Grasshopper adventures

Last night, everybunny was fine. This morning, Grasshopper (our special needs child) wasn’t putting any weight on his left rear leg. I rang Matthew the wonder vet, but he was on day leave. Damn. I had visions of the day we lost Rhubarb, when a suburban vet sent us home without painkillers, and my precious boy died in a lot of pain. Vets are wonderful, and it is a tough job with not much reward, but bunnies need a vet with knowledge about bunny medicine, and a vet that has 20 years of experience treating dogs and cats is very unlikely to “get it”.

Then I remembered Dr David Vella. He’s an “exotics” vet, and has a particular interest in rabbits. I’ve heard good things about him, and I am so glad I thought of him today. He’s never met a European Brown Hare before, and was absolutely rapt to meet His Chops.

David gave him some opiates, and we saw a relaxed Grasshopper for the first time ever. Examining him was hard without a sedative, but x-rays without a sedative would never be possible. During the examination, I was covered in fur, and my lungs stopped taking in oxygen. I had a Ventolin with me, and went out in to the waiting room for some fresh air. Thirty minutes later, I had taken about 50 puffs of Ventolin, and still couldn’t breathe. I was considering calling an ambulance when the vet came back with Grasshopper, who was starting to wake up.

The good news was, his bones are in perfect condition. His teeth (which can be a problem with pet rabbits), are in superb condition. And I think the vet has a little crush on him.

We put the boys in the car, and I rang my GP, who recommended a trip to hospital for the human. We came home, gave Grasshopper his pain meds and set him up in a convalescent home, and Mark dropped me up at Ryde Hospital. Apparently Asthma is one of those things that they make a fuss about, so I saw a Dr. pretty quickly. By that stage I was breathing pretty well, and they put me on a nebuliser for a while. Then they gave me steroids, and made me hang around for an hour, after which time I was sent home with some meds, and a recommendation to find a home for the hare.

Not likely.