Kipcha
Well-Known Member
For being such a young bun, Flynn has been through a lot in her life.Flynn began her life in a pet store that belongs to a friend of ours. A little grey ball of fluff that was brought to the store to seek out her new home, Flynn was an easily excitable bunny and greeted people with enthusiasm. That was what first drew my eye to her in the store. When you approached her cage she would stand up on her back feet to get a better look at you, her adorable ears flopping back and forth as she tried to hold her balance, clambering on your arm when you moved down to pet her. But we had more then enough bunnies, so no matter how charming this little girl was, our Bunny Inn was full. She was in good hands, she would find a loving home.
The next time we went to the store, lo and behold, the little munchkin was STILL there, as perky and happy as ever. I felt myself waver a tad bit in my decision. Perhaps... We could... No. No. Our bunny numbers were high as it was, we did not need another bunny. A little more reluctantly this time, we left again without Flynn in tow.
Almost as if to tempt me further, there was an ad on Kijiji for the bunnies in the store, advertising the adorable little grey balls of fluff that were her and her brother. I usually look through Kijiji ads to see what sort of new toys and accessories I can get for my buns, but somehow, my eye kept being drawn back to the ad that contained that little grey floppy-eared ball of fluff and charisma. Mom would roll her eyes anytime she saw me with the ad up, or even mentioning the little puffball in the pet store, reminding me that I had more then enough rabbits to fawn over, I did not need this one. I reminded myself that she was right... But I couldn't help finding myself wandering back to that ad daily, part of me hoping she was still up there and available. The longer she stayed in that store, the more likely it seemed to me that Flynn was meant to be. Couldn't Mom see the stars aligning? Couldn't she see that it was fate? What were the odds that no one else wanted this lovely little baby? That was, unless she had "I'm Amanda's" written across her sweet little face? But I surrendered, knowing that despite fate, it was obvious that someone else would be getting to love her. She was a perfect bun to convert someone into a bunny slave such as myself, and another bunny slave in the world was always a good thing.
Then, Mom started bragging to me about the newest birthday gift she was going to get me, but unfortunately, plans had been complicated and I would have to wait for it. I bugged her to tell me for a few days, and it paid off. I hate people keeping secrets from me, and Mom can't keep a secret, so I managed to get it out of her pretty fast. The little bun from the pet store was supposed to arrive at one of our practices, but something happened in the arrangement for delivery when she jumped a glass barrier and got herself into some minor trouble. Should have known, right then and there, what a little mischievous stinker she was, but I was so blinded by her adorable mug that I couldn't see the little imp churning inside. She was smart, she was fun-loving and she was energetic. An interesting combination.
When we went to pick her up she was exactly as I remembered her and she seemed to know she would be coming home with us, finally getting a family to keep her for the rest of her life. Bounding around in excitement, Flynn reminded us on how we got attached so easily. She's just too bloody adorable.Unfortunately, hopping did not seem to be quite her thing. She had a lot of passion for it and she loved running the course, but she simply didn't have the speed for it and her ears didn't help. Whenever Flynn gets excited, she puts them forward, which basically winds up blinding her as they move in front of her eyes, her face turning into one of confusion as she tried to feel her way around. Even though she wasn't much of a competitor, she loved doing it and that was what mattered.
She began to improve as the months passed, her times growing shorter and her jumps getting higher. She may just turn into a real hopper yet.Then, one night, we suspect she was messing around in her cage and hurt herself. Flynn always had a habit of popcorning around her cage at top speed and it turned out, just this once, she managed to pop her hip out of socket. When I found her, she wasn't eating right so I let her out to run around I noticed her still using the leg but not putting a lot of weight on it.
We brought her to the vet where we had x-rays done and saw that her hip was, indeed, definitely not where it should have been, the joint now raised out of the socket. We discussed popping it back into socket, but it would be painful and would only have a 30% chance of staying. Rabbit sockets are notoriously shallow and thus, hard to have put back when dislocated. The only options we had were euthanasia or attempting an Femoral Head Ostectomy (Also referred to as an FHO, which is basically cutting off the femoral head to allow the body to form a false joint). Unfortunately, there were almost no vets in the area who had ever done such a thing on a bunny, mostly because owners weren't willing to pay the hefty price that came with the surgery ($1000 - $4000 were quotes I received). Most of the time the rabbit was left, leaving it in a lot of pain and every movement of that leg caused the bone to rub together, and I knew I could not leave Flynn is such a state. I spent the next few days almost entirely on the phone but wasn't having any luck.
Then, our wonderful vet Dr. Materi at Avian and Exotic pet clinic said she would try doing the surgery, even though she had never done it before. This was the first spark of hope I saw. I heard many vets saying they would attempt it, but Dr. Materi was the first one that I had faith in actually being successful with Flynn's operation. We booked the date and waited.Flynn came through the surgery well and was eating almost as soon as she awoke, ready to take on the world again, the tough little cookie that she was, not even realizing the near $2000 she had burned through in an effort to save her life, all because she was playing a little too roughly in her cage. But she was definitely worth it and her recovery has been going fantastic.
As of right now, however, her leg is completely healed and she is better then ever! She is still able to compete it hopping and loves it, but is not allowed to do any of the higher jumps. She still popcorns at top speed and acts reckless, something I sometimes scold her for since she could easily hurt herself again, but she's just such spunk in her that cannot be contained!
The next time we went to the store, lo and behold, the little munchkin was STILL there, as perky and happy as ever. I felt myself waver a tad bit in my decision. Perhaps... We could... No. No. Our bunny numbers were high as it was, we did not need another bunny. A little more reluctantly this time, we left again without Flynn in tow.
Almost as if to tempt me further, there was an ad on Kijiji for the bunnies in the store, advertising the adorable little grey balls of fluff that were her and her brother. I usually look through Kijiji ads to see what sort of new toys and accessories I can get for my buns, but somehow, my eye kept being drawn back to the ad that contained that little grey floppy-eared ball of fluff and charisma. Mom would roll her eyes anytime she saw me with the ad up, or even mentioning the little puffball in the pet store, reminding me that I had more then enough rabbits to fawn over, I did not need this one. I reminded myself that she was right... But I couldn't help finding myself wandering back to that ad daily, part of me hoping she was still up there and available. The longer she stayed in that store, the more likely it seemed to me that Flynn was meant to be. Couldn't Mom see the stars aligning? Couldn't she see that it was fate? What were the odds that no one else wanted this lovely little baby? That was, unless she had "I'm Amanda's" written across her sweet little face? But I surrendered, knowing that despite fate, it was obvious that someone else would be getting to love her. She was a perfect bun to convert someone into a bunny slave such as myself, and another bunny slave in the world was always a good thing.
Then, Mom started bragging to me about the newest birthday gift she was going to get me, but unfortunately, plans had been complicated and I would have to wait for it. I bugged her to tell me for a few days, and it paid off. I hate people keeping secrets from me, and Mom can't keep a secret, so I managed to get it out of her pretty fast. The little bun from the pet store was supposed to arrive at one of our practices, but something happened in the arrangement for delivery when she jumped a glass barrier and got herself into some minor trouble. Should have known, right then and there, what a little mischievous stinker she was, but I was so blinded by her adorable mug that I couldn't see the little imp churning inside. She was smart, she was fun-loving and she was energetic. An interesting combination.
When we went to pick her up she was exactly as I remembered her and she seemed to know she would be coming home with us, finally getting a family to keep her for the rest of her life. Bounding around in excitement, Flynn reminded us on how we got attached so easily. She's just too bloody adorable.Unfortunately, hopping did not seem to be quite her thing. She had a lot of passion for it and she loved running the course, but she simply didn't have the speed for it and her ears didn't help. Whenever Flynn gets excited, she puts them forward, which basically winds up blinding her as they move in front of her eyes, her face turning into one of confusion as she tried to feel her way around. Even though she wasn't much of a competitor, she loved doing it and that was what mattered.
She began to improve as the months passed, her times growing shorter and her jumps getting higher. She may just turn into a real hopper yet.Then, one night, we suspect she was messing around in her cage and hurt herself. Flynn always had a habit of popcorning around her cage at top speed and it turned out, just this once, she managed to pop her hip out of socket. When I found her, she wasn't eating right so I let her out to run around I noticed her still using the leg but not putting a lot of weight on it.
We brought her to the vet where we had x-rays done and saw that her hip was, indeed, definitely not where it should have been, the joint now raised out of the socket. We discussed popping it back into socket, but it would be painful and would only have a 30% chance of staying. Rabbit sockets are notoriously shallow and thus, hard to have put back when dislocated. The only options we had were euthanasia or attempting an Femoral Head Ostectomy (Also referred to as an FHO, which is basically cutting off the femoral head to allow the body to form a false joint). Unfortunately, there were almost no vets in the area who had ever done such a thing on a bunny, mostly because owners weren't willing to pay the hefty price that came with the surgery ($1000 - $4000 were quotes I received). Most of the time the rabbit was left, leaving it in a lot of pain and every movement of that leg caused the bone to rub together, and I knew I could not leave Flynn is such a state. I spent the next few days almost entirely on the phone but wasn't having any luck.
Then, our wonderful vet Dr. Materi at Avian and Exotic pet clinic said she would try doing the surgery, even though she had never done it before. This was the first spark of hope I saw. I heard many vets saying they would attempt it, but Dr. Materi was the first one that I had faith in actually being successful with Flynn's operation. We booked the date and waited.Flynn came through the surgery well and was eating almost as soon as she awoke, ready to take on the world again, the tough little cookie that she was, not even realizing the near $2000 she had burned through in an effort to save her life, all because she was playing a little too roughly in her cage. But she was definitely worth it and her recovery has been going fantastic.
As of right now, however, her leg is completely healed and she is better then ever! She is still able to compete it hopping and loves it, but is not allowed to do any of the higher jumps. She still popcorns at top speed and acts reckless, something I sometimes scold her for since she could easily hurt herself again, but she's just such spunk in her that cannot be contained!
