Sad news about Binkie

Question
QUESTION: In the update, you'd probably want to know that the xray showed no stones, and the urine had no crystals.

ANSWER: Dear Melanie,

That's good!  I hope the antibiotics will do the trick, and she'll never have this problem again.

Take care,
Dana

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Dana, again, thank you for your help and kindness.  The short of it is that she died over night last night. :(  Myself and my boys are taking her death very hard.  You've said it well that the taming and love of a bunny is very special.  Ours even licked us incessantly..."kisses".  We feel a huge loss, different from any losses of dogs or cats...we were "her people" and she was our family member.

We feel so bad, like we failed her.  I sure wish I had known how to better feed/care for her before this.  Now that I'm a "qualified" owner in my sight, we may never get a bunny again due to the huge expense of trying to save her (almost $800...is that normal?  No wonder rabbits are called "exotic pets"!).  We're trying to figure out what happened in the end.  Here's how things went down if you have time to take a look.  I'd be -again- extremely grateful.  BTW, we were told that she had what looked like a small spay scar at the first vet visit, but they weren't positive w/o a $170 ultrasound.

Yesterday she was worse again.  Even worse than before.  She wasn't moving off her spot at all.  She was glassy eyed.  My husband took her back to the vet and opted for a new antibiotic and reglan.  We did not get another xray or do an ultrasound.  I should back up, though.  On Sat. night, she had the big urination that we all cheered for.  But on Sunday she still couldn't poo and was straing alot and wouldn't get off her litter-was she trying to poo or pee?  She was contracting her belly like she was trying to push something out.  Yet she leaked from somewhere, pinkish drops (was that possibly the pink simethecone drops we were giving her?)  She ate some italian parsley leaves and was drinking water whenever we offered.  She was very mobile and acted more like herself Sunday, except for the straining on the litter, and seemed uncomfortable.  We gave her 2 warm enemas with the ear syringe and did a few massages.  The colon --or something GI related --felt like a deflated balloon with dirt in it...that had segments every inch or so.  It seemed harder than "doughy" to me.  The xray last friday didn't show any "blockages" in the intestine, but maybe one formed?  She still wouldn't eat the critical care, but did eat the parsely when we bugged her a little.  She didn't output any urine that I saw in the litter.  On Monday when we woke, she stayed on one spot and sort of walked without hopping.  She was glassy eyed and wouldn't respond to much.  That's when my husband went back to the vet and got the Reglan and more antibiotics.  We were encouraged to forcefeed again, so we gave her 4 vials of food and the Reglan.  She didn't seem so much in pain, but the glassy eyed look got worse.  She seemed dehydrated to me and I tried to give water since she hadn't drank any all day.  She refused.  She looked bad and only hobbled away one last time using each leg w/o hopping (although she tried and it was either too much effort, or painful).  She looked so weak.  I had my little boy say his goodbyes before bed.  I held her on my chest for about an hour and 1/2 and she seemed comforted.  I pet her, but mainly kept her warm and watched her rest.  When I put her down, she hobbled to an isolated spot and the next morning she was gone.

I can't explain the saddness.  We loved that little stinker.  We miss everything about her, but mostly her kisses and love.  Thanks for any help understanding this.  
Sincerely, Melanie

Answer
Dear Melanie,

I am so very sorry about the passage of Binkie.  Believe me, I know the unbelievable pain that comes with losing a special soul like this.  Rabbits are so different from dogs or cats.  It's more like they're an equal family member more than being a pet.  It's hard to describe to anyone who hasn't lived with a rabbit.

It sounds as though you did all you could, and that whatever she had (urinary tract blockage?  kidney infection?  renal failure?) was not going to be cured.  It really sucks not to be a god, sometimes.

From your description, it's still hard to know just what happened.  Was her bladder full again at the end?  Was she able to urinate?  She was obviously in pretty severe abdominal discomfort, but without a necropsy it's just not possible to know exactly what happened.  It could have been a cascade of things, with a urinary tract problem leading to intestinal problems because she was not eating or drinking enough.  No way to know for sure.

All I can say is that Binkie was lucky to have such a loving family that took such good care of her to the very end.  And no, $800 isn't unusual for treatments of *any* pet (dog or cat or goldfish included) that has a strange problem that has the vets puzzled.  They treated with the tools they had, but it just wasn't enough.

Light a candle for Binkie and celebrate your love for her and the good times you had together.  It's all we can do, once someone so special has gone on.

While you do that, I'll be lighting candles for my hare, Kazana, who left us to run with the Black Hare after a 2.5 week battle for life.

It just never ends.

Sending healing thoughts,

Dana