Sanctuary Buns /

Lazlo

 

FAREWELL

It’s with great sadness that we say goodbye to Lazlo, a Buckeye HRS Sanctuary rabbit in our care for over six years. Lazlo was our little Dutch head-tilt bunny who had been living with Calvin, another head-tilt Sanctuary bunny, for all of those six years. Here’s Lazzie’s story:

Back in May 2003, I received a call from a local animal shelter about a very sick bunny who would be euthanized if someone did not pick him up within 24 hours. When I went to retrieve him, there he was – all skinny and matted — with runny eyes, a runny nose, and a slight head-tilt. I scooped him up and brought him home, and although we treated him immediately with antibiotics and ear cleanings, his head-tilt began to get worse, not better. By the time we found a more effective antibiotic, however, the infection had spread to his inner ear and his head-tilt had worsened to a 45% angle. We continued with the antibiotic and the ear cleanings for several weeks and finally the infection was gone. His severe head-tilt was permanent, but he remained healthy for several years.

We introduced him to Calvin right away and they bonded instantly. There was no aggression between them whatsoever. It seemed as if they both knew they had something in common from the start and became best buddies for life. At mealtimes, they would run circles around each other at top speeds, twirling in opposite directions, and would inevitably crash into each other — or to avoid collision, one would jump over the other, landing on sure footing – a miraculous feat for head-tilt bunnies who learned to right themselves after weeks of falling over sideways. Lazlo, with eartips pointing to his right, and Calvin, eartips pointing to his left, were inseparable. They jumped, ran, ate, played, and snuggled together every day of those six years. (Calvin, by the way, is doing well — he’s now best friends with Puff, another Sanctuary rabbit.)

You brought us hours and hours of entertainment, laughter, and love for six-plus wonderful years. We will miss you terribly, little Lazzie.

Kristen and Paul Doherty

 

 

 

lazlo

Lazlo, another Sanctuary rabbit with major head-tilt, has made a successful recovery; however, he will always be tilted like Calvin. He went through a rough period of rolling, as Calvin did during the worst phase of his ear infection. An infection had traveled to Lazlo’s middle ear and he eventually started to roll, uncontrollably at times.

After about four months of therapy, Lazlo is off all meds at this time. He underwent the same treatment as Calvin, and his exercise routine and physical therapy were the same as Calvin’s. Lazlo is also able to catch himself on a roll, but he hardly ever rolls anymore.

lazlo_02 lazlo_03

Lazlo now shares a pen with Calvin, our first Sanctuary rabbit with head-tilt. They bonded instantly and are best buddies. They’re both neutered and very healthy, but both are permanently tilted. Calvin tilts left and Lazlo tilts right, like mirror images of one another. They are hilarious when they both start running in circles around their pen.  — Kristen Doherty

 

Sanctuary Buns /

Lyle

FAREWELL


lyle

Lyle came into Buckeye HRS foster care in November of 2003 at approximately four months old. Because of the special ongoing care required, it is unlikely that Lyle will be adopted, so he’s considered a Sanctuary rabbit.

 Here’s a bit of Lyle’s background —

A lady, whose son won Lyle at a carnival, was exasperated and annoyed because he was constantly wetting himself and making a lot of work for her. She wasn’t willing or financially able to look into the medical causes of Lyle’s problem, nor the necessary treatments. Her husband had threatened to throw him out into the woods to fend for himself if she didn’t “get rid of him” soon.

lyle_03

When Lyle arrived, he had bad hock sores on his feet. His legs were raw and scalded from urine burn. We cleaned him up and rubbed antibacterial cream on him for a few days, but the problem didn’t go away. Lyle had several vet visits, and despite the many tests performed, his problem was a mystery. Finally, after several more tests, we learned that his body was overproducing urine crystals. We still can’t figure out, however, why he “leaks”. Because of this leaking, he needs to be bathed at least every other day. He also needs to have a special cream rubbed on his underside, thighs, and feet. He must live on fleece blankets with absorbent rugs and towels underneath to soak up the moisture. Recently we have seen evidence of bladder sludge, a thick pasty substance in his urine, so he needs subcutaneous fluids at least every day to help flush the sludge from his bladder.

Unusual for a dwarf (he’s about 3 ½ lbs), Lyle is a snuggler. He loves people and doesn’t mind being picked up and held. He’ll also sit a long time for pets. Although he doesn’t like his regular baths, he does enjoy the attention and the human contact he gets. He is a true joy to care for!

lyle_04

 

Sanctuary Buns /

Harvey

FAREWELL

October, 2008

It is with tremendous sadness that I’m letting you know that Harvey, my beloved sanctuary rabbit, passed away. He was a black lop we’ve had for the last four years and had the most interactive personality of any rabbit I’ve ever had.

He used to seek me out and jump on my lap on the family room couch to watch TV in the evenings and groom me. If I was in the living room reading while Bill was watching something else, Harvey would make his way up the steps to the living room to sit or lie with me on that couch. Even though he was deaf, it seemed he always knew where I was.

I miss him terribly and even though there are other rabbits in the house, there is a huge void in our lives. He was my best pal.

Harvey had medical issues from the day he came to us. Bad teeth, bad ears, bad tear ducts, sneezing goop, etc. His chronic pasteurella manifested in many forms. He has had several surgeries for facial and ear abscesses over the years and always remained super friendly. Even his veterinarian, Dr. Riggs, thought Harvey was a very rare personality (they all loved him up there, too) and said Harvey belonged on the Mt. Rushmore of Rabbits. 🙂

Kristi

harvey_01

Harvey is a mini-lop who is about five years old. He has a deformed jaw which
causes him lots of dental and ear problems.

Since his jaw doesn’t line up, his teeth cannot wear properly and he has to have his molars trimmed every two months by his veterinarian. Due to his dental problems, he cannot eat greens like a normal rabbit — they become impacted in his mouth. In order to get some veggies in him, he gets pure canned pumpkin instead of a salad each morning. He loves the pumpkin and gets an orange chin until he has a chance to groom himself after eating..

He also has chronic ear problems which sometimes lead to respiratory infections. His ears get flushed at the vet every two months and he is often on antibiotic ear drops. His ears also get cleaned daily at home. Most recently, he had a respiratory infection that required twice-daily antibiotic injections for nearly a month to clear up. His medical bills will always be ongoing and can be quite expensive.

Throughout all the poking, prodding, digging and cleaning, Harvey has kept his sweet personality. He loves to be petted and jumps on the couch to watch TV in the evenings.

Kristi Cole

Sanctuary Buns /

Belle

FAREWELL TO BELLE
belle

Like every foster rabbit that comes to us, we had such high hopes when you came into our home.  We’d get you ‘altered’ and healthy so that a loving family would give you a forever home where you’d live the life of a house rabbit.  But for one reason or another, perhaps you were too shy or old, or easily frightened, or you used your teeth to express yourself when a growl would suffice, no one came to adopt you.

So it was with Belle (aka Mrs. Bootski), a stray who was captured in Bellefontaine after evading her captors for three cold months in 2001.  Throughout February, March, and April, neighbors had spotted her roaming the area before she was finally corralled and caught.  Even though we were 100 miles away, we were the only foster home that had room for her, so we made the trip to pick her up.

It was obvious that Belle was extremely shy and unaccustomed to human affection.  Despite our best efforts to socialize her, she didn’t warm to anything more than a nose rub at feeding time.  She wasn’t even interesting in exploring during her free time.  As the weeks turned to months, and the months turned to years, we knew it was going to be hard to place Belle into a new home.  After three years of zero interest in her from potential adopters, we decided that even if Belle was adopted, it would be especially stressful for her to get re-settled, therefore she joined our sanctuary program.  She moved into the living room where she seemed to enjoy interacting with the dogs, cat, and (somewhat) with us.  Still, she didn’t come out of her x-pen when given the chance, and became stiff as a board when picked up for cuddling or grooming.  Although she was constrained by the restricted liberties of being a foster, she finally settled into her routines and became comfortable with familiar surroundings and with the people who cared for her.

One night about bedtime, Sue noticed that Belle hadn’t eaten her veggies or her pellets and she seemed to be uncomfortable.  I picked her up and held her while casually examining her.  She was cold and lethargic, so I let her snuggle into a plush blanket on my lap and gently stroked her head and ears while she relaxed and her eyes started to close.  Twenty minutes later she let out a deep sigh and she died.  Despite all of the euthanasia events I’d tended to in the past with rabbits and dogs, this was the first time an animal had ever died in my arms of natural causes.  Thankfully, it was a quiet and peaceful passing, although it still left me feeling empty and helpless in the face of “The Black Rabbit.”

I am so very grateful to the sponsors who contribute to the sanctuary program.  Without your support, taking care of rabbits like Mrs. Bootski would be completely up to us and would undoubtedly limit the number of other fosters that we can care for and find homes for.  Because they are generally long-term residents, there’s no way for us not to become attached to them just as we do with our own pets.  Currently three of our nine fosters are sanctuary rabbits living out their days by keeping us company.  Sadie, Sylvester, and Pumpkin join me in thanking their sponsors for all their help!

Keith ZImmerman