I lost my Oliver, heart shattered

[Bunnie girl]

My heart has been absolutely shattered. My beloved Oliver, my 7 year old netherland dwarf very unexpectedly passed away yesterday. He had been for the most part a very happy and healthy rabbit. I believe little Ollie had a stroke or heart attack, because when I found him his back end seemed paralyzed, mostly the left side of his body. I stayed with him until the very end and let him know that everything would be ok. Ollie for the last 2 years has had very bad sneezing attacks and coughing. Our vet said it was allergies but now that I think of it , could it have been a underlying heart condition? His last annual exam he had lost a bit of weight too - it seems like everything makes sense now. My heart hurts and I keep circling asking myself what if I checked on him sooner yesterday, would he be ok? Was it really a stroke or something else like GI stasis that I could have helped with and prevented? There will always be questions.


Ollie spent his 7 years going on adventures and going to my grandmas house. My grandma loved him! When she moved into a nursing home I would bring Ollie to visit and he was a hit and a favorite at the nursing home. When the 2 hour car ride started to be too much for Oliver I decided he needed to be ‘retired’ from going to the nursing home. He spent his days in his very own rabbit room and I truly believe he was so spoiled. I feel a lot of regret right now as I feel like I haven’t been able to give him as much attention lately as I have had crazy work schedule and recently went through a miscarriage, life has been very crazy right now. My husband and I have made sure the bunnies get the best care and are always fed and clean with fresh water. We loved him so much and will miss him tremendously, he was so sweet.

Sorry for the long post, has this happened to anyone else here? Doesn’t 7 seem a bit young for a dwarf? I thought he’d be with us for many more years. He had the best diet - good quality pellets, unlimited hay and veggies every day.

Binky free my little baby Oliver. I will love you forever and I hope to see you again someday In heaven. Xoxo

 

[A & B]

I'm sorry for your loss

 

[Tooattatched]

7 is a brilliant age, he had a long, happy life, full of excitement, and if he was eating and pooping it couldn’t have been GI stasis. This was NOT your fault, and could not have been prevented. It does sound like a heart attack, a similar thing happened to one of mine a few years ago, and I was the same ‘what if I checked on her’ ‘what if she’d been inside’, but heart attacks are sudden and unexpected, and many do not have a cause. Do not beat yourself up about it, he is hopping over the rainbow bridge

 

[Popsicles]

I’m so so sorry for you, he sounds like a fabulous little bun. Don’t beat yourself up, you gave him so much love and care, unfortunately sometimes unavoidable things happen

 

[Anna R.]

i'm so very sorry for your loss. i know what you are going through as well. i had one of my babies taken from me suddenly earlier this year. She was only 6. i also blamed myself, wondering what-if i did this or that. It felt like someone ripped my heart out, i cried for weeks. Thank goodness for husband, we talked it through and he made me realize it wasn't my fault. There is nothing you could have done, these things just happen, and for no reason. Don't be hard on yourself, you gave him a wonderful life. He had many adventures, and he knew you loved him very much. What more could any bunny want or need? You did everything right by being there until the end, he wasn't alone and was loved. That's all you could have done, and that was very brave of you. You are a great "Bunny Mom" and please don't ever think otherwise. After my baby died i swore i would never get another rabbit as i could never go through that again. However, a few months later after the pain started to lessen a bit...i did adopt another little girl. She is the light of my life. I love her so dearly; but, will never forget my little Bella and how much i loved her. I just hold my little Sophie now and thank the heavens i got another great bunny to love.
I am so very sorry you lost your little Ollie, he will be in your heart forever. He will be forever grateful to you for the wonderful life you gave him, and seeing him through good times and bad. My heart goes out to you as i know how it feels. Please, please don't blame yourself. You did everything right and you are a wonderful big hearted person for all you gave him. Please don't forget that.

 

[Bunnie girl]

Thank you so much everyone for your kind words. You have helped my heart feel a little bit better about Oliver’s passing. He had a wonderful life. Our plan was to build Oliver a big bunny palace complete with castles. We are going to build this in olivers honor and one day when we are ready, we will welcome another netherland dwarf into our lives. Every time I lose a bunny I swear I’ll never get another, it hurts so bad. When you have so much love to give, it’s hard not to love another rabbit. Thank you all!

 

[Anna R.]

I know just how you feel. I swear the same thing, they are so precious. When they leave us it hurts so badly, especially when it is way too soon. Which is most often the case. They touch our lives for only a moment it seems, and steal our hearts forever. Ollie was a very lucky little guy to have had you. I am so sorry, you've had a tough time lately. I only wish I could say the right words to make your pain go away; but, there are no words. Only time, and remembering all the good times with him. My heart goes out to you.

 

[Bunnie girl]

Thank you so much Anna, you are so kind! I know Oliver is binkying over rainbow bridge no longer suffering. He was the best little guy, my husband called him his little buddy. We will love him and honor him forever.. such a short time we have with them, but it always feels like it will be forever.

 

[Imbrium]

Sorry for the long post, has this happened to anyone else here? Doesn’t 7 seem a bit young for a dwarf? I thought he’d be with us for many more years. He had the best diet - good quality pellets, unlimited hay and veggies every day.

Binky free my little baby Oliver. I will love you forever and I hope to see you again someday In heaven. Xoxo

Um... if you think your post is "long," you really don't want to see the biography I just posted for our Layne in this section, heh.

Sadly, sometimes no matter what you do, their time is up way too soon, isn't it? Layne died two days before Oliver - he was just shy of his 4th birthday and in perfect health for all but the last couple days of his life. I know all too well what you mean about feeling like you should've had many more years... though no amount would ever truly feel like enough.

Oliver was absolutely adorable and it sounds like you gave him an amazing life! He was spoiled, pampered and loved to be sure. Please try not to beat yourself up over feeling like you didn't have as much time for him recently - you've been dealing with an awful lot and still always found time to make sure he got the very best care and knew that he was loved. If it wasn't that, you would probably just have found some other detail (or coincidence) to feel bad about simply because that's part of the grieving process - we always inevitably dwell on what we could've done differently and find something to regret a bit as we struggle to cope with a painful loss... so remind yourself of the good times and take comfort in the fact that you helped Oliver make the most of his seven years! Think of the rabbits out there living unhappy lives in store-bought "rabbit" cages or sitting in shelters for ages - that's a life Oliver didn't have to know was even possible, thanks to your family.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Sorry for your loss.

 

[Liung]

Ollie for the last 2 years has had very bad sneezing attacks and coughing. Our vet said it was allergies but now that I think of it , could it have been a underlying heart condition? His last annual exam he had lost a bit of weight too - it seems like everything makes sense

Oh my god Oliver was the cutest, I adore otter rabbits! I can see from his face too that he was a pure dwarf, or close to it. Lahi is a dwarf mix, he’s small but doesn’t have the super rounded face and tiny cat ears.

The thing with any rabbit breed with an atypical face is they’re VERY prone to tooth problems. Lahi had the back molar on his upper jaw grow up to press against his eye, causing a retrobulbar abscess. Delilah, who is a mini lop, has a blocked tear duct that is completely resistant to three different attempts by vets to being flushed out. I haven’t shelled out $800 for an MRI yet, but I fully expect that if I do it will show that there’s a tooth blocking the duct.

Both of them developed at age 7. In fact, in 2014 Lahi turned 7 years old and promptly developed, month by month: a tooth spur, conjunctivitis, a retrobulbar abscess, sore hocks, a warty growth (which early 2018 suddenly turned into malignant cancer and $3k later he’s missing a chunk of his ear but hopefully we got it before it spread), GI stasis, a choking episode, malocclusion, and then loose molars of which one had to be removed entirely.

That was ONE YEAR. When Delilah turned 7 and immediately developed a blocked tear duct I got down on my hands and knees and BEGGED her not to copy him in making age 7 so stressful. Clearly she didn’t listen to me, because she then grew a huge trichoblastoma tumour on her dewlap.

Rabbits are not animals that are build for longevity and overall health, and unfortunately the older they get the more prone they are to health issues. I’ve been very lucky to be able to afford the truly astronomical vet bills, and that right as Lahi developed his malignant melanoma I moved to Guelph, home of the Ontario Veterinary College and one of the top animal cancer centres in the country. But there’s definitely been some very close calls.

Yes, 7 years old is not very old in terms of a rabbit’s longest potential lifespan, and with Lahi just turned 12 this year I have high hopes that I’ll have him for another few years yet.

But right around age 6-8 is where I feel rabbits’ bodies really start to betray them. I get accused of being paranoid about their health, “ITS NOT PARANOIA WHEN THEYRE REALLY OUT TO GET YOU!!”