Rescuing pets, please read for me. I need to vent Prayers for my new baby bunnies.
WOW! :eek: I cannot tell you how much money I've spent on rescued pets in the past month. Just a few days ago I took a rescue hairless rat into the vet, after only having him a day. He had a very severe URI. He was having trouble breathing, but after giving him some subcue fluids, a shot of Baytril and keeping him warm he seemed to be doing better. Unfortunately, all our thoughts were wrong and when I check on him the next morning he had passed away. I was very upset that day at work. It was my day off but I came in anyway to cover a coworkers shift because I had to bring Stimpy in. (the rat) We had about three emergencies going on at once, and one was using the oxygen machine. I was very nervous about Stimpy's condition and kept running into the back to see if the doctor had had a chance to look over him. We filled gloves up with warm water to keep him warm, and the thought of seeing him with his mouth open gasping for air just saddens me. :(
I cried a few times but had to hold myself together for clients. The dog who had the oxygen was eventually euthanized. There was nothing we could do for the dog. It was too sick. By this time we were able to see Stimpy but he wasn't doing so well. I felt cheated, as if they didn't consider him top priority because he was a rat, and not a dog or cat. I honestly feel now that I should have just euthanized him instead of making him suffer through another night, but the thought was not made on a whim, and I thought long and hard about what to do for this little fellow. I just wanted to give him a chance, and I did and should not bang myself up too much about it. It's just hard. Having him for such a short time, I was already so attached to him. Seeing any animal in pain is tough, and I do this everyday, but having it be your own is so much harder. So I have to say, for anyone who is considering running a rescue, even if it is just for small animals please remember that you need the time, the money, and the heart to do so. It will take a toll on you more than you know, and at certain times you will ask yourself, "Why do I put myself through this?" But them, you'll see the miracles that happen, and the happy look on the face of a pet you rescued, who is alive and well and that thought is long forgotten.
I worked today, like I usually do every Saturday. A gal who works at Petsmart brought in a group of 4 baby rabbits to me early in the day. Supposedly her neighborhood is a nice drop off center for unwanted domestic rabbits. The mom was a domestic rabbit but by the look of the babies I am assuming the father was a wild rabbit, as there are plenty in her neighborhood. Everyone was energetic, though there were some injuries. One of the bunnies had a severe laceration on his foot, and all of his bones were exposed. The babies were dug up by a dog, and he did some damage to the bunnies before the girl found them. Unfortunately the damage to his foot was too severe, so I opted to have it amputated. Now, for a baby bunny this little guy sure has some lungs on him! :D :eek: If you've never heard a baby rabbit yell it's one of the most shrieking calls, very high pitch and loud! Due to his size the risk of putting him under anesthesia was great, but we stayed confident the little guy would pull through.
I was able to clock out early to help with the surgery. We kept trying to give him gas, and put him under but kept running into problems. For some reason right as we wanted to use the anesthesia it wouldn't work, and we kept messing with it for about 15 minutes. Second, it was hard to find something small enough to put him in to recieve the air, so we had to makeshift a small container to keep his head in to recieve the air while he was under. Then our tubes kept popping off! :p This never happens, and I'm sure someone was trying to find everyway possible to up my stress level, LOL! Finally things got situated. However the little guy did not want to go to sleep. He ws being a feisty little thing. We first tried removing the leg at the hock, but do to having such little tissue in that area we had to go higher. He did fairly well during the surgery. Tonight is going to be a big night for the little guy! He definitely needs some prayers. I am feeding them every hour and he's having a little trouble eating. I'm not sure if this is due to pain or what, but please pray he gets the hang of it soon. This little guy needs to make it. He's got a lot of fight in him.
He, along with the other babies are all on Doxycycline and I am to flush his wound twice a day with Chlorhexydine flush then apply some animax to the top to keep it from drying out. Infection is a big deal now. My main thing is keeping him warm, keeping the stump clean and most of all keeping him hydrated with fluids. All in all the surgery cost around $180, which is not bad for such an operation. I got a discount as well for being an employee. I was very satisfied with the work Dr. Anderson did for me today and felt that she really wanted to help this little rabbit out. She left her lunch early to do the surgery, which made me so greatful!
So if anyone could spare a few prayers for the little guy and his siblings, and maybe a few for me too, LOL, I would appreciate it. I really hope these guys make it. They are all very sneezing and have URI so it's a 50/50 chance. However, I'm trying to stay positive. :) Thanks for letting me vent.
P.S. Pictures coming up next.
