Please help my rabbit! He was attacked by a dog and has a fractured pelvis

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xemmanoelx3

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Hi there,
I'm new to this forum, and incredibly frantic. I've had Stanley, my male dwarf rabbit, for 7 years. I rescued him, and we're very close. I brought him home for the holidays (he stays with me in my apartment) and never imagined anything this horrible could happen.
He was staying in a large cage in my home bedroom, and my parents had just adopted a dog. I'm not accustomed to shutting my door behind me, so I left my room for a minute to go to the bathroom, which is right across the hallway. I had pretty much forgotten the dog (a lab/Shepard rescue) existed until I heard the rattling of the cage, and dashed out of the bathroom only to hear Stanley screaming. I leaped on the dog, and Stanley ran under my bed, appearing to be fine. My parents called the adoption agency to take the dog back, and Stanley and I were both in horrible shock. I held my hand out to him, and as always, he came to me and I wrapped him in a few warm towels to calm him down.
However, a few minutes later he wanted out of the towels so I set him down. That's when he started to limp, severely. I took him to the closest animal hospital, suspecting he had either acquired a broken leg or spinal injury from trying to defend himself by kicking. The vet didn't feel any broken bones, but I requested an x-ray and pain medication. An hour later, the vet called to say he had a pelvic fracture and would require surgery that cost several thousand dollars. After my pleading (I'm a college student, I can't afford this surgery and both of my parent's are unemployed) the vet called Michigan State University to see if any of their veterinary residents would take on his surgery for under a thousand. We won't hear back until monday.
In the mean time, I took him home and took the top off his cage and put him in the living room so I can keep a close eye on him. He can't move around at all, and he's heavily medicated. He's eating hay, but not drinking water. I have to syringe it to him, and he's not drinking much. He's been pooping normally, but I'm worried about him urinating. He hasn't yet, but I know he can't move and will get urine burn.
I am so beside myself with guilt, this is all my fault. Stanley has been my best friend for years, and it isn't his time to go. Has anybody been through this before? Anything would help. I feel so stupid and useless. I can't stop crying.
 
I'm so sorry to hear that and I hope everything works out.

As for the urinating, could you tuck something between his legs like a towel to soak up the urine? Another thought might be those puppy training pads you can get- they are waterproof on one side and absorbent on the other, so if he urinates it can soak that up and he won't be soggy with it.

Good luck
 
I'm so sorry :( I had a dog attack one of my rabbits once, but my rabbit didn't survive. I'm glad you caught it in time and that your bun is alive. It sounds like a bad injury, but it is something that can be worked with. I would suggest keeping towels under him, and just keep them changed out. This will help keep him drier and cleaner. Because of his injury you don't really want to have to get to the point where he would need a butt bath, so keeping clean towels in is pretty essential.

Him not peeing is probably because he's dehydrated. Just keep syringing water. If he drinks from a bottle, you could also offer a water dish. Rabbits usually drink better from them. If you feed veggies, you could also try increasing his amounts a little, especially the leafy ones. But if you just can't seem to get enough fluids into him, you could ask your vet about giving him sub q fluids.

I really hope you are able to get something worked out with the surgery. You could also try calling around to different rabbit vets to see if you can get a better price. You just want to make sure that whatever vet you use, is very rabbit experienced. And please let us know how he is doing.

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f28/finding-vet-13366/
http://rabbit.org/vet-listings/
 
I can't answer any health questions but thought I might suggest looking online for assistance to pay for the surgery. There is a program called CareCredit that pays for veterinary procedures as well as human needs, my dentist has referred me. I haven't used it but read up a bit on it. If you check them out & can make the payments it sounds good but if you can't it can bite you in the butt, in my opinion. I don't know if there are other programs of assistance but maybe there is something to help you to get him the surgery he needs. (Perhaps even a donation program through RO or some other bunny/rabbit group to help pay for his medical needs.) I've been in your shoes with a bird that required an emergency visit & medical care that I didn't have the money for at the time. A friend helped me & it all worked out. Hope it will work out for you & your bunny as well.) I'm so sorry it happened to your sweet little guy! I hope & pray for his complete recovery. Please keep us updated.
 
I am very sorry about that. However, considering he is 7 years old + is it really worth all that suffering for him. Rabbits are very sensitive to anesthetic at a young age not to mention at an old age, it is very risky...
If you do choose to do the surgery, i would agree with some of the above posts, you should put up a donation website,
good luck with whatever you choose to do
 
My only advice is to keep him comfy and warm and let nature take it's course--he'll either get better and have some mobility or his time will be up. It's hard to imagine how much surgery can cost and most of us can't afford it either. Our hearts and prayers go out to you both.
 

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