Beloved Nomi, 2010 to March 31, 2012

[SnowyShiloh]

Our darling Nomi girl just died very unexpectedly during an emergency vet visit. I will give more details later but I'm very shocked and upset right now and my mind is reeling.

Nomi, you were a wonderful, darling, precious, smart, curious, busy, amazing girl and captured our hearts in the short 3 months we had the joy of knowing you. We may have taken you in as a foster bunny with the goal of finding you a fantastic home of your own, but it quickly became apparent to us deep down in our hearts that you weren't going anywhere, even if we hadn't completely admitted it yet. I'm sorry you had a terrible life, but please know that you DID belong with us and we loved you like crazy and will never forget you. Binky in heaven with Cinnabun, Tallulah, Skyler, and all the other sweet bunnies that have gone before you.

I'm so, so sorry, baby girl.

 

[Kipcha]

Oh no! I am so sorry to hear this, she looked like such a sweetheart It's such a surprise to see her on here...

She got to live out her best days with you. She was a lucky bunny.

:rip:

 

[SOOOSKA]

Oh Shiloh, I'm so sorry.

Binky Free at the Rainbow Bridge :rainbow:Nomi.

Hugs

Susan:bunnyangel2:

 

[I_heart_Fraggles]

How sad Binky free sweet bun.

 

[ZRabbits]

Oh Shiloh, I'm am truly sorry for the sudden loss of your Beloved Nomi.

I truly believe Nomi felt loved because she showed you her true spirit as you described her so lovingly in those three short months. Don't feel sorrow for her past, celebrate for her that someone couldn't break that sweet spirit with neglect.

Binky free Beloved Nomi and to you Shiloh, my heartfelt condolences.

K

 

[Samara]

Please let us know if we can do anything for you We'll keep you guys in our thoughts.

Rest in peace Nomi :hearts: Give Bailey a good kick in the cottontail butt for me up there in the sky.

 

[LakeCondo]

She had the 3 best months of her life with you.

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Thanks for the kind words, everyone. I miss my Nomi girl. I'm up early (it's 6 am here) because I kept waking up and thinking of her and crying. It will never be the same without her here, she was a one of a kind bunny.

I can explain more what happened, get ready for a lot of words. Nomi's cage is upstairs in our bedroom. I went upstairs yesterday afternoon at about 1:45 to bring Nomi some toilet paper tubes I'd made into toys (she loves them) and as soon as I walked into the bedroom I saw that she had not eaten the food I'd given her the night before. She was sitting there and did not move to greet me when I came over, which is highly unusual. Flung the door open and she didn't come to me (she always views an open door as an excuse to run around the room). I was able to get a closer look at her and realized she was having a hard time breathing. Couldn't hear her breathing, but I could see her gasping like a fish. There's a carrier on top of her cage and I immediately put her in it, called the vet (thank goodness they're open on the weekend), and rushed out to the car to bring her in.

On the way to the vet she was able to sit up right but was still having trouble breathing, I talked softly to her the whole time and told her it would be okay. As soon as I walked into the vet office, I started crying and didn't stop the entire time I was there. A vet tech came to look at Nomi and whisked her away to the back room and put me in an exam room. 5 minutes later the vet took me back to see her and a vet tech was giving her blow by oxygen (had the tube about an inch in front of her face so it was blowing on her nose and mouth). She was no longer gasping thank goodness. Nomi was sprawled out on her tummy, not sure if she did that herself or if the vet positioned her like that and she didn't protest.

The vet told me that she'd listened to Nomi's lungs and they were full of fluid. She said Nomi was in bad shape (which I could tell) and she thought she would die and the only way to save her was to anesthetize her and then put an IV into her bone, then leave her on oxygen for a few days. She said that if Nomi survived the anesthesia, the procedure had a 10% chance of saving her and that it would be very uncomfortable for her. My choice was basically to try this painful procedure that probably wouldn't work (and that she'd probably die during). The vet said there was nothing else that would save her and she suggested euthanizing her. I didn't want my poor girl to suffer anymore and decided to have her put to sleep. The vet gave me a few minutes to cry over Nomi and pet her and say goodbye. I tried to cry quietly so I wouldn't scare her because I know bunnies can sense their owners feelings. I told her I loved her and apologized to her and told her she would be going to heaven to be with Cinnabun, Tallulah, and Skyler. Then the vet came back and put a cone thing over her nose and mouth that gave her the anesthetic and made her fall asleep. Nomi did try to move her head away twice and the vet said it's because it smelled bad (I could smell it and it was gross). Nomi fell asleep really fast. The vet listened to her heart and said it was barely beating, then she injected a syringe of medicine into her heart. I looked away while she did it, but I petted Nomi during the entire procedure. After the injection, she listened to her heart and said it stopped beating. The vet and vet tech then left me alone for about 15 minutes to pet Nomi and talk to her and kiss her face. When the vet came back she clipped off a little of Nomi's fur for me to take home.

The entire thing from when I realized Nomi was sick to when I left the vet office was less than an hour. It happened so fast, I've never been through anything like it. I'm still in shock and expect to see my girl in her cage and keep thinking I have 7 bunnies and I keep accidentally calling the other bunnies by her name.

I asked the vet to do a necropsy on Nomi so we could find out what exactly caused her to get pneumonia. The vet did the necropsy as soon as I left and called later to say her lungs had granulomas in them and she made a slide and could see rod shaped bacteria. She's sending a sample to a lab to be tested so we know exactly what the bacteria is. As a preventative measure we are going to start the other bunnies on a round of Baytril in case whatever she was infected with could have spread to them. They're all acting fine thank goodness, but I want to nip anything bad in the bud. Nomi's cage was upstairs in our bedroom and her play area was up there too so thankfully she was far away from them, but I didn't wash my hands between petting her and petting the other bunnies or anything.

I feel so, so terrible about Nomi's death and blame myself. I'm such an attentive bunny mom, how could I not notice she was sick until it was too late to save her? Our morning routine is for me to sit up in bed, and Nomi runs over to the side of her cage and stands as tall as she can on her back legs. I pet her through the bars and talk to her. If I have time, I open her cage and pet her, too. We do this every single morning, including Friday morning... except the morning she died. Paul was still at a friend's house when I went to bed, and when I woke up I was eager to see if he was home so I just jumped out of bed and ran downstairs to check. On Friday night when I went to bed, I was very tired and did not turn on the light because I could see her loafing in the cage in the glow of the lamp I keep on for her. I didn't want to hurt her eyes by turning on the overhead light. I opened her door and put food in her cage and petted her. She didn't get up but I thought she was just sleepy like I was. If I'd been more awake maybe I would have wondered why she wasn't happier to see me and would have noticed that she didn't run over to eat her dinner.

So, that's it. That's the story of my poor girl's death. I have many more thoughts that I'll write about later. Aside from blaming myself for her death, I'm second guessing my decision to have her put down. There's nothing I can do about it now but I still keep going over it in my mind. I'd do anything to bring Nomi back!

Now let's just hope that the other buns don't get sick. After I got home from the vet, I took a shower with antibacterial soap and put the clothes I was wearing in a trash bag, then disinfected every hard surface possible. Ned just sneezed and that struck fear into my heart. I didn't hear Nomi sneeze a single time, but still.

 

[LakeCondo]

Thanks for the update. You did what you could & maybe if you'd have noticed her breathing problem sooner it would have just led to more treatment that would have been unsuccessful & painful & upsetting for her. She's at peace now.

 

[Ape337]

Shiloh,
Words can't express how sorry I am to hear about Nomi. Her story reduced me to a pile of tears. Please don't play the what-if game with yourself. I speak from experience on this one. You clearly care very deeply about your buns, and I am sure you do everything under the sun to give them the best of everything. You took action the very moment you saw something wrong and that's all anyone could ask of you. Never, ever second guess yourself with regards to euthanasia. It sounds like you were left with no choice. No one wants to make that decision, and life would be so much easier if our pets would pass quietly and on their own. But they often don't and we are left with that choice, a choice that is kinder than the suffering that we would be putting our beloved animals through.
Seven months after I made the same decision for my precious dog I sometimes wonder if I made the right decision, if his surgery might have worked and saved his life, if by some miracle that tumor could be removed without killing him. I made the right decision, and so did you.

Binky free little oneray:

 

[gmas rabbit]

Shiloh - I am so sorry for your lose. I agree don't second guess yourself. I too did the same thing with Benjamin at Christmas, What is I had noticed sooner, why didn't I realize right away he was in trouble. What did I miss, what could I have done. That is part of the grief process, the questioning and guilt. Let it go. You gave her the best 3 months of her life. It was time to go and you did it as painlessly as possible. The toughest thing to do is to actually put these little ones to sleep, but it is an act of unselfish love. Know that you did it because you loved her and didn't want her to suffer any longer. She is out of paid and waiting for that day that she is reunited with you and the rest of the bunny pack. Binky free little girl.

 

[pla725]

I understand your situation. I lost my girl Gracie practically the same way. I didn't notice that she was having a difficult time breathing. I did the same thing as you didrushed her to the vet and they did the best that they could. I decided it was best to let her go. Gracie came to me in rough shape. She was a great rabbit despite her health problems. Remember all the good times.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We're so sorry to hear of your loss. Binky free little girl.

 

[SnowyShiloh]

The vet kept saying that Nomi probably didn't start showing she was having trouble breathing until Saturday morning. I'm sure I would have noticed on Friday night when I fed her, even though it was dark and tired. Her illness and death have just completely shocked me, I always considered myself to be a very attentive bunny owner. More than once I've rushed a rabbit to the vet that turned out to be fine! It's hard not to blame myself. Maybe if her cage had been downstairs I would have noticed her problem sooner. Everything I see reminds me of her. There are bunny things everywhere since it's right before Easter... This afternoon we went to Petco to get Benebac for the other bunnies and there was a rabbit cage for sale with a picture of a bunny that looked exactly like her. I saw so many toys that Nomi would have loved. ALL bunnies are special, but Nomi was extra special and extra wonderful. She was the most fun bunny I've ever known. Paul and I liked to joke that she was part pinball and part squirrel because she was so hyper and curious and practically bounced off the walls when she was out of her cage and was always getting into things.

One tiny good thing is that I have her babies, Max and Macie. They are not Nomi but they are part of her. Max's personality in particular is quite similar to Nomi's (he looks the most like her, too). We will always remember our sweet, feisty, smarty pants girl.

The support of my bunny loving friends means so much to me! Thanks so much.

 

[Nela]

*Hugs*

This made me so sad. I'm so sorry Shiloh... I'm not sure if it can be the same, but my friend's dog die last week of heart failure and he was also full of fluid. If that's possible with rabbits, there really isn't anything you could have done. You are a wonderful bunny mum and you always go above and beyond to ensure that they are happy and well-taken care of. You cannot put that on yourself. Nomi would most likely have died alone if you hadn't taken her in. Remember that she got to live some happy days and felt the love of a family while she was with you, something she might never have felt otherwise. :hearts

Binky free sweet Nomi. :rainbow:Say hi to Wiggles for me.

 

[ZRabbits]

Shiloh, believe me, you ARE a very good Bunny Mom, and no matter how attentive you are, some bunnies will hide their illnesses until it just too late to do anything.

It happened to me with Neville. That Tuesday when we went to get Luna, I checked all my bunnies before leaving. Neville greeted me like he always did. No signs at all that he was getting sick. I come home early evening and find him hiding in his house, eyes spinning and truly sick.

Your Vet is right. It happens so fast in some no matter how good of a bunny Mom you are.

K

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

I'm so sorry to hear about your dear Nomi bunny. :cry4:

You are a great bunny mum~you've taken such great care of so many bunnies and given them such a great home. Don't blame yourself; so many times there's no way you can tell with bunnies because of how good they are at hiding their illnesses.

Binky Free Nomi! :rainbow:

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Still missing my spritely girl, don't think that will ever change. Everything reminds me of her and even though I know she's gone, I keep looking at her cage expecting her to bounce over like she always did. In some ways that's one of the worst things about losing a beloved pet- waiting for your subconscious to catch up with your brain and realize they're gone and not coming back. It's like a tiny death again each time you look for them and then remember what happened

I keep second guessing the decision to put her down. Maybe the vet was wrong (it's a vet who isn't super familiar with rabbits because the regular vet was not in that day, it's the vet that did not notice Tallulah's URI and mites when I brought her in and treated Tallulah the day she died and sent her home with me saying she'd be okay only to have her die 20 minutes later, and who killed one of our baby birds). Maybe Nomi could have been saved. When I found that she was sick and was getting the carrier ready for her, she hopped over and ate a pellet. When she was in the carrier, she turned around a couple of times. When they gave her oxygen, she no longer looked like she was struggling to breathe. When they put the gas mask over her face, she tried to move her face away a couple of times. It's torturing me to think maybe I was given the wrong info and she wasn't as dire as the vet thought and maybe she could have recovered, or at the least she was not ready to die. I regret not getting to hold her before she died and wish I'd asked the vet tech if I could be alone with her. Does not help that I found a web site that said a rabbit brought in with Nomi's symptoms should not be put down immediately and listed a whole bunch of things that should be tried first. I wouldn't want to prolong Nomi's pain by trying lots of crazy life saving things on her that wouldn't work, but if something small could have been done... I don't know. I tried to do what was best for her.

The vet that treated Nomi is not a terrible person by any means, she's very caring but inexperienced with rabbits (and birds). The incidents with Tallulah were 4 years ago so I'd imagine her skills have improved since then. She mostly works with cats and dogs and I'd think (or hope!) lungs full of fluid sound the same on cats, dogs, AND rabbits so hopefully she was right and Nomi really was beyond saving. This is selfish. It's NOT that I want Nomi not to have been saveable but that I want my agreement to have her put down was the right one and that she didn't lose her life unnecessarily.

 

[ZRabbits]

SnowyShiloh wrote:

Still missing my spritely girl, don't think that will ever change. Everything reminds me of her and even though I know she's gone, I keep looking at her cage expecting her to bounce over like she always did. In some ways that's one of the worst things about losing a beloved pet- waiting for your subconscious to catch up with your brain and realize they're gone and not coming back. It's like a tiny death again each time you look for them and then remember what happened

I keep second guessing the decision to put her down. Maybe the vet was wrong (it's a vet who isn't super familiar with rabbits because the regular vet was not in that day, it's the vet that did not notice Tallulah's URI and mites when I brought her in and treated Tallulah the day she died and sent her home with me saying she'd be okay only to have her die 20 minutes later, and who killed one of our baby birds). Maybe Nomi could have been saved. When I found that she was sick and was getting the carrier ready for her, she hopped over and ate a pellet. When she was in the carrier, she turned around a couple of times. When they gave her oxygen, she no longer looked like she was struggling to breathe. When they put the gas mask over her face, she tried to move her face away a couple of times. It's torturing me to think maybe I was given the wrong info and she wasn't as dire as the vet thought and maybe she could have recovered, or at the least she was not ready to die. I regret not getting to hold her before she died and wish I'd asked the vet tech if I could be alone with her. Does not help that I found a web site that said a rabbit brought in with Nomi's symptoms should not be put down immediately and listed a whole bunch of things that should be tried first. I wouldn't want to prolong Nomi's pain by trying lots of crazy life saving things on her that wouldn't work, but if something small could have been done... I don't know. I tried to do what was best for her.

The vet that treated Nomi is not a terrible person by any means, she's very caring but inexperienced with rabbits (and birds). The incidents with Tallulah were 4 years ago so I'd imagine her skills have improved since then. She mostly works with cats and dogs and I'd think (or hope!) lungs full of fluid sound the same on cats, dogs, AND rabbits so hopefully she was right and Nomi really was beyond saving. This is selfish. It's NOT that I want Nomi not to have been saveable but that I want my agreement to have her put down was the right one and that she didn't lose her life unnecessarily.

Hoping for some peace for you. It will take a while for you to stop seeing her in everything. It was a fast paced decision and though you doubt it now and are reading other things now, you did nothing wrong but love Nomi and put your hands and her into a skilled Doctor's hands. Can you go back in time? OH I wish I could, but alas we can't.

It will take time, but don't second guess what you did. It was ALL for the sake of Nomi. But learn from this. Learn everything you can so that you don't have to be put in that position or feeling this bad again.

Life lessions come in all shapes and sizes. Your's came in the shape of a beautiful bunny named Nomi. Life sucks some times, but if you don't learn, you end up doing the same mistakes until you do.

I wish I could do something to help you through this time. I truly know how you feel. May you be at peace with your decision made out of love for Nomi. Don't let this "second guessing" cloud that very beautiful relationship you had for that short time. And also put a cloud over your other bunnies. They need you as much as you need Nomi. Nomi wouldn't want that to happen. She was a gift, a short term gift, to help with Life Lessons. All animals are if your really love them. They teach us so much.

Hoping your grief turns to loving memories. Nomideserves it and so do you.

K

 

[SnowyShiloh]

ZRabbits, one good thing is that Nomi's death definitely hasn't had a negative effect on how I feel about the other bunnies. After Tallulah died (you weren't here when Tallulah was alive- she died suddenly at 7 months of age after struggling with severe digestive problems for much of her life, among other things, but was 100% my baby girl and I don't think any rabbit has been treasured more than she was), I was so numb that for a while I didn't feel anything for Rory and Skyler (our other bunnies at the time). I KNEW I loved them, but I was just so shattered. In Nomi's wake I feel even more love for my other bunnies. I've always loved rabbits a whole, whole lot, but I kind of feel that just how much I love them has crystallized in my mind. I don't know if that makes sense. Every single day with each of my bun buns is precious. It's easy to think that and know in your head that it's true, but I really know that now. One by one Rory, Phoebe Mae, Ned, Maximus, and Mabel will leave me, but I can treasure their company while they're here.

Deep down I don't think Nomi would have pulled through, but it's human nature to wonder Nomi girl sure did make a big impact in her three months with us, didn't she? I only had Lula 5 months. Goes to show that time has nothing to do with love.