Unexpected death during spay

[Daisy&Poppy]

Hello Everyone,

Im new to the forum and I apologise in advance if ive posted to the wrong place.
Im really looking for advice to see if anyone else has experienced something as upsetting as my story.

My darling Netherlands dwarf Daisy went in for a routine spay. That evening my vet called to say she was doing well and even eating and to call next day to find out when she can come home. I woke up next morning to a voicemail to call the vet. She said Daisy was behaving oddly and had not pooped since the op. She was im a hunched position. I was beside myself. She said Daisy was hooked up to oxygen and they were doing all they can. She then called back to say she was convulsing and not breathing well. I couldn't handle what I was hearing. My precious baby wasnt going to make it. She died and im totallu heartbroken. I cant stop crying I cant sleep and I feel so guilty for putting her through a spay when I knew how meek and timid she was. It turns out she gave herself an ulcer and the stress had made it burst. Im in agony to thinl of her alone the night before scared and in pan pain in the vets surgery. Worst of all ill never see her again amd it breals my heart. Her poor bonded partner is pining so much. I dont think ill ever get over the loss.

Has anyone ever experienced something similar during/after a spay?
I need to make sense of it all. Im just totally crushed.

 

[pani]

Oh my gosh - I'm so sorry to hear about this. :tears2:

I've never been through a similar experience myself, but I was beside myself with worry when Felix went in for his neutering. I can only imagine how terrifying it must have been for you to wake up to that voicemail, and then hear the news from the vet.

Daisy would have known how much you adored her. Although she may not have been with you during her passing, I'm sure she would have passed over to the Rainbow Bridge knowing just how much you cared for and loved her, along with her bond buddy. Don't feel guilty for making the choice to have her spayed - you were simply being a responsible owner, making a tough decision for any pet owner to make. You could never have predicted this outcome.

My thoughts are with you, her bond buddy, and of course Daisy crossing the Rainbow Bridge. ray: I've never been in this situation but if you'd like someone to talk to, you can always shoot me a private message.

 

[Imbrium]

*HUG* Oh, god... I'm SO sorry! :tears2: I'd be a wreck, too, if I were you!

I haven't heard of anything quite like that happening before, but another of our long-time members lost her bunny during a spay surgery; Foo went into cardiac arrest coming out of anesthesia, I believe... we were all so shocked and devastated!

Please try to catch yourself when you start to feel guilty and remind yourself that there was no way you could've seen this coming! Spaying is SO important - without a spay surgery, it wouldn't have been safe to keep her with her companion once her hormones kicked in because hormones can provoke vicious or even deadly fights. On top of that, female bunns are horribly prone to cancers of the reproductive system - so much so that unspayed females have an average lifespan that's *half* that of spayed females! In the big scheme of things, all the benefits of spaying vastly outweigh the risks (less than 1% of females spayed by a rabbit-savvy vet die during or shortly after the surgery, according to HRS)... but for that < 1% of females that suffer fatal complications, a "routine" spay surgery suddenly becomes an utterly devastating experience for their owner. There's no way to know whether or not you'll be one of the very few unfortunate ones to lose their precious bunn... so many of us get our girls spayed; what happened to Daisy could've happened to any of us.

When I took my two girls in to be spayed, I was a nervous wreck! Just like you, I was doing what I believed was in their best interests based on the information available (ie an inability to see the future). The difference between our situations boils down to a horrible, unforeseeable tragedy - how can you possibly be to blame for that?

I know not blaming yourself is FAR easier said than done - I've been through some really devastating pet losses myself over the years for reasons that might've been prevented if I'd been able to see the future, heh (most recently, losing a pregnant sugar glider on her 9 month birthday last June - she died on the way to the e-vet; her necropsy revealed a liver infection). You just have to take things day by day... reminding yourself that what our pets expect and deserve from us is that we love them with all our heart and soul and do our absolute best for them... not omniscience. There was no way you could know what would happen, and I'm sure Daisy wouldn't want you to blame yourself. Sometimes bad things happen to wonderful bunns

Binky free, Daisy! I'm so sorry you had to cross the bridge at such a young age :rainbow:

 

[Mariah]

I'm so sorry for your loss Unfortuntley, as a vet tech workin in a vet clinic, I know first hand that bunnies don't do well under anesthetic I'm not sure why she made it though the surgery, & then passed away after the fact. My vet clinic sends bunnies home as soon as they are awake & eating a bit. We find bunnies recover better at home, vs spending the night at the vet clinic.

I know that didn't help, but again, I'm soooooo sorry for your loss

RIP little one

 

[Michelledickerhoff]

Oh my goodness! My vet always sends mine home after Also. Makes me want to cry reading your story! I think yu should get another bunny. To help yu feel better. I recently thought I was going to lose my bun bc of an abscessed tooth and how life threatening it is. And I cried and cried. Yu seem like an amazing bunny parent. And I am so sorry that happened! Keep your chin up. And don't blame yourself.

 

[Tammy B]

I am so sorry to hear of your loss of Daisy.I have recently been through the death of my bunny also and i know the pain you are in.I'm not sure what happened at the clinic where daisy was and what contribited to her death but it is very hard to lose a friend.

I am so sorry for your loss

 

[zombiesue]

Are you sure that was the cause of death? Did the vet actually do a necropsy?

I don't think it's your fault. I've never heard of any evidence that rabbits can have stress-induced ulcers like people do, but common sense tells me it would take a lot longer than a few hours. If she had an ulcer before the surgery, there's no way to know how long she would have survived with a serious undiagnosed problem.

You did what you thought was right to give her a long, healthy life, and she unfortunately had a preexisting condition that killed her. There's nothing you could have, or should have, done differently. I'm truly sorry for your loss, but please do not blame yourself. Thousands and thousands of meek and timid rabbits have been spayed before. You had no way of knowing that your baby had an ulcer.

 

[lovelops]

I'm so sorry for your loss and I have two dwarf agouti's Chico and Chica that I can't get fixed because they freak out and my vet said they would go into cardiac arrest. They freak out enough at the vet's and get extremely stressed and has urged me not to do it because of that. That being said I have two that did get fixed. No matter what, you had no idea this was going to happen, it was not your fault, you cannot read minds or know the future.

Cancer or no cancer, hormones or no hormones, I'm going to play it by ear with every rabbit I have and like the vet said for the 2 bunnies I have that is going on two years, they are not getting fixed because they are timid also and started getting extremely stressed in the office during an exam about 6 months ago, we couldn't even get their nails trimmed they stressed that bad.

Please don't put yourself on a guilt trip. It's not worth the energy and all it will do is make yourself feel worse. There is no
sense in putting your energy into that. honestly, if I were in your shoes, I would judge every bun on a case by case basis for any surgical procedure if I saw that they were extremely timid or easily stressed like 2 of mine are. I understand your distress at the situation, but please don't beat yourself up. You thought you were doing the best thing for your pet and after all that is all any of us can do.

Please try to feel better
Vanessa

 

[mjpeter]

I don't have much to add...I just wanted to say how sorry I am for your loss. It's so hard when it's unexpected.

 

[Daisy&Poppy]

Thanks everyone for your really kind replies. It really does help to know there are others who have lost their beloved pets or would feel this way if they did. Its comforting to know not alone in feeling so sad, as many people just do not understand why the loss of a rabbit could be so upsetting.

Although I am not over the death of Daisy I decided to get another rabbit last Saturday to begin to bond with my other rabbit, as he was lethargic and lonely. Unfortunately bonding is not going well so far. He has tried to attack the new bunny, each time I try to introduce them. He has even been so wound up he cut his lip on his cage in a rage to get at her. I have moved the cages so they can see and sniff each other between bonding sessions but cannot reach each other.

She is a lovely bunny and 2 months younger than him. He is normally so laid back and placid and I'm wondering if maybe it was too soon or maybe she is not the right bunny for him. Has anyone any advice on how I at least end the bonding sessions without him nipping her. She seems very submissive and wants him to like her but he feigns indifference and when I let my guard down goes for her. I have never left them alone and at the moment we cannot move past I hold the new bun and my partner holds him and we let them sniff each other.

 

[ladysown]

i would be double checking the sex of the new bun. He's acting like a buck with a buck not like a buck with a doe.