We sadly had to have our beloved old 13 and ½ yr old rabbit Coco pts yesterday morning after what may have been a stroke.
There was no doubt in my mind that pts was the right decision and I cried going into, and out of, the vets. Even though you know they can’t live forever it’s still upsetting when the end finally comes. Coco was a shared bunny- my daughter Bunlover and I decided to take him on as we couldn't rehome him after she took him from a pts situation.
Coco had had a tough life being abandoned twice when the lady who last took him on became very ill and was about to pts if not rehomed as RSPCA would not take him off her. He had not been let out of a small hutch for 20months being cleaned out once a fortnight when a male relative of hers was able to do so.
Neither of us were really in a position to take him on but we decided he needed a bit of tlc so decided we would share his care and vet fees, since rehoming a black elderly dental bun with mis-shapen back legs/hip who was aggressive, partially blind and had snuffles proved impossible.After he had his first dental he was able to graze and he loved the garden with his funny little sideways mini-binkys. He wasn't too happy with his neuter ripping out all the stitches and having to have it redone. He had very unusual shaped teeth which gave humans a very painful bite -and he hated men chasing them away with a nip to the ankles. He was more like a little guard dog than a bunny. http://pledgeapound.net/forum/viewtopic ... oco#p31400
When allowed indoors at bunlovers he would jump on the sofa like it was his,
and used to snatch bunlovers post when it fell through the letterbox and shake it to bits..He loved bunlover taking him for walks on his lead. http://pledgeapound.net/forum/viewtopic ... oco#p38204 He liked to hide in the bushes and dash out at your ankles as you walked past, making you jump, and as he got older used to like to snooze in my flower pots or inhis tunnel. http://pledgeapound.net/forum/viewtopic ... oco#p29955
.Gradually he became more friendly and mellowed a bit with age as he learned we only wanted to help him, ( though the menfolk were still scared of him.). In the end his care was quite time-consuming needed an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening for what we called his “spa treatments” to bathe and treat his eyes, mouth, nose and chin, (not including his paws and back foot cleaning )He was also on metacam and protextin daily and had Duphopen injections every 3rd day for jaw abscesses. He was so good to have it all done too. He became completely blind in his later years but had company with bunlovers Trio of rabbits who were his neighbours
( they could not be bonded as he and Arthur did not get on (though Coco liked Arthurs wifebuns)) and he still had a good quality of life snoozing in the sun, foraging in the bushes and grazing on the lawn.
He had phases where he loved his food and would eat like a horse but other times when he wouldn’t and was a fussy eater. It was a constant struggle to keep his weight up but we managed it- ( thank you to all those who sent him foods to try) often by hand feeding him various leaves and plants and buying up all the weird and wonderful treats in the shops. His favourite greens were grated carrot and what we called “shire salad” which was a mix of all the natural leaves from my Glos garden. I sometimes posted him a bag when he was with bunlover at his London abode, He loved the donut ring treats and got one after each injection but his special favourite was a tiny piece of toast which he got on rare occasions.
Coco was a very characterful lionhead black bunny with thick silky fur and large helicopter ears, who could give you a mean look
but was a softy underneath as he loved to be stroked and fussed, and was bonded to his wifebun Kitty till she died in Oct 2012 aged 9 and ½ yrs. He had so many health problems in his lifetime and on many occasions we thought he would not pull through but with good veterinary care and tlc he did because he was such a fighter.. (my husband once said we should rename him Highlander because he seemed immortal).He was a wily old bun..I’ll never forget him “courting” Sooty by following her sniper style his frontpaws crawling along the grass, bum in the air. on back toes trying to get closer till she turned round and he would lie down pretending to be nonchalently grazing till she moved again. Sadly Sooty died before we could attempt a proper bond but he later fell in love with Kitty. Here 's a pic of Kitty grooming him and one of him grooming her
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Despite his problems he lived a happy life .http://pledgeapound.net/forum/viewtopic ... oco#p36064. You may know Coco on here as the poster boy to encourage adoption of black bunnies so hopefully he helped in that respect too
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.There is so much to say about Coco that I have just added some of my favourite pics (of which there are many) (Bunlover may do the same) and put links to other bits and pieces about him on here.
My husband buried Coco in the garden in his black fleece with white paw-prints, next to his favourite sedum plant. (The white paw-prints on his fleeces helped him see where he was and Coco took it with him whether he was at Bunlovers or at mine together with a red rucksack which was his medibag.)
Rest in peace beautiful Coco. x
There was hardly a part of Coco’s body that had not had problems at some time since we had him...
Tail : fur loss due to urine scald/fly-strike
Genitals: neuter redone / fur loss due to urine scald / penile op due to deformity/ ulcers/ fly-strike
Scent glands: blockages/ ulcers inside
Back legs : deformed/inner legs urine scald
Back left paw; needed frequent de clogging of mud due to abnormal gait/ sock hocks
Back right paw: sore hocks
Left hip : deformed causing abnormal gait
Left knee: snapped cruciate ligament
Belly: fur loss due to urine scald
Stomach: Stasis often
Base of back: Fly-strike/ mystery bald spot
Top of back; fur mites/ abcess excised
Right side: op to remove egg-sized benign tumour
Right and left front paws; sore patches from cleaning eyes.
Ears: Ear infection in one /warts in another
Eyes: Blind in both/ tooth roots caused weeping in both
Face: Fur loss due to eye weepiness
Mouth: mouth corners crusted due to pus draining from abscesses/ cheek ulcers
Nose: snotty due to snuffles
Teeth: deformed teeth/ dental problems and ops
Chin: crustiness due to jaw abcesses/ chin abscess once needing rubber tube inserted/fly-strike
Jaw; abscesses
