# oh no POOR bunny!!



## lemonaxis

This just landed on my lap this afternoon.
A lady down the road said her brother just moved into Howick and discovered a bunny in the flat backyard, in its cage, no water or food. He was not sure how long the previous tenants had been gone.
I have very few details...this is almost all I know.

He won't take it to the SPCA as its too far away????? Only 30mins from Howick, SPCA will prob put bunny down. Bunny is apparently in the house tonight and has been given some bread! and veges from this guy (I barely even know his sister!!)

Why was I called?
What can I do?
When is the soonest I can get there?
Should I be relying on my limited range of expertise?
Where will I find the money?
Somebody save me from destroying the furniture because I am MAD.... some stupid excuse for a human being left this poor creature in its cage , moved house and just buggered off!!!! I am track going him/her down from the landlord of this house and report him.

Tomorrow morning first thing I am going to Howick to pick up this bun, can't tonight as am home alone with bubs and kids...gonna lose my mind worrying about this.

I realise RO is just too full of rescue cases, but I posted this because if I need some advice, this will be where I come!!

All I know is that bun is starving, matted with dirty fur and has sore looking eyes, this is from a description, I will post a photo and see what I can do at the vets tomorrow!!


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## lemonaxis

Just rung up SPCA after hours service and there is a possibility I can take bun to the SPCA vets tomorrow for a discounted vet check...I don't know if this information will work out but its worth a go. I have whats called a community services card (here in NZ its like a card for cheaper medical care) and apparently its worth its weight in gold at the SPCA as they will spey and neuter your pet for only $65.00 as opposed to around $150ish upwards for a normal vet.

Of course I have no idea if I will be able to help this bun but I got my day cut out for me tomorrow!!

Wow I could end up being a foster Mum for this bun or even end up keeping bun.
Al the options are buzzing through my head, I probably sound like a nut but this really could end up all good. Just have to wait and see.

Wish this guy had a phone connected so I could find out whats going on.
I want to hop in my car NOW!


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## SOOOSKA

Wow that's so nice of you to go get this poor bunny. Aren't people idiots and cruel? I really hope he's not into bad shape and that you can keep him or at least get him back to good health.

Great job. I look forward to seeing pictures of him when you rescue him.

Susan:apollo:


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## JimD

Hi,

The only thing that is my primary concern, is that the bun be keep quarantined away from you other animals until the vet can rule out any contagious issues (ie; "sore looking eyes")
Make sure you wash good before and after handling him/her.

Good luck , and keep us posted.

~Jim


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## JAK Rabbitry

Nutrical
lots of hay and fibery things
if his fur is all matted and gross I'd just give him a buzz 

Since his fur is matter also I'd probably look into an oatmeal or soothing bath for his skin, mats often cause dandruff and pull the skin every which way and cause pain. Most shampoos designed for kittens will work for bunnies. 


-JAK


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## lemonaxis

Well there is so much to write...
I cannot tell my kids what I saw today and what has happened as I just can't....
:bigtears:
The guy who is now renting the house left a note saying he had to go to work, to head out back, bun is in cage and alive. 
I called SPCA, they said they would only come pick up the animal if it had been injured and that their pick up van was currently over out South on a call out.

Basically after a longish conversation with them they said, I could bring the bunny in and leave it with them and they would humanely put it down. They had vets that "made pets better" for adoption purposes but injured/sickly animals were most likely to be put down. Sorry. And fair enough I suppose.

Well I can't even put into words what I have seen and felt...cry....

poor bun was starving, filthy and obvoiusly weak little black and brown flecked rabbit that appeared around middle age plus. For some reason I have instantly named "her" Rusty.
Rusty is at this time at my vets for 2 to 3 days.
She was so agitated and boardering on aggressive.

I took along my partner and he watched baby while the kids were at school.

I brought along some leather gloves my neighbour lent me and bunny burritoed bun.
She struggled a tiny bit but slowly calmed down. I syringed approx 20ml water into her, she actually was easy to feed. Then gave her some baby food and placed her in a cat cage with hay and bedding (an old towel). Bun STANK bad and her eyes were a little mushy around the edges with a bit of red skin peeled back. Looked sadly grotesque.

It was hard work as baby needed a feed just before we got back in the car! Had to put on a different set of rubber gloves to feed baby and wash my hands with a water bottle and liquid soap I had packed.

Took bun immediately to a vet I had spoken to before I left. 
its a long story but I dont currently have the funds available and needed a vet to understand that so I knew where to go. had to wait 1.5 hours for vet as she was in surgery!! The vet nurse took bun and together we gave her a warm sponge bath and cleaned her eyes a bit plus sub-Q fluids. Buns poor claws were a bloody mess as I can imagine she tried to escape her cage as she got very hungry and thirsty. Poor littel thing just lay there looking very much like she was going to give up!!

Her eyes are dull and virtually lifeless, no spark and she kept opening and closing htem slowly. I cried myheart out and barely managed to keep myself sane all morning...

I can't write too much more now. Am going back to see bun tomorrow.
Basically vet gave her anitibiotics for various infections across her body, attempted to find out if she was a she but really bun was so weak, it just was not a priority.
Nails were cleaned and one foot and leg bandaged as skin was raw. Painkillers administered and wounds picked open and flushed. Not sure where bun got these wounds from. Cage was secure when I arrived so no cats could have gotten in. Woounds were like small little puncture wounds around her feet!! Weird.
Bun has maybe a 5% to 10% of survival.

I had to leave before the vet appointment finished in a rush to get kids from school so only have rung back once to talk to vet. Vet says she thinks bun may have been left alone for much longer than a week, feeding on rain water that landed into the cage and grass within reach of the bars...maybe..just a guess. Her teeth were revolting and when she is stronger, they will need some serious work.
Bun is alive, warm, fed and as comfortable as possible.

Pic to follow...


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## JimD

ray:
Praying really hard for the little one.

~Jim



PS: I'm going to move this to the Infirmary section for now.


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## cheryl

That is really really sad that it made me cry...poor little bunny... 

cheryl


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## Eve

Aww, the poor little thing. ray:

You are doing such a wonderful thing for this bunny, it is very very lucky that you are caring for it.


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## JadeIcing

We are all praying for this poor thing.


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## Bo B Bunny

My heart is truly aching!

Why did these people do that? couldn't they have just let it out? I know that's a bad thing too but at least it could have TRIED to fend for itself!

Seriously - leaving it to look at the grass where it can't get to food and water...... It must have gone mad!


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## Bassetluv

I am adding my prayers for this sweet little one...

If she does pass, then know that you have done the best you could for her, and have made a difference for her - you showed her that there are humans who do care, and do love.

But remember too, where there is life, there is hope....
ray:


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## Bunnicula

Wow! My bunnies think you are a hero(and I must say Iwholeheartedly agree with them)! First nursing BK back to health...now this...

You are a wonderful, loving, caring person. Whether or not Rusty survives at least it's last days will be more comfortable and he/she will have known love and compassion.

Thanks for what you've done. Keep us posted. ray:

-Mary Ellen


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## Luvmyzoocrew

Lemonaxis i first have to say taht you rock for g etting this bun the attention that you have.:hug:



I am praying for this baby and hope that she makes it through :cry4:ray:


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## Michaela

The cruelty of some humans never stops horrifying me. :tears2:

Thank goodness there are people like you out there helping, thank you for helping this little bun. :hug2:

Even if Rusty doesn't make it, like others have said, her last days will have been a lot better than they would have been otherwise. Sending vibes that she can pull through. ray:


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## polly

So horrible to think that poor bunny has had to go through that 

you are an:angel:to do what you have i hope you get good news and Rusty is ok


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## Butterfinger

Oh poor bunny :shock:

I hate it when people just go off and forget about their pets in cages like that.... It's even worse than turning her loose! 

I'll be thinking of this little one tonight :hug:

~Diana and Butter


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## Bo B Bunny

I think this sort of thing hits most of us here very very hard. I know when I read this, I kept thinking of my girls and boy.We come to a board about bunnies because we want info, want to discuss them and love them so much for whatever reasons! I don't think I could contain my anger if someone was so awful to my babies! let alone the people who do this sort of thing to their own animals!


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## Haley

Oh no.You were prepared for the worst and looks like you were right to do so. Im so sorry for what this little one has been through. 

It hurts my heart that people are so cruel to these poor defenseless creatures. Seriously, at some point its more humane to just put the animal down than to let it suffer and starve to death. I wish this guy would have to suffer what this bunny did. Maybe someday he'll get his..

Seriously, you are amazing for doing so much to help this little one. Even if its all for nothing, her last days will be spent knowing love and nurturing from humans that shes never known before. You are a bunny angel.

I'll be praying for the little one

Haley


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## pumpkinandwhiskersmom

You can add our prayers here from PA to all of the others. And you really are a hero to take this little one in and try all that is possible to get her well. She had to have felt the love that you had for her. You've already given her a wonderful gift.


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## TreasuredFriend

More prayers - and optimism - for what you're doing to better his/her life.


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## MsBinky

Keeping you and Rusty in my thoughts and prayers. Poor lil thing. I don't understand people.


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## lemonaxis

Thank you everyone for such lovely thoughts, I am convinced this has helped her, its amazing what good feelings can do

Okay just got in after one heck of a day!
There's okay news, good news and brilliant news!!!!!! And sorry...a bit of bad news too (can't be helped)...


okay news: Rusty is still with us

good news: She is slowly but steadily responding to food and meds
Brilliant news: I am keeping her...SHE'S MINE!!!!!!inkbouce::bunnydance:

Sadly Rusty is partially blind and this looks to be permanent. The little wounds in her feet are likey caused by the rusty edges of the lose wire at the bottom of her previous cage. uhhhh....Rusty!!! Her nails will have to stay long until they are looking better to be clipped.
Her fur is still a horrible mess...patches missing and she still smells quite bad as there has not been too much handling involved to reduce stress. She will be home with me in a couple of days.
She is not wanting to be touched and becomes visibly stressed at any contact at all so will not be touching her for a while. Even light strokes have her hyper ventilating and cowering.

Rusty is still terribly weak and is unable to move much. She has had an Xray = nothing broken!!! YAY!!

She has been moved from a cage next to a noisy siamese to a tiny room where the staff have a washing machine and not much else. Machine barely ever used so bun is on her own and this is ...I think...what she needs.
Very hard to tell really what she needs or wants besides meds, warmth, shelter, food etc as she is truly unresponsive to pratically everything.

(There is still a decent chance that she will need to be put to sleep, dependiing on her progress over the next 48 hours but lets leave this off the agenda while I still feel good about this).

As much as possible is being done to track down her previous owners, I am going to be passing on all info to SPCA and they will be looking at prosecuting the [email protected]##$*!! when and if they find them. The vet is also making sure she documents all injuries etc.

My camera is with my partner at his work as we are working on a huge project so have had very little chance to get any of the pics onto my computer. This will have to wait.

Updates will follow.
Unlike BK, Rusty looks like she may never fully recover or even be able to be happy but after only one day, I am not going to really know what will happen. 
Thank you for members who have commended my rescue efforts, I DO appreciate this but really it is only something ANY one of you would do!!
Not just me.
I do not feel like someone special at all, just run the mill animal lover who like anyone even half decent, is going nuts with wrath over the cruelty of our less civilised human beings. They deserve such awful punishment for doing this to her.

By the way....
There is a very good chance she is a she!
She is quite an old rabbit, maybe 6 plus at an guess by vet.


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## cheryl

Poor Rusty,she's had a bad deal in herlife,i can understand just how frightened she must be feeling at the moment,gosh..i just feel so sorry for the poor little bugger,but lets hope she will be ok,ok as a girl her age can be and what she's been through

I really hope she will be ok,so you can take her home and show her what love and attention means

It really saddens me how a human being can just up and leave knowing that there is a hungry animal that they left behind,how could they just get on with their day to day living knowing this.

I'm hoping that this little girl really pulls through this

Cheryl


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## JimD

Continuing to send prayers and good thoughts.

ray:

~Jim


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## Sarah8000

WowWhat a fantastic person you are, You saved this poor bunny from a further life of sadness and pain. You should be really proud of yourself :hug:

I just cant believe some people are so cruel, its so sad, poor Rusty ssd:

We are all sending huge vibes and nose rubs to Rusty, and hugs to you, please please please keep us updated.

Sarah and the buns xxxxxxx


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## jcottonl02

Lemonaxis- O- M- G

I was reading this story, on the verge of tears, thinking 'there is not way on earth that this can have a happy ending. There will be a short post later on saying the poor bunny has passed on' and then I saw that post saying how you are keeping her!!!
Even though she is blind etc. she's alive and I hope she has a happy life- with you I think she will have the best life possible.
I don't want to rant about those.....now I know I'm not allowed to really swear on here........people *coughs* because I'll go on for hours and wreck this thread, but this is so wonderful- you've done such an amazing thing and you should feel so good for the rest of your life. 
I hope she gets better and will hopefully forget the horror that was her former life- she has a new life with you now and I am sure she will be so happy.

Even if she does have to be put to sleep- you've saved her and hopefully made what could have been a long, horrific and suffering life into a much shorter but much happier one where she is loved, warm, fed and comfortable. That's all you can do.

Big hugs to you


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## MsBinky

[align=center]:bigtears:[/align]
[align=center]I cannot believe how much that poor little thing has been through. I'm sending extra good vibes and man many hugs your way for both of you.[/align]
[align=center]If she pulls through, I have no doubt that she will find happiness with you, given time to see that not everyone are :soapbox![/align]


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## JimD

Any updates?


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## TinysMom

I am SOOO glad you're keeping her. There is something about a special needs bun that just ...I don't know. It breaks my heart but at the same time - when I have one of mine get ill - its like it bonds us closer because it learns to trust me more.

We had one little guy come down w/ ec last fall and he didn't make it - but he spent the last week of his life sleeping in my arms at night. He was blind and couldn't do much....but he knew he was loved. He had worse issues than she does (that doesn't sound right - what I mean is - she can still live a good life being blind - but he got ec very quickly and couldn't fight it).

You're in my thoughts and prayers...I was so scared to check this thread!

Peg


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## lemonaxis

Please forgive me if I have upset anyone with my postings about little Rusty, I did not mean to upset anyone.

I have had problems with my wireless too, and I am not thinking clearly at all.

This is a happy story and has a happy ending...
No more tears now...

Rusty has been home with me since this morning but passed away at 4.13pm this afternoon.

I am sorry to be writing this but I cried both tears of grief and of happiness and I somehow feel free and uplifted by her courage.
I went into the vet as usual this morning and after a good talk together we somehow knew she was slowly letting go. She seemed never to be responsive and force feeding became almost cruel, she just allowed the food to tip in, made no effort to swallow and then fell back to sleep.

Instead of her having her last day in a cage at the vets, I took her home with me.
They handed me anitbiotics and well, a whole bag of get better goodies but I knew we would not need them.

I only gave her painkillers and water.

She was on a hot water bottle for an hour or so around midday before baby went to sleep for 3 hours! I held Rusty that whole time and stroked her lghtly, she was no longer scared and slept peacefully. She breathed very lightly and then took a last gasp of air and lay ever so lovingly in my arms. A friend came over and walked baby around the garden while I prayed for such a small and brave little bun.

Gods I can't see the keyboard, please I am so sorry for sharing all this, I don't want to upset anyone. Cry....

I love her so much, she is in my garden now, with Lila and Jane. I have lost 3 buns this year so far and I am no better at dealing with it.

I am so sorry...

Rest in peace my little darling, we all love you so much...
Mum loves you, I am sorry for what they did to you, run free and I hope I can see you again some day.


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## Bo B Bunny

I am so sorry you lost her. I had hoped that she would pull through this and enjoy a life with you.

I am glad that she was in your loving arms during her last minutes. She at least knew love for a short time in this world. Sadly, too many do not. 

I have huge tears pouring down my face after reading this - but I know that had she not had you, her death would have been even more tragic because she would have been alone.

Thank you for sharing her story.


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## JimD

You still saved her...

She had love, peace, and happiness....even if only for a short time.

A good trade from what might have been.....IMO

And I'm sure she's telling Buck all about you...and has forgotten the rest

~~~~~~dialog at the Bridge ~~~~~~~

Rusty: "Buck....where's my hutch?"

Buck: "You don't have one.... or need one anymore."

Rusty: "What are all of those bunnies doing?"

Buck: "Those are called "binkies", Rusty. They do them because they're happy."

Rusty: "Can I try?"

Buck: "Sure!"

Rusty: "Wheeeeeee!!!".....comes running back,...."Can we tell my mommy that I'm ok now?"

Buck: "We'll try, Rusty.....we'll try. Should we send a rainbow....or a butterfly?"


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## MsBinky

[align=center]:bigtears:[/align]
[align=center]Don't let me get my hands on the people who caused this to happen....[/align]
[align=center]Ok I am sobbing with you. I was so hoping she would pull through. It's so unfair. At least she passed in your arms. And JimD that made me cry more. Such a beautiful image...[/align]


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## LuvaBun

Oh, that poor girl . Thank you for making her last few hours peaceful and filled with love - I totally agree with Jim, you did save her. (And I love the image Jim created - I can just imagine it)!

R.I.P little Rusty. You can be free and happy now



Jan


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## lemonaxis

Rusty

I found you little one
The left overs.... 
Of heartless hearts and mindless minds

Loneliness and hurts 
Long sad hours
Dark nights and wind
and the pain...

The sun is too hot
The moon is too cold
Love me please
I am little and you are big

I cried so hard I forgot to smile
My chest is heavy
My cage is small

Then came the hands
Warm and kind
Soothe my hurts
Stroke my face

Water....aaagghhh....water
Blessed coolness

My eyes are blind but
My soul can see
YOU
Let me lie with you
Hold me quiet
I slip into peace
and painfree days

I love you


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## JimD

:bigtears:
***cries long and hard***


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## JadeIcing

I am crying as I read this. My Sam will be up there showing her the ropes. You showed her love in the end and that is all that matters.


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## TreasuredFriend

You have upset no one. You are truly an angel in human outline. 

Jim's dialog was precious. Your poem was beautiful The tears have stopped flowing down my cheeks now ... 

and innocent little Rusty will {{watch over You}}. 

Angels among us,


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## Michaela

I'm so sorry you lost her. But you did the best thing you could for her her last days were happy, she was clean and comfy - please take comfort in that. :hug2:

Binky free at the Bridge Rusty. :rainbow:


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## HarveyAndSam

What a terribly sad story. I'm so incredibly sorry about little Rusty. But what an amazing spirit you have and what a wonderful person to try and save that little girl. As much of a horrible heartache it must be for you, please know that Rusty passed in the best possible way. Instead of leaving this world where you found her, she was sorrounded by warmth, caring and most of all, love.

Rest easy dear Rusty. Hop free little angel. :bigtears:

Lemonaxis, you are truely a wonderful soul.


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## rabb1tmad

I'm so sorry you lost her. You truly are an angel. Little Rusty didn't pass away on her own in a decrepid old hutch, she passed away in loving arms and in good company. Now she'll have all the other bunnies at the bridge to look after her too, Rusty will be in good company again.


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## timetowaste

i'm so sorry lemon. that just breaks my heart. you tried so hard, and rusty knew that. his last few moments were spent cradled by love, and that is the best thing you could have possibly done for him.

binky free, food and water abounds. i'm so sorry.


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## Starina

I just saw this thread. :cry2I think it was great that you could help poor Rusty feel some comfort for once in her life. You did good, and that is all any of us can hope to do. :hug2:

Binky Free Rusty, on feet no longer sore and hurt.

~Star~


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