RIP Annabelle 19/07/2011-11/05/2013

Mayden

New member
Apr 22, 2010
2,540
12
UK.
Parrots
Merlin & Charlie (Senegals)
Annabelle (Annie) Gisicki-Goacher was born around the 19th July 2011. We brought her home around 8 weeks after that. She was a little "blue/grey" dutch bun. We got her from Pets At Home in Leigh (UK). Andrew wanted the black and white dutch bun at first, but I was besotted with this little girl and he quickly fell in love too.

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We boxed her up and brought her home, set up her new cage in our kitchen and welcomed here into our lives. We expected to have her for at LEAST 6 years. We knew that having a rabbit would bring us heartbreak after a few short years (compared to parrots - who we should have for 30+) but we didn't expect to fall so hard for her so quickly and then to have her taken from us not even 2 years later.

She was precious to us; she was so bonded to us. She used to mark our fingers with her chin. She used to bound over fiercely to give us love and play 'chase me'. She used to demand the top part of her double hutch was left open so she could 'cuddle' the side of it as she napped. It was adorable.

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After over a year, we got Annie a partner in crime. "Bigfoot" - a French Lop with a lotta attitude. He's pretty chilled and she's highly strung, so they're a great pair. Before we got Bigfoot, we got Annie neutered. We knew we had to at some point anyway as Dutch rabbits have an incredibly high chance of getting tumors on their reproductive system. (We had her spayed sometime in September 2012)

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Anyway, to make what would be an incredibly long story short. She got sick on the 7th May. She was walking funny and being very skittish - very out of character for her. So I rang the vets, bundled her into her carrier and dashed her down to their practice. She was seen to within 20 minutes (felt like an absolute life time) and Iain, our vet, decided she would have to have xrays and potentially surgery as her intestines didn't sound okay. So we presumed a blockage. He said he'd keep her overnight and take her home with him after surgery so he could keep a better eye on her without having to too and from the surgery himself. We felt it was a better thing to be doing for her as we'd rather he was with her the entire time then her getting sick for the few hours he's back at home! We waited for the phonecall about her diagnostics and he told us he found nothing on the xrays and so had to do exploratory surgery. We were then told that she had fatty lumps on her reproductive system. He removed them, sent them off for surgery and told us she was dealing with the surgery well.

Next morning we had another phone call to say that although Annie was doing well from the surgery, eating 'okay', drinking etc. She had lost all sensation in her back legs. We were obviously very conflicted as to what to do, but decided to give her a shot and see how she coped with it. We brought her home later that day and it was horrible. She was unable to clean herself properly and looked messy and so unlike our bun. We had to help her pee and she wasn't pooping at this time; but eventually had to help her do that too. She was set up in her own little 'hospital' cage and wasn't eating. After 2 days we managed to get her doing her own thing and eating some.

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But only if it was warm, smushed with hot water, and off her green spoon!

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She was approximately 14ml of meds per day. (Her metacam was measured "by kilo") and my partner asked me to make up a chart of meds for him!

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Annie began to learn to deal with her current disability. Our suspicions were that E.Cuniculi (a worm) had been "activated" in her system after the stress of the surgery, causing paralysis. Our Vet had consulted with many others around the UK about the cause of her sudden paralysis after surgery and most agreed that this could be it.

Here she is enjoying some downtime with mummy. She was able to clean her paws and face properly when lay like this as when she was sat down, she'd keep scooting backwards by accident!

Video of her grooming herself happily on Friday 10th 2012
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152806220780508&l=3953883397031857091

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Unfortunately, despite all our best efforts, daily trips to the vets for check ups and shots (to get her gut moving, etc) she never made it past Saturday night. The paralysis began progressing and moved up to her lungs so she struggled breathing. We rushed her to an emergency vet's to see if we could do anything for her but we decided that it was unfair to let her suffer any longer and that we should put her to sleep. She'd been an absolute trooper through the entire ordeal and had smashed down every brick wall she was faced with up until this point. But she just couldn't this time around.

Me and Andrew were with her the entire time and cuddled our little princess as she went to sleep for the last time. We've both never been so heartbroken about losing a pet because she was our first together and my god she was something special. We could have done nothing more for our princess, our binkybum and we're so sorry we couldn't fix her.

We got the results back from the samples Iain took from Annie's surgery and it appears she'd had a bad reaction to the sutures from her spaying months before; which caused the discomfort and blockage; which in turn caused the E.cuniculi to flare.

We hate that we got her spayed for it to result in this - but as rabbits (especially dutch!) have such a high risk of developing tumors, we knew we'd have to anyway. Alongside this, rabbits (when neutered properly) should have such a low chance of developing side effects from things like sutures (rabbits have their own type!) but our girl was just that unlucky one in a million case. Our biggest mistake was not worming Bigfoot as soon as we brought him home. We had both our buns vaccinated and Annie was wormed originally; but we were so wrapped up when we got Bigfoot that we overlooked worming him and so we believed that he passed on his E.cuniculi (which can lay harmless in a bun for years) to our Annabelle.

So yes, we blame ourselves, but try not to let us eat us up. We did everything we possibly could for Annie in the time we had her, from the day we brought her home until the day she died. She had the best care, the best home, the best love and treatment she could possibly get. But this is just a reminder for all who skim over preventative health care for their buns; don't. It really can save your buns life.

We do, however, want to say a massive thank you to Vets4Pets Warrington for their outstanding care for Annie and their ability to go that extra mile every single time. Every phone call of "Just an update for you all, she pooped!" was met with cheers and delight from the staff; you really felt they were with you every single step of the way and I could not say a bad thing about their treatment of my baby girl (and my other baby boy too!)

Annie passed away on May 11th 2012. Tomorrow will be a month since she passed. :(

Forever in our hearts babygirl.

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xx
 
Mayden I am so sorry for your loss. Bunnies can certainly steal you heart and it sounds like she was very loved and cared for. You did all you could and she had a happy life. It is amazing what great pets they make and thank god the days of outside in a rabbit coop are mostly I hope gone. Thanks for sharing your story It I am sure will help some other bunny owners. I never would have thought of a reaction to the stiches nor have I ever heard of that type of worm. Again you have my sympathies on the loss of your beloved pet:(:)
 
Oh Maydan, I am so very sorry for your loss. I am sitting here crying my eyes out. :(

Annabelle was a GORGEOUS bunny girl!!!

You did SO much for her and I know she was grateful to have you in her life. 2 years isn't nearly long enough. :(

Many hugs to you!!!
 
Mayden, I am so sorry for your loss.

She sounded so very special and sweet, a once in a lifetime bunny.

2 years is way too soon to loose such an amazing animal, how very sad.
 
I am so sorry for you loss! Your story brings tears to my eyes. I pray for a peace in your hearts knowing you always did what was best for your sweet Princess! You will be in my thoughts and prayers. God Bless!!!
 
So sorry for your loss Mayden
You gave Annabelle the two most precious years of her life
You have wonderful memories never to be forgotten

R.I.P. Annabelle
 
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Thanks all, she was well and truely loved. I've missed out some info about her care routine and a bunch of adorable pictures. (Didn't want to spam you all!) but I just wanted to vent a little and warn people of the dangers of e.cuniculi. Even if your fur babies don't show signs of it, any stress can trigger it.

I miss her so much, she is my little princess. We've got her ashes now on our fireplace. We want to get her a prettier box but it's nice to know she's home.
 
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Sorry they're all instagrammed. I regret putting edits on them now, but whatever! I have so many on my phone that I haven't uploaded. I do regret not taking more, but I do have a ton of her. I recommend everyone grab every memory they can with their fids or fur babies because you never know when they'll go.

Kisses with Daddy.
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Rolly pollying because I'm happy.
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Mummy's chair is the comfiest.
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But the bed is better.
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I hate bathtime.
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I'm a slipper bunny.
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:)
 
Annabelle had SO much character, WOW!!!

My sister in Germany has rabbits, both rescues, and the stories she tells me about them has me in stitches many times.

I never knew how attached and clever a bunny can be. :)

And yes, Mayden, you are right, we should enjoy each minute we have with our pets, and take as many pics as possible, because we never know what tomorrow may bring. My beloved Quincy, the DYH Amzon, was the prime example for that. :(
 
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You asked for it Wendy, I just dug out more photos from my partners facebook page. Some of them I'd forgotten about so it's nice to see them haha!

They really are fantastic little pets. Andrew was anxious about getting a bun at first because he felt they were just a pet you have outside and not really a 'pet pet' like a cat might be etc. I told him they were great and you can litter train them etc. We got Annie and now I don't think he'll ever be without a rabbit!

It's just orange juice (in a wine glass, I know I know!), but she loved to share anything we had.
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Snuggles.
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You shall not pass!
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Syringe training with Daddy. (boy did that come in handy when she got sick!)
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Naptime with Daddy.
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Not a bright bunny.
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Visit to her GranChris' house! She decided to eat the flowers.
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I'm sorry for your loss Wendy, it's really really horrible. I'm so grateful for the time we had with her though, even if it was too short. We jam packed her life full of fun and treats and lots and lots of love, so!
 
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She got too big for her house, but still used it.
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Chill out time after binkying around the bedroom.
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Ho ho ho :)
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Don't worry, she didn't have it on for long. :)
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I love my cat bed Mummy.
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Those pics speak a thousand words!!! WHAT a cutie pie! She seemed to have acted more like a dog than a cat, lol. :)

And SO super snuggly and SO SO pretty!!!!
 
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Me and Andrew say that rabbits are like a dog/cat combo. The loving attentiveness of a dog with the sassy independence of cats. We love them, honestly the only downside to them is how often they poop. :rolleyes:

She really was our baby girl. I don't care what people say; my pets are my babies and they are treated as so! :)

We miss her dearly. Bigfoot was really depressed after she passed, he'd never been alone from being in the store with other buns to being plonked straight in to a house with Annie and then all of a sudden she was gone.

We were going to adopt another dutch bun for Bigfoot but the adoption fell through because someone else had their homecheck first, (grr! :mad:) but she's gone to a good home now. So we went and had a look around again at pet stores with adoption centers but nooone had rabbits. Eventually we bought an English Spot who was apparently 'rabbit aggressive'. Bigfoot soon got rid of that side of her and they hit it off immediately.

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Bigfoot had done a rolly polly in the bed (it's a sign of happiness) and she jumped behind him and tried to do one too... but ended up wrapped around him instead. They lay there like that for a while - we decided then that she was definitely a keeper... :21:

Bigfoot is happy and binkying again. We're still torn up over Annie and Poppy English Spot) is doing lots of things Annie used to do, so it's lovely but bittersweet.

We think Annie would be proud of Poppy and her mischief at least. Annie sure was a troublemaker, but got out of it by being the cutest bun around. ;)
 

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