I have dreaded the day I have cause to come to the Rainbow Bridge part of the forum and write a post of my own, but here I am and it feels like exactly the right place to tell you all about Sidney.
We first met Sid at the Rabbit Residence Rescue when looking for a husbun for little Poppy. Caroline was telling us all about the single bucks she had, and I remember her saying "if you want the soppiest bunny in the whole wide world then you need to see Womble [Sid's previous name].
There was Sid, looking a bit scruffy to say the least due to a fur mite infestation he was recovering from.
We actually fell for him straight away. I remember picking him up for a cuddle and him snuggling down into my arms and I knew he was the one for us, we just hoped that he would be right for Poppy. Luckily she took to him and they became a bonded pair, not necessarily "in love" but very good friends
Sid was just one of the most docile, friendly bunnies I have ever had the joy of knowing. He just seemed so happy to be rescued and in a new home, finally with a companion and plenty of sunshine, fresh veg and playtime, all things he never had as a stud buck kept in a small hutch in total darkness in his first "home".
For the eighteen months he has been with us, he has generally kept up with spritely little Poppy very well, doing everything she did , following her around and snuggling up when the weather was rubbish. Sid has got the biggest appetite of any bunny I have every met, his ability to annihilate his evening veg was impressive and we had to watch carefully to make sure Poppy was getting her share! When Poppy had a funny turn earlier this year (not really ever properly explained by any vet I've spoken to), Sid was so protective of her. He made sure to look after her and tried to perk her up at every opportunity. But most of the time, he liked to lay flat on his tummy and have Poppy groom him from head to toe.
This Autumn, Sid started to become wobbly on his hind legs, and lost a lot of confidence getting himself around. Having nursed one of our other bunnies Fifi through EC in the Summer, we feared that we were again facing the same battle but with lovely Siddy. We were initially relieved when his bloods came back completely negative for EC. Spinal x-ray showed that, presumably due to the confinement he was kept in early on his life, he had a degenerative problem with his back that was giving him problems with his nerves - hence the loss of good coordination/function in his hind legs. We had three options: 1) PTS, 2) Long term pain relief, 3) Pioneering spinal surgery. After a good deal of thought, we opted for option 2, after he had his kidneys tested to make sure they could cope. I still wonder about the surgery, which would have been fiendishly expensive with no guaranteed outcome and a lot of travel involved, but it's too late now, and actually in retrospect I am happier that he spent his last couple of months at home.
He plodded a long quite nicely with his twice daily metacam treatments. He was so well behaved at receiving his meds, and more than happy to scoff a treat when it was all over. He was much better able to get around, and though he could no longer do ramps, or make the most of his enrichment (table tops, chairs etc) we tried our best to make fun things for him to do that were on ground level. We found a long, narrow cardboard box that he adored hopping through, even a week ago he was playing in it.
Mid week this week we noticed that he was spending a lot more time in the [heated] bedroom compartment of the hutch, and he looked to be leaning to one side, like being completely upright was too much effort. By Thursday he looked like he was struggling to breathe. Mum had him in the kitchen in her arms and he looked like he was asleep already. We took him to the vets who admitted him and performed an x-ray - Sid had contracted severe pneumonia and we were advised that, although we could try intense antibiotics and nursing he was quite far along. Indeed, when Mum was holding him in the morning I did wonder if he would pass away there and then.
We talked it over and agreed that in view of his decreasing mobility and the severity of his illness, we would let him go. I think he was ready - he was gone in the space of 2-3 seconds. My heart is in pieces. Sid is the first bunny I have ever lost and he was with us the shortest length of time. The world doesn't seem the same today.
I love you Sid. I am sorry that we didn't realise what was going on inside your lungs. I wish we could have done something for you, my handsome, lovely man. I will miss your big broad head and your occasionally helicopter ears. I will miss your sweet grunting noises while you tear through your food. I will miss giving you a cheeky cuddle because I knew that if I was going to get away with a bunny cuddle, it would be from you. I will miss seeing you sunbathing in the run, and chucking your cardboard box around.
I hope that you are binkying at the Bridge big man. We will always love you Sid, Siddy Widdy, Siddy Sausage, Sidney Brown xxxx
We first met Sid at the Rabbit Residence Rescue when looking for a husbun for little Poppy. Caroline was telling us all about the single bucks she had, and I remember her saying "if you want the soppiest bunny in the whole wide world then you need to see Womble [Sid's previous name].
There was Sid, looking a bit scruffy to say the least due to a fur mite infestation he was recovering from.
We actually fell for him straight away. I remember picking him up for a cuddle and him snuggling down into my arms and I knew he was the one for us, we just hoped that he would be right for Poppy. Luckily she took to him and they became a bonded pair, not necessarily "in love" but very good friends
Sid was just one of the most docile, friendly bunnies I have ever had the joy of knowing. He just seemed so happy to be rescued and in a new home, finally with a companion and plenty of sunshine, fresh veg and playtime, all things he never had as a stud buck kept in a small hutch in total darkness in his first "home".
For the eighteen months he has been with us, he has generally kept up with spritely little Poppy very well, doing everything she did , following her around and snuggling up when the weather was rubbish. Sid has got the biggest appetite of any bunny I have every met, his ability to annihilate his evening veg was impressive and we had to watch carefully to make sure Poppy was getting her share! When Poppy had a funny turn earlier this year (not really ever properly explained by any vet I've spoken to), Sid was so protective of her. He made sure to look after her and tried to perk her up at every opportunity. But most of the time, he liked to lay flat on his tummy and have Poppy groom him from head to toe.
This Autumn, Sid started to become wobbly on his hind legs, and lost a lot of confidence getting himself around. Having nursed one of our other bunnies Fifi through EC in the Summer, we feared that we were again facing the same battle but with lovely Siddy. We were initially relieved when his bloods came back completely negative for EC. Spinal x-ray showed that, presumably due to the confinement he was kept in early on his life, he had a degenerative problem with his back that was giving him problems with his nerves - hence the loss of good coordination/function in his hind legs. We had three options: 1) PTS, 2) Long term pain relief, 3) Pioneering spinal surgery. After a good deal of thought, we opted for option 2, after he had his kidneys tested to make sure they could cope. I still wonder about the surgery, which would have been fiendishly expensive with no guaranteed outcome and a lot of travel involved, but it's too late now, and actually in retrospect I am happier that he spent his last couple of months at home.
He plodded a long quite nicely with his twice daily metacam treatments. He was so well behaved at receiving his meds, and more than happy to scoff a treat when it was all over. He was much better able to get around, and though he could no longer do ramps, or make the most of his enrichment (table tops, chairs etc) we tried our best to make fun things for him to do that were on ground level. We found a long, narrow cardboard box that he adored hopping through, even a week ago he was playing in it.
Mid week this week we noticed that he was spending a lot more time in the [heated] bedroom compartment of the hutch, and he looked to be leaning to one side, like being completely upright was too much effort. By Thursday he looked like he was struggling to breathe. Mum had him in the kitchen in her arms and he looked like he was asleep already. We took him to the vets who admitted him and performed an x-ray - Sid had contracted severe pneumonia and we were advised that, although we could try intense antibiotics and nursing he was quite far along. Indeed, when Mum was holding him in the morning I did wonder if he would pass away there and then.
We talked it over and agreed that in view of his decreasing mobility and the severity of his illness, we would let him go. I think he was ready - he was gone in the space of 2-3 seconds. My heart is in pieces. Sid is the first bunny I have ever lost and he was with us the shortest length of time. The world doesn't seem the same today.
I love you Sid. I am sorry that we didn't realise what was going on inside your lungs. I wish we could have done something for you, my handsome, lovely man. I will miss your big broad head and your occasionally helicopter ears. I will miss your sweet grunting noises while you tear through your food. I will miss giving you a cheeky cuddle because I knew that if I was going to get away with a bunny cuddle, it would be from you. I will miss seeing you sunbathing in the run, and chucking your cardboard box around.
I hope that you are binkying at the Bridge big man. We will always love you Sid, Siddy Widdy, Siddy Sausage, Sidney Brown xxxx
