Dumped bunny - 2/10/2006

We arrived home from work on Wednesday 8th February to find a box of Budweiser on our doorstep. Fearing the worst we opened it. Our fears were confirmed….no beer

But…

Inside was a Netherland Dwarf rabbit, in a horrendous state, his bottom incisors were sticking up his nose.

His top incisors were curved around inside his mouth and perforating his bottom lips and he also had spurs on his back teeth.

He is so thin his spine protrudes. He has not eaten for god knows how long because he could not with teeth in that condition. He has a smell that we have unfortunately come to recognise - we call it “the smell of death” because the majority of rabbits that have that smell do not survive. It is normally too late.

He is dehydrated to the point of collapse. He weighs just 734grms, which if you know rabbits, is not a good weight even for a small breed. His back end is caked in faeces, his chin is soaked from dribbling, probably from the pain he was in, his claws were curving upwards and so long he could not stand/crouch for long without wobbling over. He is so weak.

We will do all we can for him, he has been to our vets this morning - he was appalled at his condition. There is quite possibly internal organ damage, but he will help us to fight for him.

So what did we do?

We gave him pain relief (hopefully), we clipped his teeth and he immediately tried to eat a small amount of food, and have a drink. This reduced us to tears – despite all he had been through, he was still trying.

He then tried to wash his caked fur face and fell over. Yes, even in this state rabbits are so desperate to be clean. I cupped him in my hands for support and he leaned against them and washed with one paw.

The person who brought him to us did the right thing … only months too late. There is no need to dump an animal, we will help if we can.

Please, please get them to a vet before they reach this stage. There is no excuse, this is cruelty.

Maybe he has been rescued by a neighbour or someone with a heart that has seen him suffering in disgusting conditions? If this is the case, please contact us and give us some history of the poor little chap, you can do it anonymously by leaving a message on our answer phone. Please do this for him.

Delia hopes the person who is responsible for this “rots in hell”.

I do not, I hope they suffer every pain imaginable on this earth before they are ejected into hell.

I imagine his previous owners will look on the website to see if there is any news. Congratulations…you have made it. They say murderers return to the scene of the crime.

If you are looking at this knowing that it was you who is responsible for this poor creature, we hope you are feeling the hatred of animal lovers everywhere that is projected in your direction.

Everyone who knows me, knows that I am a mild mannered being who very rarely (if ever) looses his cool.

But you have caused me to crack this time you cruel heartless bastard.

We hope you are proud of yourself.

We have called the little guy “Bud” because of the box he was in. Have a look in the photo gallery at the pictures of him and pray with us that he makes it.

Jim