Caroline has been busy over the last few months. On top of the usual goings on at the Rescue, she's gone and built us a new website! Pop over to rabbitresidencerescue.weebly.com to have a look.
Our old site is all but shut down now and we will soon be moving our domain over to the new one, so in the mean time please do check the link above for the latest info.
Something we do regularly, both at home and at the Rescue, is to carry out a simple health check on all our bunnies. This helps us spot problems early and gives us a perfectly legitimate reason for cuddling everybun. :-)
I think I'll save the details of the sort of things we look for for a future post, but one thing we almost always check is their weight. A change in weight can often be the symptom of a real problem, or it can just be an indicator that we're feeding them too many treats! Either way it's a good idea to monitor it and take appropriate action when necessary.
But you're probably not going to want to shell out large amounts of money for a veterinary scale. The human scales are often not sensitive enough, the kitchen scales are often too small. So here's a handy tip: A good cheap solution is the "luggage scale". They are available very cheaply online, and with the addition of a ceiling hook/chain and an old shopping bag (NOT the plastic variety!) you've got yourself a perfectly affordable way to monitor your bunnies' weight!
Now all you have to do is persuade them to climb into the bag...
DISCLAIMER: We are not responsible for your carelessness. Think practically - DON'T hang your bunny 6 foot off the ground. Lifting a tubby bunny over your head could end badly for both of you! Add a sturdy chain so the bag hangs lower, put a chair under it so if something happens the bunny won't fall far, and test the strength of the whole thing by weighing something non-sentient first!
On Friday night we lost our beautiful little miracle bunny Tiara and I felt it was right that her passing should be noted here.
From soon after her arrival it was clear that Tiara would have been an easy bunny to re-home - a beautiful little lop with a sweet face and very friendly. However, Caroline had concerns over the way she moved and felt it best to keep her at the Rescue, at least until we could ascertain the extent of her mobility issues.
When it looked like she might need to be with us for some time, Caroline bonded her with Giggles, one of our shy and often overlooked single bucks. They seemed a bit of an odd couple, but they certainly got on well together.
When Tiara's back legs began to fail her, Caroline moved her to her office/hospital to keep a close eye on her and where it would be easier to keep up the regular cleaning of her tail end. It was here that the super-group started to form as Tiara and Giggles got to know Lacey and Grommit, and later on Rocket, Dakota and the two guinea pigs.
Tiara found new ways to frighten us pretty much every month. At one point she stopped using her back legs completely, but she was so spirited and happy despite this that many of our volunteers and friends of the Rescue pitched in to buy her a little wheelchair. However, Tiara had other ideas - defying the vets and our own expectations she suddenly became responsive to her steroids and it was enough to kick-start her rehabilitation. Some days you'd look at her rushing around and it would be hard to believe it was the same rabbit we'd seen struggling for so long.
Her mobility problems never completely went away and we always thought that at some point they would overtake her various treatments and we would have to say goodbye to her, helping her to rest. But it seems that in the end she decided on her own that she had reached the end of her time, going peacefully into the light, snuggled up next to Carolinet.
Goodnight sweet Tiara. Our lives were better to have known you.
