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Moose
General | Posted 12 years agoUPDATE: June 24th, 2013
This morning I had to make the hard decision to put Moose to sleep. The vet did an exam and we discovered it was worse than we feared... it was a neurological condition that was spreading up his spine. His bladder was very full and he was unable to relive himself on his own.
I promised him I would not let him suffer. Today I fulfilled that promise. I miss him lots (and will for a while to come), but I know I made the right decision. He is no longer in pain and isn't suffering.
He lived a wonderful life and I am happy that the two of us found each other.
Hi everyone. Rather than spamming Twitter, I figured I'd post something here instead.
Moose is my pet Flemish Giant rabbit. He is nine years old or so. (We think he was about a year old when he was abandoned.) His nine is pretty good for his breed... just like dogs, larger rabbits don't live as long as small ones.
He's had a lot of medical issues in his life, but what's happening now is very common for his breed and not related to any of the other issues. He's got really bad arthritis in his back and lower legs. This is what happens to most large breed buns in the end.
For the last six months or so he has really been going down hill. It's hard for him to get anywhere. If I open the door to his pen doesn't venture very far away. (When he was younger the moment I'd open the door he'd go ZOOOOM and run around the house like crazy.) For the last month or so the furthest he'll go is about 20ft or so over to my home office to beg for treats. If I'm not in there he wouldn't go that far, just out a few feet from the pen over to the really plush carpet and lay down.
He's been unable to handle slippery floors for a while. He's been okay on carpet, but the slick floors in the kitchen have been a problem for months. If he follows me into the kitchen after treats he usually ends up falling down and I have to carry him back out and over to the carpet.
The last two weeks things have gotten really bad. He's still been coming to the office to beg me for treats, but I could tell he was struggling to get there. (Rabbits are really cute when they beg. He gets like "Mooooooooooom I want a raisin." and then if I ignore him he looks for a wire to chew on because he knows that'll make me pay attention FAST.)
I went to San Jose, CA most of this week to attend a conference. I left him at a sitter on Sunday afternoon. Over the course of the last week he's been getting worse and worse, and is now what rabbit people call "down". He can't get up, even on carpet. He can't support the weight of his body on his feet any longer. The sitter warned me that he'd gone downhill pretty rapidly but I really wasn't surprised at this given how bad things have been going.
He's been on pain meds for the last six weeks. This has helped keep him going as much as we can. (Metacam is awesome stuff.) I've been giving him a pretty good dose of it to try to help get him back on his feet again, but it doesn't seem to be helping at this point.
His vet and I have agreed that we have done everything medically possible for us to do. His body has just plain worn out. This is what happens to large breed buns; they were breed by humans for meat, not for long lifespans. We've been in the mode of "just keep him happy and comfy the rest of his life" for about two months now, which is why he's on the pain meds.
I am struggling because when he went on the pain meds I told him I'd stick with him as long as he was willing. Meaning that, as long as he keeps on eating and drinking and seems to be happy, I'd let him be. I did not expect his spine to go out first.
This is not the sort of thing that gets better. Arthritis is a crippling thing to happen to anyone and it's not something we can fix via science.
Now that he's "down" and unable to stand I am struggling with what to do next. He's been a wonderful companion bun to me for the last eight years and I've committed to not forcing him to be around just so that I feel better about myself. If I put food in front of him he'll eat it, but I can't seem to get him interested in water. Since he can't get up, this means he can't get to the litterbox, so whatever he does eat just ends up getting all over him when it comes out the other side. Not a fun life.
For us furs, often our pets are our kids. Doublely so for me.
I just don't want him to suffer. I know I could keep him alive for a while still via force feeding and daily cleanings, but what kind of life is that? Rabbits are made to run and hop and play. A rabbit that can't hop ... that can't be fun. :(
I'm going to give him a few more days to see if me giving him extra pain meds helps, but I feel my time with Moose is quickly drawing to a close. *cries*
- Bunny <3
This morning I had to make the hard decision to put Moose to sleep. The vet did an exam and we discovered it was worse than we feared... it was a neurological condition that was spreading up his spine. His bladder was very full and he was unable to relive himself on his own.
I promised him I would not let him suffer. Today I fulfilled that promise. I miss him lots (and will for a while to come), but I know I made the right decision. He is no longer in pain and isn't suffering.
He lived a wonderful life and I am happy that the two of us found each other.
Hi everyone. Rather than spamming Twitter, I figured I'd post something here instead.
Moose is my pet Flemish Giant rabbit. He is nine years old or so. (We think he was about a year old when he was abandoned.) His nine is pretty good for his breed... just like dogs, larger rabbits don't live as long as small ones.
He's had a lot of medical issues in his life, but what's happening now is very common for his breed and not related to any of the other issues. He's got really bad arthritis in his back and lower legs. This is what happens to most large breed buns in the end.
For the last six months or so he has really been going down hill. It's hard for him to get anywhere. If I open the door to his pen doesn't venture very far away. (When he was younger the moment I'd open the door he'd go ZOOOOM and run around the house like crazy.) For the last month or so the furthest he'll go is about 20ft or so over to my home office to beg for treats. If I'm not in there he wouldn't go that far, just out a few feet from the pen over to the really plush carpet and lay down.
He's been unable to handle slippery floors for a while. He's been okay on carpet, but the slick floors in the kitchen have been a problem for months. If he follows me into the kitchen after treats he usually ends up falling down and I have to carry him back out and over to the carpet.
The last two weeks things have gotten really bad. He's still been coming to the office to beg me for treats, but I could tell he was struggling to get there. (Rabbits are really cute when they beg. He gets like "Mooooooooooom I want a raisin." and then if I ignore him he looks for a wire to chew on because he knows that'll make me pay attention FAST.)
I went to San Jose, CA most of this week to attend a conference. I left him at a sitter on Sunday afternoon. Over the course of the last week he's been getting worse and worse, and is now what rabbit people call "down". He can't get up, even on carpet. He can't support the weight of his body on his feet any longer. The sitter warned me that he'd gone downhill pretty rapidly but I really wasn't surprised at this given how bad things have been going.
He's been on pain meds for the last six weeks. This has helped keep him going as much as we can. (Metacam is awesome stuff.) I've been giving him a pretty good dose of it to try to help get him back on his feet again, but it doesn't seem to be helping at this point.
His vet and I have agreed that we have done everything medically possible for us to do. His body has just plain worn out. This is what happens to large breed buns; they were breed by humans for meat, not for long lifespans. We've been in the mode of "just keep him happy and comfy the rest of his life" for about two months now, which is why he's on the pain meds.
I am struggling because when he went on the pain meds I told him I'd stick with him as long as he was willing. Meaning that, as long as he keeps on eating and drinking and seems to be happy, I'd let him be. I did not expect his spine to go out first.
This is not the sort of thing that gets better. Arthritis is a crippling thing to happen to anyone and it's not something we can fix via science.
Now that he's "down" and unable to stand I am struggling with what to do next. He's been a wonderful companion bun to me for the last eight years and I've committed to not forcing him to be around just so that I feel better about myself. If I put food in front of him he'll eat it, but I can't seem to get him interested in water. Since he can't get up, this means he can't get to the litterbox, so whatever he does eat just ends up getting all over him when it comes out the other side. Not a fun life.
For us furs, often our pets are our kids. Doublely so for me.
I just don't want him to suffer. I know I could keep him alive for a while still via force feeding and daily cleanings, but what kind of life is that? Rabbits are made to run and hop and play. A rabbit that can't hop ... that can't be fun. :(
I'm going to give him a few more days to see if me giving him extra pain meds helps, but I feel my time with Moose is quickly drawing to a close. *cries*
- Bunny <3
