Saucerer

Saucerer, one of the rescue’s long term residents, was helped to rainbow bridge on Friday 26 November.

Saucerer was one of the most placid, gentle bunnies that we have ever known. He never showed any sort of aggression and was happy to accept whatever came his way. On the day Caroline went to collect him, she found that the child at the house had just poured orange juice all over him, his teeth and claws were overgrown and he was stuck in a tiny hutch. With all of his problems, the vets didn’t hold out much hope for him but, when we first met him, he had already been with Caroline for several years.

In June 2009 we offered to help the rescue by letting a special needs pair live in our spare bedroom and so Saucerer and India became our first foster bunnies. By this time, Saucerer had virtually no teeth left and a hole in his jaw. His veg had to be grated, his pellets soaked in water and he had to have an antibiotic injection daily. In addition we periodically had to use tweezers to remove food and bits of bone from the hole in his jaw. During his time with us he had to undergo several anaesthetics to have his mouth cleaned out properly and each time the vet told us his jaw bone and teeth were rotting away. Yet he remained the same gentle, accepting bun as always, never complaining or causing trouble. As time went on, we had to start boiling his veg and making it into a mush so he could eat it and, as the hole in his jaw got larger, food would come out of the hole and his face and neck would end up very messy. Yet still he continued to be a happy, gentle bun who would sit very patiently whilst we gave him a wash and blow dry. Eventually an abscess formed on his cheek and another in the hole in the jaw and we knew it was time to say goodbye.

Saucerer was a real example of why the rescue exists and how it can change a bunny’s life for the better. Our favourite memories of him will be him binkying down the garden path every time he was let outside and the way he would stand up on his hind legs to reach for the plate as you went to put the food down in front of him. We are very grateful that he had a peaceful end without suffering and we feel very privileged to have known him. Our house will not be the same without him.