Meet the Residents 2

The Indoor Rainbow Rabbits

Bobbi Bobblicious

Bobbi is the sweetest little bunny who had such a terrible start in life. Bobbi along with two other bunnies were bought as Easter presents for young children, a story many rescues are sadly familiar with. They were kept all together in the garden in a 1 ft by 2 ft kitchen cabinet with the door removed and mesh put on the front. The only bedding they had was newspaper, which as you can imagine became soaked through every time it rained, they had no protection from the weather. As there were two females and one male living together, none of which were neutered, the females were constantly giving birth to dead babies. How long these poor bunnies lived like this before being rescues by the RSPCA we just don't know. Once the bunnies had been rescued and neutered we were contacted to take in two of them as they both had serious health problems. Dylan was a beautiful boy but he had issues with E cuniculi and a terrible eye. Eventually we were left with no choice but to have the eye removed, sadly Dylan died the evening after his operation. The infection in his eye had spread to his brain, there was nothing anyone could do. But we hope the 4 weeks he spent with us gave him many happy memories to take to the bridge. Bobbi, is a tiny little bunny who has badly deformed back legs. Her knee caps are in the wrong place so her legs do not bend in the normal manner. We call her our little Frog Princess! Despite her disability Bobbi gets around well although obviously she does have her limitations. She is a very determined little girl, there is a big personality in that little bunny body. When Dylan passed away by her side, Bobbi was beside herself with grief. It was one of the saddest things we have ever seen. She was aggressive towards us and everything else around her. We couldn't console her, all we could do was watch her suffer. After several days we decided to bond her into our group of special bunnies who live free range in our lounge. It worked out pretty well and once again Bobbi became a relaxed flopped out bunny. All she wants in life is bunny friends around her. As Bobbi has real problems with getting into litter trays it is a lot of work to keep the room tidy and all her towels washed and clean but it is so worth it to see her sound asleep next to her companions with her little legs in the air and her nose twitching as she dreams. Its a far cry from the years of neglect she had to endure, thank goodness.

ANGEL

Angel is a lovely 6 year old Lionhead Bunny. Sadly she has deformities to both her front feet, they point inwards so she walks on her elbows. However as she was probably born this way she has learnt to adapt and can get around really well. Angel and her companion Rosie-Pippin were both rescued from appalling conditions. They were found being kept in a filthy guinea pig hutch. How long they had been in there we just don’t know, I really hope it wasn’t for the whole 6 years! On arrival at the sanctuary it was clear that hormones were causing a few problems between the two girls, so after being given a few weeks to settle down and following vaccinations they were neutered. Thankfully their both uterus looked normal as uterine cancer is always a worry in such elderly un-neutered females. Angel developed symptoms of an underlying lung infection after her vaccination. We caught it early so thankfully she responded well to anti-biotics and anti inflammatories. On top of this Angel also needs dentals. Given her lung problems the anaesthetic is always a real worry, but so far so good. When Angel first arrived she was very nervous and when free ranging would stick to one corner of the room, obviously they were not at all used to space. However over the weeks she has slowly come out of her shell and nowadays will be in the kitchen in a flash if she hears the rustle of a packet just in case it is a treat for her. We are so delighted with their progress that we usually end up giving her a little something anyway, after all who can resist such an angelic face! Angel has now been bonded to Larry to make a wonderful bunny trio.

ROSIE - PIPPIN

Rosie-Pippin is a lovely 6 year old Black Bunny. Both her and her companion Angel were rescued from appalling conditions. They were found being kept in a filthy guinea pig hutch. How long they had been in there we just don't know, I really hope it wasn't for the whole 6 years! Angel has deformities to her feet, which we think she was born with. However, it she has adapted well and it certainly doesn't stop her getting around!
On arrival it was clear that hormones were causing a few problems between the two girls, so after being given a few weeks to settle down and following vaccinations they were neutered. Thankfully their both uterus looked normal as uterine cancer is always a worry in such elderly un-neutered females.
When Rosie-Pippin first arrived she was very nervous and when free ranging would stick to one corner of the room, obviously they were not at all used to space. However over the weeks she has slowly come out of her shell and nowadays will be in the kitchen in a flash if she hears the rustle of a packet just in case it is a treat for her. We are so delighted with their progress that we usually end up giving her a little something anyway! Rosie has also worked out that she can fit in the tiny gap underneath our welsh dresser, which comes in very handy for her when it is time to go back in her cage!! Rosie-Pippin has now been bonded to Larry to make a lovely bunny trio.

Sadly Rosie-Pippin has recently had some kind of neurological episode. To start with we really thought she wouldn't pull through but thankfully she is now making positive progress. She is still on medication and will be for several more weeks. As we do not know the cause of her problem we have no idea what the long term outlook is for Rosie - Pippin, but at the moment she is happy and enjoying life with her bunny friends.

HUMPHREY CUSHION

We were asked to take in a 10 year old female bunny earlier this year and as luck would have we did have one space left which was for a female bunny. However when the bunny arrived it took me a few seconds to realise that bunny was in fact an entire male!! How the owners could miss the fact is beyond me, not only did he have two very noticeable additions, but his behaviour is so hormonal even at 10 years old, so goodness knows what he was like in his younger days! We can only assume that this gorgeous boy was never handled or given much freedom at all. On arrival Humphrey was very underweight, he had a lot of muscle wastage on his hips and had severe hind leg weakness. But what was very apparent was his total love of life. The fact that his back legs didn't work properly didn't stop him trying to run round the garden, even if it did lead to the odd tumble. The amount of love this bunny has to give is amazing. He has given me more bunny kisses in the few months he has been with us than I have had in the past 10 years. My day is no longer complete if he hasn't covered my face in licks on numerous occasions. Humphrey was given a complete vet health check including blood tests and for his age it was all good news, he even has great teeth. His hind leg weakness and muscle wastage is part due to old age/arthritis and part due to lack of exercise, but with pain relief and lots of free range time Humphrey has literally come on in leaps and bounds. Given his age he gets totally spoilt with one or two treats each day and a bowl of porridge for breakfast, so he has also put on weight since he has been here. We can only guess the sort of life Humphrey lived before he became a Rainbow Rabbit, but now for him life is great, he is the happiest bunny you could possibly imagine. We love him as much as he loves us, and while he is with us - however long that may be - we can never have a bad day, because he is always there to smother us with bunny cuddles and kisses.

FRANK

Frank is lovely old black bunny that has had a rather interesting life but not for the right reasons. During his 9 years he has ended up in rescue 3 times. He has old scars on his ears which are the result of a fox attack in which his partner died and one of the reasons he ended back in rescue again. We were asked to take him by the rescue because of his age and also because he had only one eye. We weren’t given anymore details so assumed that he had been born that way, so were shocked to see the state of Frank on the day he arrived. He had an open socket which was full of pus! We then discovered that his eye had been removed by his previous owner just before he arrived at the rescue, due to an abscess. The socket had been stitched together but because the infection had returned it had reopened and needed urgent veterinary treatment. We got Frank some antibiotics straight away and after a few weeks he was well enough to have his eyelids re-stitched. We thought this would be a straight forward op but it seems nothing with Frank is what it seems. Once Frank was under the anaesthetic we had a strange call from the vet. After some investigating it was discovered that Frank had a tiny deformed eye still lodged in the back of the socket! This meant a much bigger operation for Frank, which given his age was high risk. Thankfully he came through it well and is hopefully much more comfortable. Both we and the vet are mystified at this finding as it begs the question, what did the previous vet actually think they had removed?? Frank is such a brave bunny and so good natured considering everything he has been through. But at least now he has found his forever home and can relax and enjoy his retirement. He loves nothing more than laying in the sunshine all day.

This winter Frank has moved indoors as he has become a very old man. It took awhile for him to adjust to inside life but he is now starting to relax and enjoy the comfort and warmth.

HERMAN BUNSTER

Herman Bunster was originally picked up as a stray in someone's garden. He is estimated to be around 8 years old, but of course we can't be certain. Herman has a lot to deal with in life. He has the most awful teeth. His incisors were growing up into his nose and round into the roof of his mouth when he was rescued. These have now been removed but because they were so rotten fragments were left behind so they have a tendency to grow back. His small peg teeth have been removed 4 times now, but have grown back once again. Also his lower incisors are returning but are breaking off by themselves before they become a problem. Herman's molars also need regular dentals as well as his roots growing into his lower jaw. Because of this Herman needs his food mushed up into tiny pieces. Its actually amazing that he can eat as well as he can. If all that wasn't enough to deal with, an ultra sound has revealed that Herman has liver cancer. He needs at least 3 meals a day to try to maintain his weight, although despite so many meals his weight is slowly dropping off. You would think with so many problems Herman would be a bunny that feels sorry for himself, but nothing could be further from the truth, he is a happy hyperactive little bunny! He loves running up and down the stairs and is totally devoted to his companion Dave.

VALERIE

Valerie is a very pretty Dutch cross who arrived quite suddenly one morning. On attending an appointment with our vets they asked us if we could help a bunny that had been found wandering the streets by some children. Of course we said yes, and 30 minutes later we were the proud owners of Valerie. Our original intention was to collect her, get her neutered etc and then look for a new home for her, but as usual our plans did not work out. We could tell straight away that Valerie had problems, her eyes were running and we could feel her tooth roots pushing through her jaw line. She was so over weight that we thought she was heavily pregnant, and her claws were extremely overgrown. Goodness knows how she was able to walk. A quick Ultrasound at the vets showed she wasn’t pregnant, just very fat. We think she must have been sat in a small hutch for a long time being over fed before she was let out to wander the streets. Despite everything Valerie was a friendly, inquisitive girl from the start. She needed a dental urgently and we also got her neutered. It only took her a few weeks to get her back to a sleek athletic shape, which made her so much happier and active. Valerie was doing so well we decided to bond her to one of our recently bereaved bunnies Wesley. It went like a dream, Valerie loved him instantly. It was wonderful to see her cuddled up with some bunny company after all she had been through. Valerie continues to be a happy, lively bunny despite her dental issues. During her free range time in the lounge she is a typical dutch, always on the go and into everything. One day she ran down the stairs a little too fast, tumbling the last couple and managing to knock one of her front teeth out! But it didn’t bother her and she raced off again. Unfortunately all Valerie’s front teeth are very week and they do break off at regular intervals, meaning she often has to have them burred to level them out. However, Valerie’s appetite remains ravenous. She will get most upset if you eat a sandwich in the same room as her and not feed her some of your crusts. So much so that she will sit on a foot stool and beg on her hind legs and if that fails she just jumps on your plate!

Recently Valerie's tooth roots have started to cause her more problems. She is now on high pain relief and can only eat mushy food. We know she doesn't have much time ahead of her but while she is still happy and lively and enjoying the food she can eat we will continue to give her everything that she needs. But as soon as we know the pain has become to much for her we will do what we need to do to make sure she is never in pain again.

DAVE

Dave is a gorgeous, is a old French lop. We were asked to give Dave a home when a rabbit rescue became aware of a local breeder who was not getting her rabbits the vet treatment they needed. When he arrived he had a severe head tilt and was rolling on the floor. We took him straight to the vets who prescribed a course of treatment for him. Dave has literally come on in leaps and bounds and loves running around the garden during the summer months. He is a huge softy and always comes running over for head rubs and also loves a cuddle. His medication has just finished and although Dave will always have a head tilt he has never rolled or lost his balance since and he certainly doesn’t let his disability hold him back in anyway. Dave is very happy settled as a house bunny, he loves his cuddly beds and during the very cold temperatures got as close to the fireguard as possible to keep himself toasty warm. Dave has developed a few dental problems in recent months and needs his incisors burring every few weeks, but he continues to eat well and is generally a very content bunny. Dave loves other bunnies and other bunnies love Dave! He has accepted so many rabbits as his companions over the past two years he has been with us. he truly is a special bunny. Dave currently lives free range with Herman, Bobbi and Valerie.

LARRY

Larry is New Zealand White, who came to us with his brother Leon. Despite being only 15 months old they had already had a very interesting and stressful start to their lives. They were originally bred to supply a laboratory for animal testing before they and some others rabbits were liberated by an animal action group. Larry and Leon were then dropped off at a rescue centre where they were taken in and put into foster care. Unfortunately because they were taken illegally from the breeding farm they became part of a police investigation and were taken away for a number of months as “evidence”. They were eventually returned to the rescue centre and put back into foster care until they moved to our sanctuary. Both Larry and Leon grew considerably while in police care almost doubling in size to 5kg each! Also Larry developed problems in his spine around his neck area. X-rays were taken which revealed that he had a loss of joint space and degeneration between his vertebrae which was causing him a lot of discomfort and inflammation. Larry is now on daily pain relief and probably will be for the rest of his life. It is also possible that his vertebrae will eventually fuse in that area which will prevent Larry from moving his head properly. Despite everything these lovely bunnies have been through they were still remarkably friendly and lively. Unfortunately Leon died suddenly on New Years Day 2009. A post mortem revealed he had an incurable genetic condition. It is so sad that Leon died at such a young age but at least he got the chance to understand what freedom was.

Larry has had a few neurological problems in the past year, including bleeding behind his eyes. Although not as lively as we would like he is still doing well and we have recently be able to bond him with Angel and Rosie-Pippin which has really improved the quality of Larry's life.

Meet the Outdoor Rainbow Rabbits

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