And more rain

[altivo]

This is turning into perhaps the soggiest July I can remember in a long, long time. A colleague reported today that her rain gauge had 5 inches in it just from yesterday. We only had one at our place though.

Tess is still a prisoner in the indoor arena. Grass is growing like mad, I dare not let her eat more than a few mouthfuls of it at a time.

Sad news, had to put a bunny to sleep today. Her name was Sunflower, and she was five years old. She'd been losing her appetite for a while, which is always a bad sign. The vet is an expensive option for rabbits, and can't often help but we decided to take her there. She had some sort of infection, and had also torn the skin on her back (quite possibly when wriggling in discomfort from something similar to colic in horses, rabbits having a digestive system very similar to the horse) and that was infected too. She had a fever and was pretty dazed. Two options, neither very good. We could have hospitalized her on an antibiotic drip with daily lavage and care for the skin wound, or we could put her down. Well, the third option was take her home and let her suffer, which was no option at all. In my experience, rabbits rarely do well on intensive care either. Rabbit medicine is pretty primitive, really. So we decided to end her pain. She hardly seemed to know what was going on as it was, poor thing.

Her sister and littermate Lily is still going strong. So is our buck bunny, Buster, who is definitely geriatric at eight years old. I didn't think he'd make it through the winter, but he's still alert and perky. He has a lot of personality, and I'm really going to miss him when he goes.

Comments

[hgryphon.livejournal.com]

My condolances, Tivo, but life is only as finite as the happy memories we keep in our hearts. May the memories live on...

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I'm sure they will.

[songdogmi.livejournal.com]

Aw... I'm sorry to hear about Sunflower. I hope Lily and Buster keep going strong. Sorry also to hear about all the rain. Drought? What drought?

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Thanks. Well, the drought was last year. The interesting thing, and I shouldn't mention it because then it will change, is that we still have virtually no mosquitoes. Flies, however, are far too numerous and pesky.

[baphnedia.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear about Sunflower too... it's one of those things we live with, I guess.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Being responsible for animals means taking that responsibility when we must, yes. A rabbit in the wild probably has a life expectancy of perhaps two years. Five is not doing badly for tiny ones like these (Holland Lops) and getting to eight like Buster is rather like a human who hits a century.

[dogteam.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry. "The Decision" is never easy.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Thank you. No, not easy, but sometimes obvious. In this case, at least, I felt it was clear enough. It gets much harder with the ones who live longer and grow close, as I'm sure you know. With a dog, it tears me apart for weeks. I've never had to do it for a horse, but if I do that is going to devastate me. By comparison, though not easy, it is manageable with these little ones whose lives are so fleeting anyway. It hurts, but seeing her suffer would be worse. Medical care for the rabbit is little more than voodoo and good luck.

When I started out to study veterinary medicine, I wanted to investigate rabbit care specifically, because it is so much an unknown. I was diverted from that course, and changed fields. Rabbit care has hardly changed, even in the four decades since.

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

You do think of some really nice names for your animal friends. I am sorry to hear about the loss of your Leporidae friend.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I'm sure this was the best we could do for her at this point.

Actually, since she was a Holland Lop, her name was in Dutch: Zonnebloem. Her sister Lily is really Lelie. Buster is just Buster, he had a name when he arrived. :)

I have a photo of Sunflower somewhere, I need to find it and post it.

We believe names are important. They help to define character and personality, whether we like it or not. So we try to find appropriate ones when we have the chance to actually choose them.

[corelog.livejournal.com]

'Druther it was a soggy July than the baking kind. :P