Angus

Angus, 27th April 2013, quietly helping himself to a sack of dried grass.

It is with very great sadness that I bring you this mornings post. Our dear cuddly teddy-bun Angus has passed away.

Angus arrived at the Rescue around February suffering from back problems which we later discovered were from old fractures in his spine. He spent a lot of his time with us on pain relief and was even treated with acupuncture which seemed to help. He had many ups and downs over recent months and several times took us close to having to make difficult decisions, but he also had his good days and always seemed to enjoy life. Then, after what was actually a good week for him, he went downhill Saturday and died in Caroline's arms on the way to an emergency appointment with the on-call vet around 1am on Sunday.

Few bunnies have we become so attached to in such a short time as we did with Angus, as you will see looking back at his appearances here on this blog. A sweet and friendly giant, he will be very, very deeply missed. Binky free our big orange friend.

Hugs

Well after the sadness of this week, I think we all need a hug from our favourite teddy bear don't we?

"Need cheering up, eh?"

"And there would be something in this for me?"

"Apparently so - my nose doesn't lie!  You have brought me some treats!"

"How about instead of a cuddle you watch me eat the whole bag and then take a nap?"

Actually Angus, you are so adorable that would probably would cheer me right up!

Here's a House...

What can you see through the Round Window, Big Ted?

"With my eyes closed, having a nap?  Nothing.  Nothing at all."

Angus and Jessie

Angus is regularly featured on this blog because he's just so adorable and photogenic. In case you were wondering why there's so many pictures of him on his own, considering he was bonded with his partner Jessie only a few weeks after he arrived, below is the best picture I've managed to get so far of the two of them together.

Any questions?

"I've got one question - since I'm still here, do I get both those treats you promised us for this picture?"

Massage Message

"Well to be honest I assumed this would be more 'parlour' when I made the booking, but so long as you get those knots out we're good."

The Grassy LOL

Angus and Jessie, along with a number of our other residents, have given up their spacious accommodation to some holiday boarders for a few days while we are busy for the Easter break. This is not ideal for them, but the donations from boarders help keep the Rescue going, so a few days of relative confinement is a small price to pay.

Angus' back problems mean his exercise is very important to his health, so whenever we have enough volunteers on site to supervise we try to let them out into a larger space. As you can see, Angus makes FULL use of his exercise time...

"So I said to Esther, 'Leave me on the grass while you clean, I can have a run around and stretch my back'. And here I am.  Well, if I'd said '...so I'll catch the sun better for my afternoon nap' do you think she would have let me out??!!"

Prank

"I heard 1st April is a day for pranks, so I have hidden all the vegetables!"

"If you want them back, they should re-appear in 4-20 hours."

Orange Smooshie

OK, he's been on here a lot recently, but quite frankly, I personally can't get enough of that wonderful orange fluff! Especially when he's wearing his smooshed face!!! Awwww!

"Hmm...does this extra attention come with extra snacks?"

Bun With a Bear Head

Last week Caroline took the decision to bond Angus with Jessie, another bun with health issues who may be with us long term. So although he may never find a home of his own, he does have a shed, a wife and lots of love from all of us volunteers.

So now you're up to speed, answer me this:- How does a giant bunny get a head that looks like it was designed in a cuddly toy factory?! [sigh]  Sooooo adorable.... [squee]

"Designed in a whatnow?"

Orange Angus

Our darling soppy Mr Orange has finally been given a proper name.  Caroline has named him Angus!

Angus is a special bunny - as you can see below, he has an unusual tendency for relaxing in odd reclining positions where he almost folds himself in half.  Our vet thinks he has a problem in his spine, but at this point we are not a hundred percent sure what it is.  For the moment he is being given enough space to gently move about and monitored to see if he starts to improve while we consider possible next steps.  It could have been something in his previous living conditions, an old injury or even just the bad genetics not uncommon in large rabbit breeds.

If he needs long term care, Angus may become a life-time resident and paired with another of our special buns.  If so, it will be sad that he won't get to move on to live with a loving family, but every one of us at the Rescue already love him to bits so he will never be short of attention here.

"Don't give me sympathy! Give me a big TV, a bowl of vegetable chips and a big glass of carrotini, cos I'm set for the afternoon right here."

The Big Orange

We have a wide variety of different accommodation at the Rescue for bunnies of all shapes, sizes and requirements. It ranges from the individual hutches/cages (used for emergencies, quarantine, nursing or short-term) through sheds/hutches attached to runs up to big aviaries. Sadly, so many of the rabbits who come to us have known nothing bigger than a hutch it is not surprising they can get a bit confused.

"Your sheds ARE comfy and warm, with so much to eat. I think I will like living in this one."

Er...actually, that's the hay shed. Yours is over there...