Sniff Sniff Nom Noms

"!!!"

Old Soldier

The number of rabbits cared for by the Rescue who are frail and elderly, along with those with special needs or daily medication, seems to have been at an all time high this last year. Perhaps not surprising then that we also seem to have had so many of our residents leave us for the bridge in recent months.

Old Soldier was a big soppy lump who spent too many years of his life on his own in a 4ft hutch. This terrible fate would be bad enough for a regular bunny, for a rabbit of his immense size it must have been agonising. So when he came to the Rescue, we were determined to make sure he always had space and somebun to hang out with, while at the same time being loved and adored by all of us here. He didn't have the healthiest life, he wasn't ever the most mobile of rabbits and had problems with his eye, but he seemed to enjoy life at the Rescue and certainly loved his food!

Despite his problems, Old Soldier was starting to look like he was leading a charmed life - whatever ailment life threw at him, however much it looked like the end, he would grump through it and come out the other side mostly back to his regular self.

Sadly though, in March he lost the use of his back legs. It seemed he was in a pain we couldn't fix and eventually we had to let him go. On 5th April 2016 he was helped to the bridge.

Binky free Old Soldier. It was wonderful to know you. Your human friends all miss you nearly as much as Cindy does.

It's Obvious When You Think About It

"HELLO GOOD MORNING!!!!"

BHV: Wow Cindy, why do you always look so happy?!

"Er...because I always see you at breakfast and you're always carrying carrots?"

BHV: Oh, right. [Hands over carrot.] Carry on then.

Family

As many volunteers will know, some of the rabbits at the rescue have a greater link to me than others- four of the residents, Beyonce, Kylie, Christina and Cindy, are in fact my 'granddaughters'.

I adopted their father, a little black and white Netherland Dwarf called Oren (RRR name Mr Jinx) in 2008 when his twelve children were only babies, just a couple of months old but the same size as their father due to the interesting choice of mother- Amelia was a large breed with a lithe frame, absolutely nothing like her partner at all.

Both parents have since passed away (coincidentally within a week of each other) but their legacy lives on. I find the result of the crossbreeding to be vaguely entertaining... what do we call them, Netherland Giants? It's clear to see that they get their larger size and, in the case of the trio, dark colour from their mummy but not one actually looks like her whatsoever. I see Oren in them far more because alongside the shorter ears, every single one of them is round and fat like their daddy.

"Hey, did you hear what she just called me?! Are you going to let her get away with that?!"

"Hey, be careful how you talk to my lady! Now, if you don't mind, I'll just hoover up this lot so she doesn't get any fatter."

Old Soldier's Eyes

We don't usually have posts about the same bunnies so close together, but Old Soldier is receiving special treatment today as he is not having the best week.

Last month there was a period when it looked like Old Soldier's time had come and he would leave us imminently, he wasn't moving about very much, often looked uncomfortable, his pain relief wasn't helping and his weight was dropping. But then he seemed to bounce right back. I'm not sure we know for sure what caused the dip, but his weight started to edge back up and he became livelier again (naps aside). However, soon after that he started having trouble with one of his eyes, it started weeping and changing colour. Despite treatment it quickly turned into a pretty severe infection inside his eyeball and at yesterdays follow up at the vets we were told he might need have it removed.

Of all the operations our bunnies go in for, this is the one that makes me the most nervous. So please spare a thought today for Old Soldier and wish him well. I will update you when we know more, but for now here is a photo of him in one of his livelier moments over the weekend:- he suddenly leapt in front of Cindy to intercept the piece of parsley I was about to give her in return for a photo!

The Ins and Outs

A Good Old Nap