‘enry: 14 years’ young

Rescued at 9years old from such a sad situation where his owner decided he was no longer wanted, this gorgeous boy has just turned 14. He’s a real gem but not without his ailments. I thought you might like a bit of info on how we’ve arrived here over the last 5 years… and hitting 14 (is that about 112 in ‘human’?)

If ever a bunny should be doing ‘Superman’, it’s this boy.

‘enry arrived here as a foster – which failed within hours i think :). He was doing a lot of shunting with his head – a fear response which took some weeks to stop, but he realised quickly that Daisy my 8 year old mini lop (also a rescue) needed him as she had many ailments and he stepped up bigtime. He was with her for about a year before she finally had had enough fighting EC, multiple UTIs, abcesses, eye issues and historic skeletal problems from having been kept in a tiny breeders hutch for the first 4 years of her life. As is usual, he got really down when she died, barely moved other than to get in the litter tray. So bringing Esther home (a rescue at 1 year old) changed his life. If ever you need proof that bunnies need bunnies to thrive, you need only have seen him climbing stairs for the first time in his life within a couple of weeks of this crazy girl arriving. She’s an independent sort – sometimes goes off on her own into another room for a few hours, but now, as he gets older and with less muscle and feels the cold more, she sticks by him. I sometimes worry that she’s not getting enough stimulation but she can still binky for England.

‘Enry has had arthritis from fairly soon after i got him. I tried acupuncture which had worked really well on 2 previous buns, but you could tell it was different for him – only giving him minimal relief and he really didn’t enjoy the experience (my previous buns loved it!). He also developed a basal ear abscess which is so badly positioned that he would have had to have his whole ear canal removed. I couldn’t do that at 11 years old and it wasn’t growing significantly (penicillin didn’t work either), so having discussed with 2 bunny vet friends, decided not to put him through the op. It was a decision i’m delighted I made. You can’t underestimate how difficult it is to make decisions about bunny treatment sometimes. They’re tricky beautiful creatures. It’s important to study yours. You’ll get to know if there’s something not right by just looking at them. Anyway, as a result of some slow progression the abscess started pressing on a facial nerve and so pulls up one side of his face and lifts his left ear. I’m assured it doesn’t cause him pain and it certainly doesn’t stop him eating. I keep an eye on his (eyes) – cos you don’t know what pressure is going on in there. He’s also progressively become blind and is pretty much deaf now. But it doesn’t hold him back. He’s active – happily roams the whole of downstairs and will make himself heard when the face strokes aren’t good enough!

He’s a long term Metacam bunny and, in the 2 years or so topped up with 6year+ Calpol (I tried all the flavours, Strawberry was the only one he would tolerate). He’s a good eater. But he’s lost some muscle in the last year or so weighs in a bit lighter, but he gets a good pinch of organic porridge oats with his dried forage every day to keep the weight on. It won’t harm Esther either (she’s developing her own perfect dewlap!) In the last couple of months he’s gone off his breakfast loop once or twice. so i started giving him a syringe or 2 of Critical Care every day with one of his meds rounds. He’s often pooey these days (this may be controversial but he loves his fresh herbs and greens so i’d rather keep his fibre up and deal with washing his bum under a running tap a couple of times a week). He can’t help not being able to eat caecatrophs straight from there these days – i can’t imagine what this would mean to bunnies who are not observed. i guess they never make it to 14. I can’t imagine why people treat them so badly. We all know how full the rescues are and there’s easter coming up. Never a good time for those buns who get ‘bought’ as a kids present when ‘easy’ and ‘cheap’ is the last thing they are. I’ve no idea how much i’ve spent over the years on my buns… I don’t care… it’s about time bunnies get a much better deal and that means making sure they’re better understood. Vets don’t regard them as exotics for nothing. Unlike cats and dogs, rabbits are not domesticated. They will eat your wires cos that just looks like stuff in the wild, they do hide illness and don’t generally like or are comfortable being picked up cos they feel like they’re gonna get eaten. Prey animals. Good people that take them on think like them (and there are a lot out there… I met loads at last year’s TNRF in Birmingham).

Anyway i digress. As Enry is now almost completely blind and deaf Esther pushes him around the room to get him to move. It’s so sweet. She’s been a great addition to his life. Essential really. So however long ‘Enry has got me and her wrapped around his little paws, I’m gonna make sure he’s loved, enriched, and treated as well as i can possibly treat him. With as little stress as possible. I’m just happy he’s experienced a safe and loving environment for the last 5 years and wish the same for all those buns out there.

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