# Accidentally stepped on rabbit~still feeling guilty



## bellaterra214 (Dec 4, 2013)

My experience that I wanted to share with my fellow bunny lovers. So this past Saturday started off with....sheer chaos. sigh~~

Saturday:

7:25am - Getting out of bed in the morning, I was unawares of the loose bunny and without any warning felt the squish of fur and bones beneath my feet. Bino automatically splayed out his back legs straight out and started with the awful crying. I never knew rabbits could make those kinds of sounds, but I was terrified I had broken his back or crushed him some how. There was blood literally dripping from his mouth. Huge stain in the carpet and all over my sweater. I was hysterical. 

7:40am - Luckily there was an emergency vet around the corner who saw rabbits. Boyfriend driving like a madman, we got there in under 10 minutes. Hand off my baby to the waiting vet and starting pacing. Within 20 mins we learned that he had no fractures, pulmonary contusions/edema in the perihilar areas and decreased serosal detail. So the gist, bruised lung and decreased lung function. He got a shot of pain killers and some oxygen. The emergency vet recommended he be transferred to another hospital for oxygen support for the next 24 hours. 

8:40am - The emergency vet provided us information to a local vet office that could see him for care. I made the decision to bring him home and if I noticed any negative changes to take him either to that vet or to bring him back to the emer. vet. On the way home, he was still making slight wheezing noises when he breathed, but as soon as he settled into his home he stopped wheezing. He wasn't moving around very much, so starting to worry how bad he is going to feel as soon as the pain med shot wore off. 

10:30am - Went to the vet office to get some pain meds and to get a second opinion on the x-rays the emer. vet provided. Vet said he was surprised he was doing as well considering. At this point, I'm feeling SO GUILTY! gah! Praying he was going to be ok. Prescribed Torbugesic .05ml (pain meds), Orbax 0.1 ml.(antibiotic) for the fluid in his lungs, lots of quiet time and limited movement. Vet said it was 50/50 survival rate and it all depends on the rabbit. 

First couple of days were stressful. 24 hour watch, made fresh apple sauce and steamed some sweet potatoes, got some fresh dandelions leaves..all his favorites. Surrounded him so the food was just a neck reach away. I even soaked some pellets in warm water and gave him some mush to try to put down. Was worried now about gi stasis, knowing how important it is for them to eat.

Now its Wednesday and Bino is back to his mischevious ways. Today's his back to binkying, but tires easily. Back to eating everything and anything. Planning on taking him off pain meds today, but the Orbax for another week or so. Grateful for the vets and their awesome staff for their great work they did with Bino. Looks like he's out of the woods, but keeping a very close eye on him and learning how to shuffle walk.


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## zombiesue (Dec 4, 2013)

I'm so sorry what happened to you  It was just an accident and it sounds like he's recovering. I'm so glad he's going to be okay.


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## Watermelons (Dec 4, 2013)

Please continue using the drugs as your vet directes. Especially the antibiotics. Its really important you let those run their full course. The pain killers may be whats keeping him going so well while he's healing. Id be more worried that he becomes painfull and its not noticed until he stops eating. Better he keeps doing well with whats given


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## Tauntz (Dec 4, 2013)

So sorry this happened but glad that you had the help that your bunny needed with the boyfriend to drive you two to the BEV (Bunny Emergency Veterinarian) & a bunny knowledgeable EV nearby! Will be praying for Bino's quick & complete recovery with no complications! I've felt your pain with similar incidents with my birds. Gentle bunny hugs to you & Bino.


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## Kipcha (Dec 4, 2013)

Please follow Watermelons advice and finish the with pain meds. I would probably try and keep him in a small area as well, until at least his meds are done. Binkying would not be good for him right now.

Glad he is doing alright.


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## bellaterra214 (Dec 6, 2013)

Wednesday

I called the vet in the morning and spoke to the vet Before I get to the vet, I had to give the office girls an update as well. This place is definitely becoming my go to vet office. They remembered!! Explained Bino's circumstance and he told me I can take away the pain meds, but to keep a close eye on him. The antibiotics are here for another week.

I did notice, however, Bino starting to quiet down around 1pm and was pretty quiet for the rest of the afternoon. Odd. Decided to keep the pain meds until the end of the weekend and try again. I did step on him and that must feel like getting hit by a truck....pain meds are probably a good idea for a few more days. Picked right back up after the meds kicked it. He's doing well and finally gaining some weight. He was getting so skinny.

Very grateful to the staff of both the vet office and the BEV for the great work they did for Bino, my emotional stable boyfriend for keeping his cool while I went into hysterics and dealing with my mandatory 24 hour surveillance and also to the members of RO for their advice and best wishes. 

:angel:


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## briennap (Dec 6, 2013)

I'm so happy to hear he's doing well that must have been so heartbreaking!


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## pani (Dec 6, 2013)

Oh my gosh, bellaterra, that must have been so scary! I'm so glad to hear that Bino's on the road to recovery. If he's binkying, he must be feeling a lot better. :} The vet place you've found sounds great, too!


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## Imbrium (Dec 7, 2013)

I'm so sorry for what you and Bino are going through! Please try not to beat yourself up too much - while tragic, it was an accident and you've been a wonderful bunny mom in getting him all the care and treatment he needs! Just snuggle him, tell him you're sorry, sneak him some extra treats and remind him how very much you love him - I'm sure he understands that you didn't mean to hurt him!

On a side note, I see your vet gave him an antibiotic - if you're not already, I strongly recommend giving him a probiotic, as it's recommended to always give one with antibiotics. BeneBac and Probios are two of the most popular brands. You can sometimes find them at feed stores or pet stores (I know Petco sells BeneBac online but I'm not sure if it's in stores); also, vets sometimes carry probiotics so you might inquire with yours about it.

Nala, Gaz and I (and Jay, the cats and the gliders ) all wish Bino a speedy recovery - we hope he's back to full health very soon! He's obviously getting excellent care from you, your boyfriend and the vets


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## Imbrium (Dec 31, 2013)

How's Bino doing, by the way? I thought of him last night...

I've never had to worry about stepping on Nala or Gaz by accident because they're so freaking naughty they can't be trusted to free-range and have to live in a pen... however, I ended up adopting another rabbit from the HSPCA on Sunday and we've got him roaming around our bedroom/hallway/bathroom until his hormones die down and I can bond the three (I hope!). He LOVES to be wherever people are - he sometimes loafs near my feet while I'm at my desk, he also likes to follow us around, he occasionally runs circles around my feet, he's always trying to slip through a door you're trying to close in his face...

Last night, Jay was laying in bed thinking about taking a nap and the new rabbit was loafing it up against the side of the box spring (we don't have a bed frame) - it made me think of poor Bino and I got very paranoid about how easily the same thing could happen with this bunny. I gave Jay a long reminder speech about being extremely careful to check for the bunny before rolling out of bed like he usually does... we ended up sleeping with a lamp on that has a red light bulb in it (stole one from the sugar glider room ) so that if one of us got up in the middle of the night, we'd hopefully be able to see the bunny. I would've felt safer if we didn't have him in our room at all while we were sleeping but he tends to get upset if you leave him alone in a room even if it's only for a few minutes (I think he may have some abandonment issues) - I didn't want to stress the poor thing out by locking him in the hall/bathroom by himself all night.

I've already kicked the poor guy probably half a dozen times (really doesn't help that he's nearly the same color as the carpet ><) but thankfully I've never kicked him hard enough to actually hurt, as I was already conditioned to kind of shuffle along if I'm not looking directly at the floor in front of me because our cats LOVE to lay right in the path when it's too dark to see them. I really wish they made a break-away cat collar with a floodlight on it, though - I'd get 'em for both cats and the new bunny! Jingle collars are a nice warning when someone's running around but they don't work if the animal isn't moving, heh.

I hope Bino has been recovering smoothly and has been able to convince you to forgive yourself by reminding you that he forgave you instantly!


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## Mordecai (Jan 1, 2014)

I'm sorry that happened, I hope your bunny will recover soon. I worry about this with Mordecai kind of obsessively, especially because I accidentally stepped on and killed my conure a few years ago.


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## Empty (Nov 2, 2016)

Oh gawd thank you that I'm not the only one, but it died 5 secound later!! I stepped on my sister's rabbit while climbing off a cabin and looking backwards!!! I feel so gulty right now and I don't know how she hasn't killed me by now! ;( ;( I'm so sad ;( ;(


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## Whitesnowy (Nov 11, 2016)

bellaterra214 said:


> Now its Wednesday and Bino is back to his mischevious ways. Today's his back to binkying, but tires easily. Back to eating everything and anything. Planning on taking him off pain meds today, but the Orbax for another week or so. Grateful for the vets and their awesome staff for their great work they did with Bino. Looks like he's out of the woods, but keeping a very close eye on him and learning how to shuffle walk.



*OMG!* My heart dropped when I started reading the thread. I'm so glad that at the end I read he recovered! This is another proof of how tough rabbits can be.


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