Update 05-04-19: Belk's Story has been published in Discarded Rabbits: The growing crisis of abandoned rabbits and how we can help them by Lucile Moore and Debby Widolf. You can find Discarded Rabbits on here. |
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Update: After a week long battle with an unknown illness, Belk passed away in his sleep.
We took him to two different vets, worked around the clock with IV fluids and medications.
In the end, we could not save him.
He will be forever remembered for his determination, fearless attitude, & his huge heart.
RIP Belk 1-13-19
I'll meet you at the bridge bud.
Belk is a 2 year old, white & brown lop eared rabbit. A lop ear with one heck of a story to tell. |
I have always had a soft spot for animals of any kind. I believe animal's and human's can share a special bond. That goes for any animal. In 2017 I began volunteering at Brother Wolf Animal Rescue, fostering small animals. By doing so, it made space in the shelter in which more lives could be saved.
I have fostered a variety of animals including rabbits, mice, hamsters, and turtles. I didn't meet Belk until August of that year, little did I know just how much this little bun would change my life. This is Belk's story. There are others out there like him, by sharing his story, I hope to save more bunnies that are in the same situation.
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A peek at Belk's article in the House Rabbit Society's Journal. |
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When I first met Belk, I was standing in the shelter waiting for my (then) foster buns new mom. Agnes had been adopted the day before and we were waiting to meet her new family. I cried when I handed her over, this is the worst part (for me) in the fostering process. I love to see them find their new fur-ever home but it tears by heart out to watch them go.
I turned to leave and there he was, a five-pound white-and-brown lop-eared bunny whose ears drooped to his side. He hid in his box when I spoke to him. One of the ladies working the desk that day told me who he was and what was happening. Being in the adoption center was just to much for him, he was stressed and was showing the beginning signs of depression. He just looked at me as though he were saying, help! I was still wiping the tears I shed for Agnes away when I told her I'd take him home with me.
It took about two weeks for him to adjust and relax fully. My house (for the most part) is pretty quiet. He seemed to be happy in the new surroundings, which made me happy. Shortly after, I noticed he stopped eating his hay. (First) Hay is 80% of a rabbits diet, they should not go without it. (Second) It is very important to watch your bunny, learn their habits and their body language. The slightest change in these things could be a big red flag. Rabbits are prey animals and therefore they hide the fact that they're sick. They're masters at this. In the wild, animals that look sick or hurt are usually targeted first.
When Belk stopped eating the hay I alerted Brother Wolf and they sent me Anna's contact information. Anna, it my 'Bunny mentor' and friend. We thought at first, he just didn't like the hay. So we tried different types. He snubbed them all. So I made an appointment with a vet here in Asheville. It took him 30 seconds to find the problem- Belk had an abscess under his chin. We couldn't see it because it just looked like fluff. There are no veterinary offices in Asheville that can handle that sort of medical emergency, the closest one to us was in Knoxville, TN.
On our first vet visit with them, they confirmed the abscess and prescribed antibiotics for the next two weeks. Afterwards came the CT scan which revealed just how bad things were. Belk didn't have 'A' abscess, he had six! His entire right lower jaw was abscessed and things were turning from bad to worse. Because of the abscess, he wasn't chewing on that side, which meant his teeth had grown out considerably.
*On a side note* A rabbits teeth will grow its entire life, that's why they chew. Chewing on wood and hay grinds their teeth down, keeping their teeth from growing too much.
Belk's teeth had grown so much on that side, there were shards of tooth stabbing into his tongue. It was painful for him to eat. There was still worse news yet, because of the abscess, his teeth had grown crooked and there were shards of tooth growing up. They were so long that it was penetrating his nasal cavity and would soon be stabbing into his eye.
After the CT scan (while he was still under sedation) they filed his teeth down. (This doesn't hurt I'm told, it's like them grinding their teeth down on wood.) Because so many teeth were infected, the veterinarian was against pulling them. (Rabbits need their teeth to eat and grind their other teeth against.) Instead, we were prescribed an oral antibiotic and an inject-able antibiotic. Belk takes his medication willing, which makes things a lot easier. His oral medication is given twice daily and his inject-able is given once a week.
It was almost two weeks afterwards that I witnessed his first binky. *A binky is when the rabbit runs and jumps into the air, twisting it's head and body in a different direction before falling back to the ground. It has been called, The happiest rabbit expression.*
Belk will be on medication for the rest of his life in order to keep the infection at bay. He also has his teeth filed down twice a year because he can no longer do it on his own.
I turned to leave and there he was, a five-pound white-and-brown lop-eared bunny whose ears drooped to his side. He hid in his box when I spoke to him. One of the ladies working the desk that day told me who he was and what was happening. Being in the adoption center was just to much for him, he was stressed and was showing the beginning signs of depression. He just looked at me as though he were saying, help! I was still wiping the tears I shed for Agnes away when I told her I'd take him home with me.
It took about two weeks for him to adjust and relax fully. My house (for the most part) is pretty quiet. He seemed to be happy in the new surroundings, which made me happy. Shortly after, I noticed he stopped eating his hay. (First) Hay is 80% of a rabbits diet, they should not go without it. (Second) It is very important to watch your bunny, learn their habits and their body language. The slightest change in these things could be a big red flag. Rabbits are prey animals and therefore they hide the fact that they're sick. They're masters at this. In the wild, animals that look sick or hurt are usually targeted first.
When Belk stopped eating the hay I alerted Brother Wolf and they sent me Anna's contact information. Anna, it my 'Bunny mentor' and friend. We thought at first, he just didn't like the hay. So we tried different types. He snubbed them all. So I made an appointment with a vet here in Asheville. It took him 30 seconds to find the problem- Belk had an abscess under his chin. We couldn't see it because it just looked like fluff. There are no veterinary offices in Asheville that can handle that sort of medical emergency, the closest one to us was in Knoxville, TN.
On our first vet visit with them, they confirmed the abscess and prescribed antibiotics for the next two weeks. Afterwards came the CT scan which revealed just how bad things were. Belk didn't have 'A' abscess, he had six! His entire right lower jaw was abscessed and things were turning from bad to worse. Because of the abscess, he wasn't chewing on that side, which meant his teeth had grown out considerably.
*On a side note* A rabbits teeth will grow its entire life, that's why they chew. Chewing on wood and hay grinds their teeth down, keeping their teeth from growing too much.
Belk's teeth had grown so much on that side, there were shards of tooth stabbing into his tongue. It was painful for him to eat. There was still worse news yet, because of the abscess, his teeth had grown crooked and there were shards of tooth growing up. They were so long that it was penetrating his nasal cavity and would soon be stabbing into his eye.
After the CT scan (while he was still under sedation) they filed his teeth down. (This doesn't hurt I'm told, it's like them grinding their teeth down on wood.) Because so many teeth were infected, the veterinarian was against pulling them. (Rabbits need their teeth to eat and grind their other teeth against.) Instead, we were prescribed an oral antibiotic and an inject-able antibiotic. Belk takes his medication willing, which makes things a lot easier. His oral medication is given twice daily and his inject-able is given once a week.
It was almost two weeks afterwards that I witnessed his first binky. *A binky is when the rabbit runs and jumps into the air, twisting it's head and body in a different direction before falling back to the ground. It has been called, The happiest rabbit expression.*
Belk will be on medication for the rest of his life in order to keep the infection at bay. He also has his teeth filed down twice a year because he can no longer do it on his own.
The many sides of Belk the bun. |
Below are photos of Belk, before-during-and-after his abscess. Once quiet and shy, this bun is now a force to be reckoned with. Yet can give the best snuggles and bunny loves. If you'll look closely in some of the photo's you can see the abscess right up under his chin, it started small but eventually became so large it ruptured. I had to use a warm, damp cloth to clean him up and I kept a constant eye on it to make sure it didn't get infected. Belk started out a foster and after this long road together he is going to become what we in the business call, a Foster Fail.
Definition of a Foster Fail: A Foster Failure is a foster who just fell madly in love with their foster animal and, well, decided they just couldn't part ways so decided to adopt. |
