dragging bunny :-(

Question
I have been going over something in my head and I'm racked with guilt :-( I
had a bunny for a little over seven yrs...a mini lop. It was my first bunny so I
didn't know to get her spayed right away. Anyway, I waited almost three yrs
then had the procedure done. A few yrs. passed and she developed a
mammory tumor. The tumor was removed successfully last August. One
night, I was checking her stitches and had her turned over on her back, kinda
upside down, like your supposed too and she jumped out of my arms. I
checked her legs, etc. everything seemed fine. After that night, she started
hopping funny. Her bottom would go to the right. About a month later, her
back right foot would point out, when she sat. Again, I took her to the vet and
they explained that with bunnies it's sometimes hard to tell what the problem
is. She was eating, drinking and doing everything else normal so I just got
used to seeing her hop like that. A month ago, her hop got slower and she
dragged her legs the one night but the next day she seemed fine again. Last
Sunday, she was really dragging her legs so I took her to the vet, they put her
in the hospital to give her steriod injections to correct her back leg problems
plus they had to treat urine burns. :-(:-(:-( They weren't hopeful of
improvement, as far as her legs but they wanted to try and hope for the best.
I've been keeping after her because with her legs to the side, she was getting
herself dirty from stool and urine but I had NO IDEA it got on her one side so
bad! I had no idea urine could do that:-0 They got that all cleaned up good
and it was healing this week. Thur. she got worse and her breathing was
labored. She also didn't eat that day. She died this morning before i had to go
in and make the tuff decision about putting her to sleep.:-(   MY QUESTION...

1)I know a rabbit's spine is sensetive. Did I cause her to get injured, when she
jumped out of my arms all those months ago or would she have gone down
hill faster, if that were the case? I feel that if I would've had her spayed
sooner, she wouldn't have had the tumor, no operation and she would not
have jumped out of my arms, which led to her hopping funny, which lead to
her urine burns and problems. My vet said that it was the stress on her heart
because she couldn't get around right, that lead to her passing? Can you shed
some more light on this? She was my baby and I miss her so much :-(
Thanks,
Bridget  

Answer
Hi Bridget

You can't blame yourself for your bunny dying.  The injury may have caused her an injury which may in turn have led to arthritis... however it did not kill her.  I can't tell you for sure but I do know that if her spine had been that seriously injured from the fall that you would have seen much worse symptoms from the beginning.  

I think the vet may have been partially right.  Rabbits can't deal with stress and sometimes it is easier for them to just die than to deal with stress.  It sounds like you took very good care of her but her just knowing that she couldn't get around like she used to may have been tremendously stressful.

You did nothing wrong.  You fed her and kept her warm and kept her butt clean as best you could.  It is not easy getting all the urine off of a rabbit.  Even highly trained bunny butt washers aren't perfect.  Don't blame yourself.  She loved you no matter what.  

This site was created for those who are mourning over the loss of a pet.  It is a beautiful poem and it brings me happiness every time I read it.  I hope it will help you find some peace.

Sincerely

Pam

http://www.hgrabbitry.com/rainbowbridge.htm