Bunny died in confusing accident. Very depressed

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percythetrain

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Hi everyone, just joined but been reading a lot about bunnies. I don't know what to do. I guess I'm looking for support. We're all very depressed right now, especially me and my mom. I wasn't familiar at all with these little animals but ended up really bonding with him. He roamed the house but stayed mostly in one room. Seemed very happy and relaxed with us.

The thing us I have children and after they were gifted the bunny I found out these creatures are very fragile so when I was around I would not allow my children to pick him up. I was very strict about that, although they were allowed to pet him while he was on the floor. However, my dad lives with me and we do have some tension in our relationship because he basically will break all of my rules, it's like I have zero authority with the kids when he's around. He would let them hold him and we'd get into fights, he would insist these animals were strong as heck which we now realize it's not at all true.

So it became difficult for me to control whether my children handled the bunny especially if I was not around or engaged in some other activity. The day before yesterday I fell ill with a bad cold. I was feeling pretty bad and didn't want to pass it on to the kids so I tried to stay in my room while my parents watched them. My mom is generally very judicious and very much in agreement with my rule that the bunny should not be handled by the kids, but in a moment she was cleaning the cage and heard the kids chasing the bunny, she yelled at them to stop.

I was lying in bed in my room when I heard the commotion and walked over there to see my son shaking the bunny, I told him to let it go and he did but it fell from about a foot, maybe a foot and a half. Now I feel horrible that it might have come down to the fall. Maybe it was the shaking or from the force that he was being held with. But he basically hopped away at first but, went under the bed but then collapsed about a minute later. Did he die from fright or from an injury I don't know but it was horrible and shocking because it all happened so fast there wasn't any way to process it.

Ever since we got him I had made it my mission to protect him because I thought about how traumatizing it would be to lose him due to carelessness as opposed to because he's become too old. I keep thinking I shouldn't have been in bed or I should have placed the cage in my bedroom if I was going to be resting. The reason I didn't have him in my room is I'm a bit allergic to hay. I now think I should have taken him with me anyway. It all happened within 2 mins or so.

I don't think we'll be getting another bunny until the kids are older because we couldn't bear this happening again. He was a truly sweet and friendly bunny. Times like this I wish I were religious so I could have some form of comfort. Thanks all for reading.
 
Unfortunately it does sound like your rabbits death was due to either the fall or the shaking. You are correct that rabbits are extremely fragile creatures, which makes them very bad pets for children, especially small ones. I've heard of countless stories of children getting a pet bunny and killing it by inadvertently squeezing it too hard or other such innocent actions by the child. It would have been possible to keep your bun safe even with small children around(as there are other members on here that have done so) if you hadn't had your dad actively working against your authority. It just sounds like a very bad situation all around for you and I'm sorry that despite your best efforts to keep your bun safe, that your dad's negligent and destructive attitude allowed such a horrible thing to occur. I certainly wouldn't be blaming yourself at all.
 
Thanks so much for your response jbun, I really appreciate it and you're right, my dad is part of the reason I don't want a new bunny. He wasn't around when the incident happened, but had set the stage for the children to believe that it was OK to handle him and that he was a tough as nails animal. I am disgusted at myself though for not having stood up to him more. The last time we had a fight it was over the bunny, I told him to stop defying my rule, he insisted that he had the kids under control and proceeded to behave like a victim of maltreatment which drove me even crazier. Even my kids sort of took his side. It's become a situation that I'm bringing up with a psychologist because I just don't have the tools to deal with.

I do believe I failed the poor bunny by assuming that I could be in my room while he was having his cage cleaned. I also feel like he might have died from my telling my child to let go of him, which makes me feel even worse. My son is a short fellow, only 3 feet and he wasn't holding him high up, give or take a foot which i never imagined could be a fatal distance to a wooden floor. But if I had been with the bunny they never would have picked him up. None of it would have happened. My mom also feels guilty because she heard them with the bunny and yelled at them to stop chasing him (which they did while she was looking) rather than making sure he was safely back in the cage. And I guess I thought my mom had more control over the situation so I waited a bit until I rushed in. The kids loved the bunny, but as you said they were not old enough to be handling him.
 
I'm so sorry that happened to you. Such a tragic and senseless way to lose a friend.I have a similar problem, but with my sister. She comes over with her kids and tells them they can run after my bunny and grab her. She's convinced rabbits are as hardy as the cat, which is just not true. It makes me angry and Tawny spends most of her time in my lap when my sister is around. It all comes to education, I guess, that and respect for the rules other people have in their own home.
 
Thanks so much leighann7, I never imagined I would come to care so much about a bunny. Had only received him a few weeks ago but I felt a connection to him and it grew day by day because of his sweet nature. I didn't know that these animals could be such great companions. I'm just in shock that we lost him so quickly, never had a chance to even make it to the vet 2 blocks away.

I also feel that I may have contributed to him dying because in trying to save him from the shaking I asked my son to let go of him and so he fell about a foot, or a foot and a half. That kind of distance seems so very small but the more I read the more I realize how fragile these little creatures are. He hopped away at first which makes me wonder if he could have hopped away if he had had a broken back or neck, but then collapsed and that was it, no chance to call a doc.

I've been frantically trying to figure out what exactly killed him but I didn't see the entire incident. From what I've been reading a 1 to 1.5 foot drop on all fours shouldn't be that lethal, but there could be exceptions i guess. http://rabbittalk.com/baby-bunny-fell-will-it-be-okay-t4270.html I'm now wondering if it was a heart attack.

As for my dad, I honestly am more to blame than he is because frankly, I already knew that he has issues with my authority so I should have been prepared for what happened. I did fail that poor animal that I had developed a relationship with and it hurts a lot. It hurt my children too because they had no intention of killing him, but they don't seem as depressed as I am thankfully, probably because at their ages they have very little attention span and don't completely understand the finality of death, they kind of believe he'll eventually come back. Sorry to be using you guys as psychologists, I'm just so distraught, could not get any sleep at all
 
I'm very sorry this happened to you and your family and though it is heart breaking and awful, you should forgive yourself because unfortunately this happens, I'm not trying to sound heartless or anything but little kids and small animals don't mix.
 
Your bunny could of died from the shaking, the fall or he could of had an underlying medical issue you didn't know about the sucky thing is you will probably never know what he died from.
 
Generally a fall from even 5 feet won't kill a rabbit like that- if I absolutely had to guess it would have been the shaking or a post trauma heart attack (although these usually happen a few hours later, not minutes). It was not your fault and you had VERY respectable rules with your children. I am so so sorry to hear of your loss and we are sending our love to you.
 
Your kid could also have squeezed too hard and broken something. Like you said, rabbits are really fragile. There are the worst animal for children : they are skittish and don't like to be handled, which means they are frustrating and require a patience that most children don't have. They are also really delicate and fragile (heart and bones) but can kick really hard / bite / scratch which can lead to accidents (broken back, fall, or injuries to the child holding them incorrectly). A lot of responsible breeders refuse to sell bunnies to families with young children.
Still, that's just my opinion but your father sounds like he is completely to blame for this. He is an adult and should have known better. And besides, even if we were really talking about a "strong" animal like a dog, getting squeezed / dropped or shaken around is not something you should authorize a child to do (at the very least because your child could get bitten!) so you would have been totally right to forbid it anyway. Ask him how he would like it if a giant 10 times his size took him to manhandle him that way - humans are pretty sturdy but we probably wouldn't survive that kind of treatment either...
 
Sorry for your loss. Still, your children are most important and it's an opportunity for them to learn about respecting and handling animals. This is something all children must learn. Also for you to work on your family dynamics. You're the parent and that's that. I'd wait some years before trying another pet.
 
percythetrain said:
Hi everyone, just joined but been reading a lot about bunnies. I don't know what to do. I guess I'm looking for support. We're all very depressed right now, especially me and my mom. I wasn't familiar at all with these little animals but ended up really bonding with him. He roamed the house but stayed mostly in one room. Seemed very happy and relaxed with us.

The thing us I have children and after they were gifted the bunny I found out these creatures are very fragile so when I was around I would not allow my children to pick him up. I was very strict about that, although they were allowed to pet him while he was on the floor. However, my dad lives with me and we do have some tension in our relationship because he basically will break all of my rules, it's like I have zero authority with the kids when he's around. He would let them hold him and we'd get into fights, he would insist these animals were strong as heck which we now realize it's not at all true.

So it became difficult for me to control whether my children handled the bunny especially if I was not around or engaged in some other activity. The day before yesterday I fell ill with a bad cold. I was feeling pretty bad and didn't want to pass it on to the kids so I tried to stay in my room while my parents watched them. My mom is generally very judicious and very much in agreement with my rule that the bunny should not be handled by the kids, but in a moment she was cleaning the cage and heard the kids chasing the bunny, she yelled at them to stop.

I was lying in bed in my room when I heard the commotion and walked over there to see my son shaking the bunny, I told him to let it go and he did but it fell from about a foot, maybe a foot and a half. Now I feel horrible that it might have come down to the fall. Maybe it was the shaking or from the force that he was being held with. But he basically hopped away at first but, went under the bed but then collapsed about a minute later. Did he die from fright or from an injury I don't know but it was horrible and shocking because it all happened so fast there wasn't any way to process it.

Ever since we got him I had made it my mission to protect him because I thought about how traumatizing it would be to lose him due to carelessness as opposed to because he's become too old. I keep thinking I shouldn't have been in bed or I should have placed the cage in my bedroom if I was going to be resting. The reason I didn't have him in my room is I'm a bit allergic to hay. I now think I should have taken him with me anyway. It all happened within 2 mins or so.

I don't think we'll be getting another bunny until the kids are older because we couldn't bear this happening again. He was a truly sweet and friendly bunny. Times like this I wish I were religious so I could have some form of comfort. Thanks all for reading.
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I'm sorry to hear about this. It sounds quite a bit like it's little heart gave out. Rabbits get terrified very easily. My last rabbit had a nightmare, and died from a heart attack from just that. They are very fragile creatures for the most part. I don't think your kids are ready for another pet unfortunately. I'm guessing your children are quite young. Perhaps when they are teenagers they can get another pet. It sounds like a bad situation all around.
 
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