Dwarf Rabbit Injury/Death

Question
I had an approximately ten week old black/white female dwarf rabbit (Oreo) that was purchased roughly two weeks ago. In our home we had created a "bunny run" of roughly 15 -20 feet in our hallway to allow the bunnies to exercise daily with two infant gates blocking them in.

Our rambunctious 4 1/2 year daughter attempted to get over one of the gates to get to her bedroom this morning as cage cleaning was taking place. Unfortunately and sadly, she either accidentally stepped on our smaller rabbit, Oreo, or knocked the fence over with the rabbit underneath. My 6 year old son called for help right away and said that Oreo was able to run approximately 8 feet before she went over to some newspaper we had in the hallway where she then twitched several times and laid on her side. We picked Oreo up immediately and attempted to pet her and speak calmly to her, but her eyes glazed over and her heart was not beating. With my wife and children in tears, I placed Oreo in a box with the lids closed and let her lay there for approximately 45 minutes to an hour, but there still was not any movement, nor a heartbeat, and her body was totally limp, however her body temperature was still rather warm. I then laid her to rest in our yard, presuming Oreo had passed.

My question is, I have read that dwarf rabbits' spines and necks are very fragile. Is it possible that a broken neck/back could have caused the immediate death of a dwarf rabbit of such a young age, or rather a combination of the traumatic injury and her heart ceasing due to "trauma shock," which I have read a lot about. I'm torn because I have heard stories of other (older) dwarf rabbits surviving such injuries and am curious if the (young) age of Oreo might have played a role in her death.

I have also read that dwarf rabbits have an innate ability based on their older "wild" cousins to avoid pain when preyed upon. They can do this when they are subjected to sudden trauma and will collapse and "play dead" shutting down bodily functions to avoid the pain of being eaten. However, I have also read that an incident forcing them to play dead requires immediate intensive veterinary care to recover from -- this has raised doubts in my mind as to if I did the right thing in burying Oreo so quickly.

If you can, please advise on cause of death if you can and/or if Oreo might have just shut down her bodily functions due to trauma (which I feel is highly unlikely given the condition she remained in for close to an hour).

Finally, Oreo and our remaining female dwarf rabbit (Snowball) were in a cage together for roughly a week at the pet store and in our home for two weeks before today. Can we expect any "ill effects" on Snowball from the sudden separation form Oreo and should we look to get her a new companion as soon as possible?

Answer
Dear Christian,

I am so sorry about the tragic death of Oreo.  I know it was an accident, and everyone is heartbroken.  

I am sure that Oreo had passed, and was not feigning death.  Rabbits just don't do that.  She probably died from trauma to her internal organs, since it happened so very quickly.  There is nothing you could have done to save her, once she was crushed, and it is probably merciful that she died so quickly, and did not linger with terrible injuries.

An older rabbit might have survived being hit by a gate, but that's only because an older rabbit would be larger and have larger muscles and bones.  It's all a question of scaling:  a human child can be killed by a blow that would only mildly injure an adult.

If Snowball is still very young, she will recover from this trauma.  But I would recommend that you contact your local rabbit rescuer for advice on adopting a rabbit, rather than buying one.  

www.rabbit.org/chapters

They can also advise you about child-proofing the area where the rabbits are, so that nothing like this can happen again.  (Kids can be amazingly resourceful when they want something!)

This is one reason that the House Rabbit Society recommends that if a rabbit (especially a young rabbit) is to live in a home with very young children (under the age of 10), that every precaution be taken to ensure that there is no way the children, who love and want to play with the rabbits, can inadvertently harm them.  I am so sorry this accident happened, and send healing vibes to you and the family, including Snowball.

Take care,
Dana