to read

https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/ar...c-disease/how-to-deal-with-an-outbreak-of-rhd

Thank you for your post. She was vaccinated at the vets last night as soon as my boy died
Although there was no clinical confirmation of RHD he bled a little from his nose and mouth which I understand is a common occurence when a rabbit dies from RHD

 

[InspectorMorse]

Thank you for your post. She was vaccinated at the vets last night as soon as my boy died
Although there was no clinical confirmation of RHD he bled a little from his nose and mouth which I understand is a common occurence when a rabbit dies from RHD

I really hope she will pull through x

 

[Pets mum]

So very sorry that you have lost your boy, please don't beat yourself up xx

 

[joey&boo]

I'm very sorry for your loss, please be kind to yourself

 

[bunny momma]

I am so sorry you lost your lovely bunny. You will get no judgement from me. Until recently RHD was not in my area and we are still awaiting a USA approved vaccine to be available to all. Yet I did not spay a female and she got cancer because I did not want to subject her to ga when she did not have a male partner.
It must have been hard for you to write this to encourage others to not delay the vaccine and suffer the same fate.
Sending gentle hugs to you and your girl.

You mention your boy had prior health issues.

 

[Barn Yard Bunnies]

Big big hugs x

 

[Zoobec]

I’m so sorry try to be kind to yourself, you did what you thought was best at the time and unless you have a PM done you won’t know if it was RHD or something else that he died from. They are so fragile sometimes.

Thinking of you and sending hugs xx

 

[Omi]

I am so very sorry that this has happened You may not appreciate it now, but everyone makes mistakes. No judgement from me.

 

[hoppetylop]

Thank you so much everyone for you supportive posts. Luckily my girlie seems to be ok so far but I am keeping a close eye on her.

I am very angry with myself:evil: and keep playing stuff back in my head. I had only had him a little while but I had grown to love him very much. He loved interacting with people and all he wanted was love and nose rubs. My heart is shattered but my focus is on my girlie and my other animals. I hope I never let any of my animals down again.

Please keep fingers crossed for my Lola bunny, She's doing ok but naturally I'm worried

 

[Sarah23parker]

I'm sorry you lost your beautiful boy I'm also grieving. I lost my baby girl bunny on Wednesday and in absolute bits. I'm kicking myself, blaming myself, going over everything in my mind. But I tell you it does absolutely nothing but bring you more pain and heartache
Everyone makes mistakes. Its life so no one should really judge another.
Instead think of the the positives. You lived and cared for him so much in the time you had together. You rushed him to the vets as soon as you realised something was badly wrong. I did the same.
Don't be too hard on yourself. Our babies will remain in our hearts forever until we meet them at the rainbow bridge
Hugs x

 

[hoppetylop]

I'm sorry you lost your beautiful boy I'm also grieving. I lost my baby girl bunny on Wednesday and in absolute bits. I'm kicking myself, blaming myself, going over everything in my mind. But I tell you it does absolutely nothing but bring you more pain and heartache
Everyone makes mistakes. Its life so no one should really judge another.
Instead think of the the positives. You lived and cared for him so much in the time you had together. You rushed him to the vets as soon as you realised something was badly wrong. I did the same.
Don't be too hard on yourself. Our babies will remain in our hearts forever until we meet them at the rainbow bridge
Hugs x

Thank you for your kind post. I'm so sorry you lost your bunny too.
I was very angry with myself as I have had rabbits for many years and should have known better. My intention was always to get them vaccinated. I got carried away with the whole neuter/bond thing as I didn't want them to be lonely intending to get the vaccinations done soon after, when the vaccinations should have been done as immediate priority as it has always been with my rabbits.
I have had a think today and although I'm still annoyed with myself,that wont bring him back or ensure Lola is safe. I need my energy to care for her and my other rabbits. Although my mistake was a bad one to say the least, I'm only human and I mess up like all humans do. I've learned a hard lesson and hope by telling my story maybe it might encourage anyone who hasn't vaccinated to do so

 

[InspectorMorse]

Thank you for your kind post. I'm so sorry you lost your bunny too.
I was very angry with myself as I have had rabbits for many years and should have known better. My intention was always to get them vaccinated. I got carried away with the whole neuter/bond thing as I didn't want them to be lonely intending to get the vaccinations done soon after, when the vaccinations should have been done as immediate priority as it has always been with my rabbits.
I have had a think today and although I'm still annoyed with myself,that wont bring him back or ensure Lola is safe. I need my energy to care for her and my other rabbits. Although my mistake was a bad one to say the least, I'm only human and I mess up like all humans do. I've learned a hard lesson and hope by telling my story maybe it might encourage anyone who hasn't vaccinated to do so

It is extremely brave for you to have disclosed what happened. Everyone makes mistakes. I have and one of them meant a Rabbit lost her life. But the important thing moving forward is that we learn from the mistake. I know I did.

What happened was that years ago I had a litter of Rexes, 8 in total and they were about 6 weeks old. I was moving stuff around in their Enclosure where they lived with their Mum. One of the objects was a heavy log. Instead of shutting all the kits away before attempting to pick up and move the log I thought I could just do it and step over any Kit that got in the way. I picked up the log, started to walk with it, a Kit got in the way, I tried to step over her, stumbled and dropped the log. It landed right on top of her. She died instantly.

Never again have I been so careless when in the same space as Rabbits. Twenty years on and the event still haunts me. But at least I have always exercised extreme caution with my Rabbit care ever since.

 

[mini lop1]

So sorry for your loss x

 

[hoppetylop]

It is extremely brave for you to have disclosed what happened. Everyone makes mistakes. I have and one of them meant a Rabbit lost her life. But the important thing moving forward is that we learn from the mistake. I know I did.

What happened was that years ago I had a litter of Rexes, 8 in total and they were about 6 weeks old. I was moving stuff around in their Enclosure where they lived with their Mum. One of the objects was a heavy log. Instead of shutting all the kits away before attempting to pick up and move the log I thought I could just do it and step over any Kit that got in the way. I picked up the log, started to walk with it, a Kit got in the way, I tried to step over her, stumbled and dropped the log. It landed right on top of her. She died instantly.

Never again have I been so careless when in the same space as Rabbits. Twenty years on and the event still haunts me. But at least I have always exercised extreme caution with my Rabbit care ever since.

Thank you for this. I'm very sorry this happened You learned from your mistake and I must learn from mine.
I'm really worried for Lola I keep checking her. I'm so hoping she will be ok. So far so good but I'm keeping everything crossed and being very careful.

 

[hoppetylop]

So sorry for your loss x

Thank you.x

 

[hoppetylop]

Little update; Lola is still ok. I'm hoping her vaccination protection will kick in before any infection is triggered. 2 weeks and she will have the antibodies she needs to be safe. Nerve racking wait.:|

 

[Pets mum]

Little update; Lola is still ok. I'm hoping her vaccination protection will kick in before any infection is triggered. 2 weeks and she will have the antibodies she needs to be safe. Nerve racking wait.:|

I'm glad she's still ok, sending lots of vibes that she will stay healthy x