I Found Her! (Update & some concern)

[Raspberry82]

Pipp wrote:

Doesn't the shelter have a vet they use all the time and get discounted rates from? Most do. (I think the rescues here pay half price and are allowed to run a tab). If they don't, I'd wonder why not. It concerns me the vet doesn't like the rescue.It could mean the rescue uses a rival vet and this one's nose is out of joint, who knows, people have all sorts of reasons forprejudices.

Also concerning isthat the bunny is still thin after two months, that may indicate the abscess has been bothering her.

Maybe Ivory, Randy or Pam have more info, but it seems to me a golf-size lump under the arm would be a lot harder to deal with than a marble-sized lump on the cheek, so that might be the extra cost. If they charge by how long it takes, I imagine dealing with the extra size and length take more time, not to mentionthe chances of the under-arm variety having 'tentacles' would be greater?

You have every right to hand the bunny back to the rescue, but best to hang in there to make sure they're going to help her.

If they aren't in a position to pay the majority and just take the $100 you've set aside, and another vet can't offer a substantially lower price, I'd suggest a compromise where all three entities make an equalcontribution --you, the rescue andthe vet. (The vet absorbs33.3%, although if you go to another vet, don't suggest thisuntil AFTER you get the estimate).

Does that sound fair?

sas :clover:

You know, I thought it was a bit odd myself. This Vet had a plaque of recognition and thanks from this exact shelter hanging in his front office and Jemma's foster mom approved of having him as my bun vet. But, after I mentioned she came from the shelter and I'd just adopted her, he seemed disgruntled and annoyed for my sake and the bun's that this even happened. Maybe because the shelter tries to cut corners to cut costs, like using antibiotic shots first to treat abscesses instead of surgery unless it is necessary and of course the vet's main goal is what the animal needs most regardless of cost.

Luckily, her foster mom and I have been communicating up and back about all of this and she really is trying to be as helpful as possible and agrees that I should not be stuck with this bill and has offered to refund my adoption fee and accept Bebe back. I'll continue with updates, but so far we're going to try raising the money from within the volunteer group and their connections to see if we can get enough. She's also going to talk to the head of the organization about treatment options, cost contrubtion options, etc on Sunday, so we'll see what happens. These are the numbers we've come up with so far.. which isn't much: me $100, the shelter $100, maybe some from the foster mom, too. And raise the remainder.

I really really hope we can find a way to cover her surgery, if we can then we can keep Jemma with us, and I really want to keep her! Plus, she just really truly deserves to have a loving home like she would have in our's. If not.. we'll have to figure out something else, either she goes back to stay with her foster mom and we continue to try to raise/save money for it, or I dunno. As much as I hate to admit it, because I adore Jemma so much, I do have to be realistic about not being able to afford the surgery costs and she really must have the surgery done.

My hon said, even though we're smitten with her, perhaps Jemma isn't meant to be our new bun.. but that just doesn't feel right to me. I knew instinctively when I saw her that she was the one for us and Max, so I'm just staying positive that this will work out somehow and hoping it will .

Or.. maybe I'm just being stubborn .

Thanks for the four leaf clover!!! We'll need it!

:bunnyhug:

 

[Raspberry82]

Ack! I wasn't allowed to edit my post, but I made a typo... the foster mom will also be contributing $100. So this is a good start even if it's not everything. YAY for Jemma!! And ignore the "bebe" typos.. I have to keep remembering her shelter name since the shelter only knows her as that, but on here remember to use her actual name of Jemma.. lol.

 

[Bramblerose]

Oh dear, that does sound unpleasant, and abcesses on rabbits aren't always easy to treat. Most often they are a sign of Pastuerella, and when their removed they have to be removed completely, or they'll just return. A dose of antibiotics alone really won't do much for an abcess, because rabbits are different, they lack the chemical that causes abcess exudate to be fluid, so instead its really thick and toothpaste like, and the abcesses tend to encapsulate themselves. Thats why they must be removed completely and often the area is cleaned and scraped as well during the surgery. Very different than a cat or dog, where you can just drain the abcess and put them on antibiotics.

While I hope you can work this out thats a lot of money for a rabbit that you just adopted. Also because the abcess is so large and she was in a bad situation I'd be thinking Pastuerella, and I wouldn't want to expose my other pet rabbit to it. If you do decide to take her back don't feel badly, perhaps the shelter didn't check her out as well as they should have, and thats not your fault. Sorry your having to deal with this, hope it has a happy ending.

 

[Raspberry82]

In some ways I think all of this is a blessing in disguise... that is, so long as I don't have to foot the bill and so far it is turning out I won't have to. PHEW. Meaning that, at least now I will know exactly what to do if we ever find an abscess in Max down the road. Apparently, there is another Vet about 35 min away from me that this organization feels is much more experienced with successfully treating abscesses in bunnies and may cost less than this Vet. I guess we'll see!

 

[Wabbitdad12]

I am a little confused as to why the vet is charging so much, thats twice what I had to pay for my flemmie bucks trip to the vet to take care of his abscesses. You have the vet's diagnosis, I agree with the others, call around and see what other vets will charge.

Other then the anesthesia it wasn'ta complicated procedure,I even watched him perform it.

He put Barney, my flemmie buck, under anesthesia, shaved a small area of fur,then made an incision and basically it was like squeezing a pimple. Gave us an antibiotic, Baytril, and showed me how to squeeze it to drain the remainingpuss out.

 

[TinysMom]

Wabbitdad12 wrote:

He put Barney, my flemmie buck, under anesthesia, shaved a small area of fur,then made an incision and basically it was like squeezing a pimple. Gave us an antibiotic, Baytril, and showed me how to squeeze it to drain the remainingpuss out.

I want to note this because sometimes we get younger members reading this forum or folks who may not understand.

Wabbitdad is NOT recommending that this is something pet owners should do themselves....but explaining how the vet did it.

From my personal understanding, abcesses can develop "roots" that shoot out where you might not see them...I probably have the wrong term for this.

So we are still recommending that a vet be seen for something like this ~ simply stating that it isn't a hard procedure for a vet to do!

Peg

 

[Wabbitdad12]

Thanks Peg!

I am glad you caught that. I was definitely not recommending anyone perform any surgery on their rabbit, that should only be done by a veterinarian.

My point was merely to show that from observing it and my vet explaining it, there was not much to the procedure and I did not understand the high cost. Again there may be things Athena's vet saw in her bun that may not have been present in my rabbit.


Dave

 

[Raspberry82]

Thanks guys! I am going to get a second opinion from the Vet who comes highly recommended for abscesses. Since I won't be footing the bill, I'll get his quote and recommendations, then mail the costs to the shelter head so we can move forward on it. As far as I know the previous Vet did not do a biopsy on her abscess, so I don't see how he could tell for sure if it had spread or branched out. :dunno

It is likely Jemma will need antobiotic injections at home following the surgery for a couple of weeks, so I guess I'll be getting somewhat of a head start learning experience as far as my Vet Tech schooling goes, heh . TheVet didn't name a specific antibiotic. I've heard Bicillin is very successful in treating abscesses.

But yes, always follow anything regarding your bunny's health while under the supervision of a good Vet.

Speaking of antibiotics, this reminds me of an important question, did you feed your bunny any probiotics after the antibiotics? Can you buy bunny probiotics? I should search for this on here first, but atm I'm feeling a bit lazy *hides* .
I know a bunny's gut bacteria balance really needs to be kept in check or it could be dangrous for the bun's health, so I'll need to check into this.

Have a great weekend everyone!!