Forum

OUR FORUM IS UP BUT WE ARE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF UPDATING AND FIXING THINGS.  SOME THINGS WILL LOOK WEIRD AND/OR NOT BE CORRECT. YOUR PATIENCE IS APPRECIATED.  We are not fully ready to answer questions in a timely manner as we are not officially open, but we will do our best. 

You may have received a 2-factor authentication (2FA) email from us on 4/21/2020. That was from us, but was premature as the login was not working at that time. 

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately! Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

What are we about?  Please read about our Forum Culture and check out the Rules

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately!  Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES 

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum RAINBOW BRIDGE Mathilda the Bun

Viewing 10 reply threads
  • Author
    Messages

    • MathildaTheBun
      Participant
      13 posts Send Private Message

        THE BEGINNING:

        I could write a whole book on my beloved Mathilda the Bun, even though our time together was brief. My husband lives away during the week for work, and I was excited to have a new addition to our family as well as a companion at home while he was gone. I’ve done a lot of Bun research, and I recruited a friend of mine to go on an adventure to pick up my new friend. Mathilda was a gray mini lop about a year old living with a family of three children. When we arrived, the mom looked flustered while her husband just came home from work and three kids running around in circles non-stop. She told me she just wanted the bun to have a good home, because she realized that they are a lot of work and decided to get the kids a dwarf hamster instead. When it came time to leave, the mom said to the kids, “Say Goodbye to the rabbit!” to which one of them replied, “I ALREADY SAID GOODBYE!” 

         

         

        Over the next couple days and weeks we got to know each other. Her cage was too small for her and slowly we went from sharing just the living room, to our whole apartment. The Bun went with me everywhere – I read so much about rabbits that I knew more than my friend who was a vet (she said they only did a short rotation on rabbits). Anytime I gave people directions on how to take care of her, they looked at me like I was crazy. No one understands until they have a bun. We got to know each other and bonded, and we always had our routines. Like before work – I would wake up, go straight to the living room, she would jump out from underneath wherever she was and run in circles in my feet, follow me to the kitchen to wait while I made her salad, and she would follow me back to the living room while she raced/slid down our hallway (like Risky Business). 

         

         

         

        Months went by and she became my best friend. I took her with anytime I visited my parents or my husband for his weekends on-call. She taught me so much about not just rabbits – but about myself. She taught me patience, and she really brought out the maternal side in me. She brought out the best in me and my husband, and we wanted everyone to know how wonderful she was, so we decided that our Christmas card was going to be just her pictures from her bunny spa day – Red Door Shelter does a bunny spa day 4 times a year where they groom your bunny, clip their nails, and have a themed photoshoot. It’s a great way to get your bunny pampered and meet other people who love rabbits as much as you.  

         

         

         

         

        WHEN SHE STARTED TO GET SICK:

        One day, I noticed her eye seemed red and a little swollen, so I called the vet. They said as long as shes still pooping and acting OK, it wasn’t an emergency and I should bring her in at the soonest available. My husband took her and he updated me while I was at work. She had a pretty bad case of conjunctivitis (I swear this just popped up overnight, because I was always in her face giving her kisses!) so she was put on a regimen of eye drops, a triple antibiotic eye gel, Meloxicam for the pain, and we had to give her a Penicillin injection every other day for 30 days. She was fine with the drops, but giving her the Meloxicam and injections was a terrible experience for us both – I just felt so terrible giving her these little shots. I got better at it, and at her 1 week follow-up they said her eye looked much better, but they wanted to keep up with the eye drops for another 2 weeks and the Penicillin for the remaining days. They wanted to see her back in 2 weeks.

         

        I noticed that her poops seemed smaller, drier, and  little mishaped. I called the vet right away, and they told me this is usually a side effect from the medicine. I started to notice her sleeping in her litter box now and then, and not always coming out to play. But other times she seemed perfectly fine, so I attributed this to the medication as well. Her follow-up appointment was coming up so I thought it was ok. It is now Tuesday, and her appointment is Saturday. I give her her Penicillin injection and hung out on the cough with her afterwards. I unwrapped the bunny burrito and she stayed with me. It’s about 1:30am and I gave her a big kiss goodnight.

         

        OUR LAST DAY:

        The next morning, I woke up late – 6:30am. I race to see my Bun and I can’t find her. I grabbed her salad and found her just sitting like a little ball in one of her boxes. She won’t come out, and she won’t eat her salad, not even her cilantro (her favorite). At this point I notice that there is a big pile of cecotrophs (I’ve never seen them before but I knew what they were) and then a big pile of just diarrhea. Then, she jumped on the couch, something she had never done before. I thought this was her telling me she needed help. I scooped her up and slowly put her into her crate and raced to the vet. They took her in and did an x-ray and fecal exam. I waited for the results and they said the x-ray looked fine – she wasn’t bloated, no blockages, etc. But her fecal exam showed Clostridium. They recommended hospitalization and they would do everything to get her better, and the doctor gave me some brief instructions on what her careplan would be when I take her home. They brought her out so that I could say goodbye, and she just looked like she was in bad shape, they said she pooped some more cow piles. They recommended putting her on oxygen and they took her away. Before I left they showed me where they were keeping her – a little cage with a glass window with oxygen flowing in, and my Bun just gave me this look like, “Whats happening? Where are you going?’ I’m near tears, and the team assured me she was in good hands.

        Towards the end of my work day, I got a call and I was excited hoping that it would be news that I would get to take my Bun home. To my despair, it was the vet, who told me Bun had stopped breathing and they had to do CPR. They said they kept trying, but every time they stopped CPR, her heart would stop too, and eventually they had to give up. My bun passed away that day.

         

        GOODBYE: My husband is a funeral director, and his work also does pet services. But since he is 3 hours away, I had to wait until Friday (it is Wednesday night at this point) when I had planned to see him for the weekend, to have services for our baby Bun. The night Bun died was the worst I’d ever felt. I cried and cuddled with her little furry body and read her poems about the Rainbow Bridge. I couldn’t handle it, the thought of putting her in the freezer until she could have a proper service. I didn’t eat or sleep the next two days. 

         

        The chapel and crematory where they have pet services was one of the nicest facilities I’ve ever seen. We found a cute box for Bun, got her a bouquet of flowers, read her letters, and my husband read her a book he had planned to read to her so that they could bond – “Goodnight Goon” a parody of “Goodnight Moon”. We had one of the most beautiful services a bunny could have. I wanted to make up for the lack of care I gave her. I couldn’t help but feel that it was my fault. If only I took her odd behavior seriously and took her to the vet sooner, then there would have been a chance. I keep telling myself the little poops were a dead giveaway, and that every good bun parent knows this, but I didn’t take her soon enough. I miss her every single day. Not hearing the pidder padder of her feet running down the hardwood floor every morning and night just makes me feel empty. I’ve never felt this way about losing a pet, and I’m afraid I don’t know what to do. My husband tells me that I’m a great bun mom, but I can’t help but feel like I let her get sick. I only had her from April until the beginning of December, but I feel like I lost everything. Reading the kind words and poems about pet loss seems to help a little, but any advice or words of wisdom you can provide are appreciated. <3

         

        Goodbye, my sweet Bun Bun. I love you forever and always. 

         

         


      • Lexiee
        Participant
        14 posts Send Private Message

          This put me in tears… My first bunny passed due to heart issues, she was eating well, but losing weight, and there wasn’t anything I could do. I woke up one more to find out she passed away in her hutch. It was the worst thing ever! My heart goes out to you and your bun!


        • aBeautifulHope
          Participant
          170 posts Send Private Message

            I’m so sorry. I recently lost my heart bun to who knows what. It’s so hard to lose a pet unexpectedly <3


          • MimzMum
            Participant
            8029 posts Send Private Message

              I am so very sorry at the loss of your dear companion :'( It is obvious to me that she was greatly loved by you. We can only work with the information we have at the time. We trust our vets to know best what there is to do when our pets become ill. Please try not to blame yourself. It is hard to do, I know. ((((Hugs)))))

              Even though the time we sometimes have with them is shorter than we would like, our animal friends live in the moment. And each moment we can make happy and comfortable for them is a victory. This precious little bun clearly had many more of those moments with you than she would’ve had without you.

              Sending you strengthening and comforting vibes. Binky free, Bun Bun. xx


            • MathildaTheBun
              Participant
              13 posts Send Private Message

                Thank you all so much for your kind words. It’s been just over 2 months and I still feel the same hurt, however I take comfort in knowing that there are people who can empathize and have been in my shoes. I just wish she knew how much I loved her. how happy she made me, and how I did the best I could to take care of her.

                I’ve never felt this way about a pet – we had a different kind of bond than I had with my cat or my dogs. I brought home this little shy creature who only wanted to stay in a box when I first got her, and as she grew to trust me she would run to greet me every morning then stand on my shoes so I wouldn’t leave for work.

                The support means more than you know! <3<3


              • LongEaredLions
                Participant
                4482 posts Send Private Message

                  Your story is so touching. I can tell Mathilda had the best life she possibly could have had. Try not to blame her death on yourself. Bunnies get sick very, very fast and you did everything right. Bun was very lucky to have you. Sending all my hugs and love. She could not have had a more beautiful sending-off. <3


                • Vienna Blue in France
                  Participant
                  5317 posts Send Private Message

                    I’m a bit late on to this too, but so sorry for your loss.
                    Lovely photos and she was obviously a very doted-on companion.
                    Here’s hoping you can open your heart and your home to another bun soon.


                  • bunbunbinkie
                    Participant
                    18 posts Send Private Message

                      I am so very sorry for the loss of your precious girl. Rabbits really are such special companions and the bonds we develop with them are everlasting. They have a way of coming into our lives and lighting up all the dark places with their spirit. Please take comfort in knowing that she was so very fortunate to have found you to love and care for her. Matilda was a beautiful bunny. 


                    • AggieBun
                      Participant
                      3 posts Send Private Message

                        I’m so sorry! Those are some great pictures of Matilda! I recently lost my rabbit prematurely, so I know how you are feeling.


                      • Sr. Melangell
                        Participant
                        1708 posts Send Private Message

                          Oh dear, God bless you and Matilda, I’m so sorry for your loss.


                        • drwil
                          Participant
                          191 posts Send Private Message

                            Sorry about Matilda, it is so hard to lose a pet. She was beautiful.

                            “In our gardens repose the remains of those that possess beauty without vanity, strength without insolence, courage without ferocity, and the virtues of man without his vices: our pets.”–Lord Byron

                        Viewing 10 reply threads
                        • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.

                        Forum RAINBOW BRIDGE Mathilda the Bun