I am late posting this, but we lost our beloved Jessica girl on November 10. I had posted in the health forum about her in July - she seemed to have very runny poop or incontinence. We tried for four months to pin-point the cause and determine her treatment, but it wasn't to be. Despite consultations with numerous rabbit-savvy vets at her clinic, nobody could determine what was going on with her.
She was happy those four months - eating, drinking, and being her usual perky self. She only showed discomfort in her final 12 hours and even then we had metacam to help with any pain.
My husband took her in to the vet in the morning, thinking it would be just another check and some advice as to how to help her. Instead I got a call saying that it didn't look good. Her body temperature was too low, her white blood cell count was through the roof, her liver and kidney enzymes were out of whack, her red blood cell count was in the toilet...it was heart-breaking. So heart-breaking.
We rushed her from our usual vet clinic to the emergency vet clinic where they do blood transfusions. We could have gone ahead with it, but there was no guarantee it would have worked. It would have been a stop-gap measure and it would have been for our benefit and not for hers. The vet was so compassionate as we made the painful decision to say good-bye. She passed peacefully in my arms with my husband stroking her head.
She was only a year and nine months. We'd had her for a year and four months. We were blessed that she was ours. If her life had to be short, I'm glad that she knew love and a real home. It was a blessing and a gift to have been Jessica's family.
While we nursed her and provided care for her last four months, she taught us resiliency, patience, and humility. We were frustrated at times, yes, when we would come home to dark puddles of "dribble" on the floor, but the last time I steam-cleaned the carpets after her passing, I cried. I cried knowing that she left this world without ever having gotten over that. I cried because as frustrating as it was to see dribbles nearly every day, cleaning up after her was part of taking care of her...it was part of being her family and part of loving her.
We had her privately cremated and her remains placed in a pretty purple urn with her name on it. It is on our shelf along with a memory book of photos I had made and a trinket box with a lock of her fur. I miss her every day. I talk to her some nights and tell her how loved she is, how we tried so hard for her.
Knowing what we do now, I would adopt her all over again anyway. The joy she gave us was immeasurable. She was worth every second. I wouldn't have traded it for anything.
We miss you, our sweet Jessica girl. Thank you for the gift of being you.
She was happy those four months - eating, drinking, and being her usual perky self. She only showed discomfort in her final 12 hours and even then we had metacam to help with any pain.
My husband took her in to the vet in the morning, thinking it would be just another check and some advice as to how to help her. Instead I got a call saying that it didn't look good. Her body temperature was too low, her white blood cell count was through the roof, her liver and kidney enzymes were out of whack, her red blood cell count was in the toilet...it was heart-breaking. So heart-breaking.
We rushed her from our usual vet clinic to the emergency vet clinic where they do blood transfusions. We could have gone ahead with it, but there was no guarantee it would have worked. It would have been a stop-gap measure and it would have been for our benefit and not for hers. The vet was so compassionate as we made the painful decision to say good-bye. She passed peacefully in my arms with my husband stroking her head.
She was only a year and nine months. We'd had her for a year and four months. We were blessed that she was ours. If her life had to be short, I'm glad that she knew love and a real home. It was a blessing and a gift to have been Jessica's family.
While we nursed her and provided care for her last four months, she taught us resiliency, patience, and humility. We were frustrated at times, yes, when we would come home to dark puddles of "dribble" on the floor, but the last time I steam-cleaned the carpets after her passing, I cried. I cried knowing that she left this world without ever having gotten over that. I cried because as frustrating as it was to see dribbles nearly every day, cleaning up after her was part of taking care of her...it was part of being her family and part of loving her.
We had her privately cremated and her remains placed in a pretty purple urn with her name on it. It is on our shelf along with a memory book of photos I had made and a trinket box with a lock of her fur. I miss her every day. I talk to her some nights and tell her how loved she is, how we tried so hard for her.
Knowing what we do now, I would adopt her all over again anyway. The joy she gave us was immeasurable. She was worth every second. I wouldn't have traded it for anything.
We miss you, our sweet Jessica girl. Thank you for the gift of being you.
So sorry for your loss.
