tonyshuman
Well-Known Member
I know I do not post a lot on here anymore but I wanted to post that our lovely Benjamin has passed away. He had a thymoma, a cancer of the thymus gland, which is located near the heart.
We noticed that something was wrong around a year ago, when he would sneeze many times in a row. After a few unsuccessful treatments, an x-ray was taken which revealed the tumor pressing on his heart and lungs. More extensive diagnostics were done at the vet school, which determined that his chest cavity was about 1/3 full of tumor, with the remainder being heart and lungs, with greatly diminished capacity. He also was found to have non-bacterial pneumonia, which we treated by nebulizing saline solution.
We decided it was counter-productive to do radiation therapy, since he was such a small bunny, he'd have to go under anesthesia for each radiation treatment, the tumor was so intertwined with vital organs, and he wasn't showing any signs of discomfort from the tumor. He still binkied and snuggled with his best girl, Frida.
A few weeks ago, he started to slow down and cough again, and not eat as much as usual. It was hard to keep weight on him because he ate so slowly and Frida would steal his food. We took him in on Monday to the vet school, and he rapidly deteriorated. He had been struggling to breathe, his whole tiny body moving with each breath, since the morning, and he started to become lethargic and disoriented. I don't want to go into all of it because I don't ever want to re-live the moments when he passed away. Frida, my boyfriend (Ben's legal owner), and I were all there. While we waited for the vet, Ben stopped breathing and the vets took him to attempt to resuscitate him. It was unsuccessful. Our Benjamin is gone. Being scientists, we had them do a necropsy. The tumor had taken up almost his entire chest cavity and he had a great deal of edema near his heart and lungs. We are still waiting for the confirmation of what tissue the tumor originated from.
It is shocking to me how well he hid this illness, and how quickly it took him. Thymomas are a more common cancer in rabbits, and they are often hard to detect. I am glad that we were at least a little prepared, as most owners whose bunnies have them don't know until after their rabbit dies in an unexpected way. I wish we could have done something when we did know, and part of me will always wish we had tried the radiation. In the end, it seems like we probably were weighing the 6 months of relatively healthy life that he did have against maybe a bit longer with many painful treatments.
It has been a hard week for me, with lots of emotional ups and downs. My hamster Shark also passed away on Wednesday, euthanized due to the presence of several large solid (presumably cancerous) tumors and his advanced age and other health problems. I then had some big happy family events over the weekend, for which it was hard to put on a happy face at times, and the rest of the time just overwhelmingly emotional.
I miss my Ben-Ben so much. He was such a sweet bunny, never running away from you when you came to pet him, never nipping when you held him. He was content to lie and be petted for hours. We got him when he was around 6 mo old. He always, from day 1, was the cutest bunny I have ever seen. He loved to run and jump, to beg for treats or breakfast, and could be counted on to come nudge you if you were in his area, wanting to know what was up. All the vets always said he was so cute and so sweet. He barely ever tried to get into trouble. I love all kinds of bunnies, even troublemakers, because I can see the fun in them, but Benjamin was the kind of bunny anybody could love.
After neutering and finding out he couldn't bond with my two buns, we took him on some bunny dates and found Frida. She is not as nice, but she has greatly enriched our lives as well. The way those two would snuggle all day together, and how they took such good care of each other was beautiful to behold. I don't know if any two other bunnies ever got so much pleasure out of each others' company.
Frida misses Benjamin. She sits at the gate of our bedroom, trying to get a glimpse of my two bunnies in the next room. We may try to bond her with my two if it will work, but if not, she will need a friend. She was with us when Ben passed, and we made sure she saw that Benjamin was gone--she did not act like she knew or cared what was going on. I think she knew he was very ill and comforted him as much as she could. She is much more friendly toward us, but still spends a lot of her time in the little wooden house she and Ben would snuggle in most of the day.
I know this is an epic tale, but Benjamin was an epic bunny. I know every bunny that wins anyone's heart is that to them. I think he was just too perfect, too cute, too sweet, too special. We only got 3 and a half years with him.
Rest peacefully, sweet Benjamin Bunny. I hope one day I can look back at these pictures and remember how much you loved us and your girl Frida, instead of just feeling a Ben-shaped hole in my heart.
We noticed that something was wrong around a year ago, when he would sneeze many times in a row. After a few unsuccessful treatments, an x-ray was taken which revealed the tumor pressing on his heart and lungs. More extensive diagnostics were done at the vet school, which determined that his chest cavity was about 1/3 full of tumor, with the remainder being heart and lungs, with greatly diminished capacity. He also was found to have non-bacterial pneumonia, which we treated by nebulizing saline solution.
We decided it was counter-productive to do radiation therapy, since he was such a small bunny, he'd have to go under anesthesia for each radiation treatment, the tumor was so intertwined with vital organs, and he wasn't showing any signs of discomfort from the tumor. He still binkied and snuggled with his best girl, Frida.
A few weeks ago, he started to slow down and cough again, and not eat as much as usual. It was hard to keep weight on him because he ate so slowly and Frida would steal his food. We took him in on Monday to the vet school, and he rapidly deteriorated. He had been struggling to breathe, his whole tiny body moving with each breath, since the morning, and he started to become lethargic and disoriented. I don't want to go into all of it because I don't ever want to re-live the moments when he passed away. Frida, my boyfriend (Ben's legal owner), and I were all there. While we waited for the vet, Ben stopped breathing and the vets took him to attempt to resuscitate him. It was unsuccessful. Our Benjamin is gone. Being scientists, we had them do a necropsy. The tumor had taken up almost his entire chest cavity and he had a great deal of edema near his heart and lungs. We are still waiting for the confirmation of what tissue the tumor originated from.
It is shocking to me how well he hid this illness, and how quickly it took him. Thymomas are a more common cancer in rabbits, and they are often hard to detect. I am glad that we were at least a little prepared, as most owners whose bunnies have them don't know until after their rabbit dies in an unexpected way. I wish we could have done something when we did know, and part of me will always wish we had tried the radiation. In the end, it seems like we probably were weighing the 6 months of relatively healthy life that he did have against maybe a bit longer with many painful treatments.
It has been a hard week for me, with lots of emotional ups and downs. My hamster Shark also passed away on Wednesday, euthanized due to the presence of several large solid (presumably cancerous) tumors and his advanced age and other health problems. I then had some big happy family events over the weekend, for which it was hard to put on a happy face at times, and the rest of the time just overwhelmingly emotional.
I miss my Ben-Ben so much. He was such a sweet bunny, never running away from you when you came to pet him, never nipping when you held him. He was content to lie and be petted for hours. We got him when he was around 6 mo old. He always, from day 1, was the cutest bunny I have ever seen. He loved to run and jump, to beg for treats or breakfast, and could be counted on to come nudge you if you were in his area, wanting to know what was up. All the vets always said he was so cute and so sweet. He barely ever tried to get into trouble. I love all kinds of bunnies, even troublemakers, because I can see the fun in them, but Benjamin was the kind of bunny anybody could love.
After neutering and finding out he couldn't bond with my two buns, we took him on some bunny dates and found Frida. She is not as nice, but she has greatly enriched our lives as well. The way those two would snuggle all day together, and how they took such good care of each other was beautiful to behold. I don't know if any two other bunnies ever got so much pleasure out of each others' company.
Frida misses Benjamin. She sits at the gate of our bedroom, trying to get a glimpse of my two bunnies in the next room. We may try to bond her with my two if it will work, but if not, she will need a friend. She was with us when Ben passed, and we made sure she saw that Benjamin was gone--she did not act like she knew or cared what was going on. I think she knew he was very ill and comforted him as much as she could. She is much more friendly toward us, but still spends a lot of her time in the little wooden house she and Ben would snuggle in most of the day.
I know this is an epic tale, but Benjamin was an epic bunny. I know every bunny that wins anyone's heart is that to them. I think he was just too perfect, too cute, too sweet, too special. We only got 3 and a half years with him.
Rest peacefully, sweet Benjamin Bunny. I hope one day I can look back at these pictures and remember how much you loved us and your girl Frida, instead of just feeling a Ben-shaped hole in my heart.
