Yesterday, on Christmas day, my darling bunny Pumpkin passed away.
I guess the best place to start is April 2010 - when my younger sister and I got our first pets - two buns: Blossom and Honey. Blossom was technically "mine" and Honey was my sisters (but really we both loved and cared for both) They were two babies from an independent pet shop, Blossom a pure white with light grey lop ears and Honey, expectedly, a honey colour. At the young ages of 11 and 8, my sister and I were absolutely delighted and infatuated with our new pets. We loved going down to the garden to feed and groom and take care of these little creatures. Unfortunately just less than a year later, in April 2011, sweet little Honey had ran away. This is still a mystery to today about how she did it, there was a new run attached to their hutch and she must have squeezed out against uneven ground. We did everything, searched all day around the garden and the neighbours' garden, handed out posters, let all the animal charities know in case someone would find her hopping around in their garden, but unfortunately we never found her.
A few weeks later we got a call off someone who had a rabbit who looked very similar, I think the woman thought that replacing Honey would lessen the heartbreak - which was very kind of her. So we went to see this bunny, who was already about a year old, similar to Blossom, what we found was another honey brown bunny. Unfortunately she was in very cramped conditions and had been fighting with her companion rabbit, she hadn't been neutered or been given vaccinations. So we took her home, kept her in a separate hutch to Blossom while we got her neutered, vaccinated, checked over.
We named this new bunny Cherry and she had obviously had a less than ideal upbringing by an unexperienced owner. Cherry didn't like being handled or touched very much, whenever we tried to stroke her she was quite nervous. But as time went on, she grew to be calmer, and although never as affectionate as Blossom or Honey, she let us stroke her and hold her and we grew to love her so much. In her last months she had a lot of medical issues. Her nose was constantly runny and had some strange sort of blistering - an issue that even with a biopsy could never be figured out, her eyes started to water a little bit and she became very incontinent. This sweet thing had never been properly litter trained, due to her upbringing, but as time went on, despite trying to bathe her and clean up the bunnies home, Cherry's back legs and fur was completely sodden all the time, and her poor skin was raw and sore. On September the 22nd this year, just four months ago, we had to get our little Cherry put down.
At this point she had been back and forth to the vets so often, that I didn't think the visit would be that important, my mum and my sister took her, while I stayed at home. I remember getting the call from my mum so clearly as I begged for her to come home for just one night so I could shower her in love and goodbyes, but looking back I know I would not want her to be in more pain, and sending her off the next day to die would probably have been even more painful. I sobbed so hard. It felt so much more painful than with Honey, we still had hope that Honey would be okay, but when Cherry was put down there was no hope at all. We took the poor little thing to a local pet cemetery and I don't think I will ever forget stroking her soft, cold fur for the last time, as she laid in her little box, looking so peaceful and asleep, I am glad that her suffering is over, even though I miss her every day.
In just a few weeks Blossom's distress was clear. She had chewed her home so much (we have a large summer house for them to live in) that a huge hole had appeared, we had to block it up or else she would have been able to escape. The saddest part about this was that Cherry's pet carrier was lying just outside where Blossom was chewing away, showing that poor Blossom missed her friend so much.
We got on the hunt for a new companion rabbit, so Blossom would not be so lonely. We found a gorgeous, dark grey bunny within the next few days at a rabbit rescue. We chose this small darling, with tiny, sticky up ears, a pink nose. On October 31st, Halloween day, Blossom and our new bunny Pumpkin came home.
Pumpkin was a shy little thing but after a few weeks of me spending time sat in the summer house with them, she liked to sit in my lap and eat food pellets out of my hand.
We were not supposed to get overly attached to Pumpkin, as she was only a companion rabbit for our 5 year old Blossom, and in the likely circumstances that our older bun Blossom would pass away first, we would have to try and find somewhere else for Pumpkin to live, as our parents did not want the cycle of needing new companion rabbits to continue on forever. Also, at 17 now, I am moving away in September to start university, and the rabbits are mine and my sisters, not our parents' responsibility. However, of course, we did get attached to this sweet little curious rabbit, and I love her so very much.
On the night of the 22nd of December, 4 days ago, when I went down to feed them, I was absolutely terrified to find Pumpkin unresponsive and still. I sprinted up the garden and back into the house, screaming for my parents to call the vets and we called the Emergency Vets and got her in the pet carrier, still not moving, and off to the vets.
The vet said that her gut had stopped moving and she had a serious illness called gut stasis, her temperature couldn't even be measured it was that low. He said that she only had a 50% chance of surviving and she was taken away to be hooked up to an IV machine and be given heat and liquid food to try and get her gut moving again. She was carted between the emergency vets and the normal vets over the next two days with marginal improvement, and on the night of the 24th it looked as though she was back to full health. There was gut movement, she was eating a little bit and she was hopping around. My family happily declared it a "Christmas Miracle" and we took her home, prepared to give her copious amounts of medicines three times a day.
We set up an indoor hutch to prevent her temperature from dropping again and gained the ability to observe them much closer.
Over Christmas dinner the next day we were all so relieved, happy that Christmas could be merry and cheery, when we went down to give her her lunch time medicines she seemed well on the way to recovery. When we went back down at about 8PM she wasn't moving again and we had to take her back to the Emergency Vets. I thought she would be okay, she had been eating when we put food in front of her, her temperature was not extremely low and there were quite a few rabbit droppings in her hutch. This time, my sister went to the vets with my mum, while this time I stayed at home.
I was worried to death and the mantra "please please please please please" that had been running through my head over the past few days returned. I sat on the sofa and waited for my mum and sister to return. I heard the click of the door and heard my sister crying and my mum calling for my dad. I ran out asking,
"What? What's happened? Is she okay?" my mum took my shoulders and with tears in her eyes said
"Darling, she's dead. We had to have her put down. I'm so sorry."
I burst into tears and felt the ideas of the so called Christmas miracle crumble away.
The situation of her death was even sadder than I could have imagined.
Sweet Pumpkin was on the vets table, being checked over, she was completely not moving at all. Mum covered my sisters eyes and looked away because of how horrible it was. A few seconds later Pumpkin jumped and crashed to the floor from the extremely high table. Obviously the vet had let go of her for a moment, thinking that she was too lifeless to move, and Pumpkin, in her last burst of energy tried to escape. My family screamed and couldn't look as our sweet bunny lay twitching on the floor, her legs at a weird angle. My sister was called by the vet to hold her and as he checked her over once again she began to squeak in pain. As you probably know, rabbits do not squeak unless they are in intense pain and practically dying because of the pain. The vet said "Her heart is decreasing rapidly, do you want us to resuscitate her?" and my mum asked
"Will she get better if you do?"
"No, I doubt it." the vet replied, and while watching the poor animal cry and twitch on the floor, my mum decided that the best thing to do would be to put her down. The vet scooped our baby into his arms and sprinted away to a back room.
Apparently sweet Pumpkin had already begun to suffer neurological issues which were worsening by the second, her gut had fully stopped and she was stuffed with food.
It was likely that a few minutes later the vet would have said she needed to be put down, but the horrible jump off the table made it a million times worse, and instead of calmly watching our little Pumpkin go to sleep, my sister had to watch her twitching and squealing in her last moments.
We are going to bury her with Cherry tomorrow. (27th)
I miss our precious holiday bunny, a sweet thing that lived with us only between holidays - from Halloween day to Christmas day. Her time with us was fleeting but I adored her so much and have been crying all day and night - I do not know how I will cope at her funeral, buried just above where Cherry is sleeping in the ground. I am infinitely sorry that her last moments were so full of pain and horror. I am glad we could bring her home for a day to give her some last cuddles and kisses before she went through that terrible ordeal.
If anyone has read through this, thank you, I feel like I cannot share my pain with anyone as they will think it is "just" a rabbit.
Sleep tight little Pumpkin, I'll love and miss you forever my darling.
I guess the best place to start is April 2010 - when my younger sister and I got our first pets - two buns: Blossom and Honey. Blossom was technically "mine" and Honey was my sisters (but really we both loved and cared for both) They were two babies from an independent pet shop, Blossom a pure white with light grey lop ears and Honey, expectedly, a honey colour. At the young ages of 11 and 8, my sister and I were absolutely delighted and infatuated with our new pets. We loved going down to the garden to feed and groom and take care of these little creatures. Unfortunately just less than a year later, in April 2011, sweet little Honey had ran away. This is still a mystery to today about how she did it, there was a new run attached to their hutch and she must have squeezed out against uneven ground. We did everything, searched all day around the garden and the neighbours' garden, handed out posters, let all the animal charities know in case someone would find her hopping around in their garden, but unfortunately we never found her.
A few weeks later we got a call off someone who had a rabbit who looked very similar, I think the woman thought that replacing Honey would lessen the heartbreak - which was very kind of her. So we went to see this bunny, who was already about a year old, similar to Blossom, what we found was another honey brown bunny. Unfortunately she was in very cramped conditions and had been fighting with her companion rabbit, she hadn't been neutered or been given vaccinations. So we took her home, kept her in a separate hutch to Blossom while we got her neutered, vaccinated, checked over.
We named this new bunny Cherry and she had obviously had a less than ideal upbringing by an unexperienced owner. Cherry didn't like being handled or touched very much, whenever we tried to stroke her she was quite nervous. But as time went on, she grew to be calmer, and although never as affectionate as Blossom or Honey, she let us stroke her and hold her and we grew to love her so much. In her last months she had a lot of medical issues. Her nose was constantly runny and had some strange sort of blistering - an issue that even with a biopsy could never be figured out, her eyes started to water a little bit and she became very incontinent. This sweet thing had never been properly litter trained, due to her upbringing, but as time went on, despite trying to bathe her and clean up the bunnies home, Cherry's back legs and fur was completely sodden all the time, and her poor skin was raw and sore. On September the 22nd this year, just four months ago, we had to get our little Cherry put down.
At this point she had been back and forth to the vets so often, that I didn't think the visit would be that important, my mum and my sister took her, while I stayed at home. I remember getting the call from my mum so clearly as I begged for her to come home for just one night so I could shower her in love and goodbyes, but looking back I know I would not want her to be in more pain, and sending her off the next day to die would probably have been even more painful. I sobbed so hard. It felt so much more painful than with Honey, we still had hope that Honey would be okay, but when Cherry was put down there was no hope at all. We took the poor little thing to a local pet cemetery and I don't think I will ever forget stroking her soft, cold fur for the last time, as she laid in her little box, looking so peaceful and asleep, I am glad that her suffering is over, even though I miss her every day.
In just a few weeks Blossom's distress was clear. She had chewed her home so much (we have a large summer house for them to live in) that a huge hole had appeared, we had to block it up or else she would have been able to escape. The saddest part about this was that Cherry's pet carrier was lying just outside where Blossom was chewing away, showing that poor Blossom missed her friend so much.
We got on the hunt for a new companion rabbit, so Blossom would not be so lonely. We found a gorgeous, dark grey bunny within the next few days at a rabbit rescue. We chose this small darling, with tiny, sticky up ears, a pink nose. On October 31st, Halloween day, Blossom and our new bunny Pumpkin came home.
Pumpkin was a shy little thing but after a few weeks of me spending time sat in the summer house with them, she liked to sit in my lap and eat food pellets out of my hand.
We were not supposed to get overly attached to Pumpkin, as she was only a companion rabbit for our 5 year old Blossom, and in the likely circumstances that our older bun Blossom would pass away first, we would have to try and find somewhere else for Pumpkin to live, as our parents did not want the cycle of needing new companion rabbits to continue on forever. Also, at 17 now, I am moving away in September to start university, and the rabbits are mine and my sisters, not our parents' responsibility. However, of course, we did get attached to this sweet little curious rabbit, and I love her so very much.
On the night of the 22nd of December, 4 days ago, when I went down to feed them, I was absolutely terrified to find Pumpkin unresponsive and still. I sprinted up the garden and back into the house, screaming for my parents to call the vets and we called the Emergency Vets and got her in the pet carrier, still not moving, and off to the vets.
The vet said that her gut had stopped moving and she had a serious illness called gut stasis, her temperature couldn't even be measured it was that low. He said that she only had a 50% chance of surviving and she was taken away to be hooked up to an IV machine and be given heat and liquid food to try and get her gut moving again. She was carted between the emergency vets and the normal vets over the next two days with marginal improvement, and on the night of the 24th it looked as though she was back to full health. There was gut movement, she was eating a little bit and she was hopping around. My family happily declared it a "Christmas Miracle" and we took her home, prepared to give her copious amounts of medicines three times a day.
We set up an indoor hutch to prevent her temperature from dropping again and gained the ability to observe them much closer.
Over Christmas dinner the next day we were all so relieved, happy that Christmas could be merry and cheery, when we went down to give her her lunch time medicines she seemed well on the way to recovery. When we went back down at about 8PM she wasn't moving again and we had to take her back to the Emergency Vets. I thought she would be okay, she had been eating when we put food in front of her, her temperature was not extremely low and there were quite a few rabbit droppings in her hutch. This time, my sister went to the vets with my mum, while this time I stayed at home.
I was worried to death and the mantra "please please please please please" that had been running through my head over the past few days returned. I sat on the sofa and waited for my mum and sister to return. I heard the click of the door and heard my sister crying and my mum calling for my dad. I ran out asking,
"What? What's happened? Is she okay?" my mum took my shoulders and with tears in her eyes said
"Darling, she's dead. We had to have her put down. I'm so sorry."
I burst into tears and felt the ideas of the so called Christmas miracle crumble away.
The situation of her death was even sadder than I could have imagined.
Sweet Pumpkin was on the vets table, being checked over, she was completely not moving at all. Mum covered my sisters eyes and looked away because of how horrible it was. A few seconds later Pumpkin jumped and crashed to the floor from the extremely high table. Obviously the vet had let go of her for a moment, thinking that she was too lifeless to move, and Pumpkin, in her last burst of energy tried to escape. My family screamed and couldn't look as our sweet bunny lay twitching on the floor, her legs at a weird angle. My sister was called by the vet to hold her and as he checked her over once again she began to squeak in pain. As you probably know, rabbits do not squeak unless they are in intense pain and practically dying because of the pain. The vet said "Her heart is decreasing rapidly, do you want us to resuscitate her?" and my mum asked
"Will she get better if you do?"
"No, I doubt it." the vet replied, and while watching the poor animal cry and twitch on the floor, my mum decided that the best thing to do would be to put her down. The vet scooped our baby into his arms and sprinted away to a back room.
Apparently sweet Pumpkin had already begun to suffer neurological issues which were worsening by the second, her gut had fully stopped and she was stuffed with food.
It was likely that a few minutes later the vet would have said she needed to be put down, but the horrible jump off the table made it a million times worse, and instead of calmly watching our little Pumpkin go to sleep, my sister had to watch her twitching and squealing in her last moments.
We are going to bury her with Cherry tomorrow. (27th)
I miss our precious holiday bunny, a sweet thing that lived with us only between holidays - from Halloween day to Christmas day. Her time with us was fleeting but I adored her so much and have been crying all day and night - I do not know how I will cope at her funeral, buried just above where Cherry is sleeping in the ground. I am infinitely sorry that her last moments were so full of pain and horror. I am glad we could bring her home for a day to give her some last cuddles and kisses before she went through that terrible ordeal.
If anyone has read through this, thank you, I feel like I cannot share my pain with anyone as they will think it is "just" a rabbit.
Sleep tight little Pumpkin, I'll love and miss you forever my darling.
I am so very sorry 
