Monta - A Story All Her Own
We have been blessed by meeting sweet, sweet, frightened
Monta. She was another "drop" (aren't they all). Brought in a box on the back of a bicycle to another animal hospital, she was just another "problem" dealt with by walking away.
Monta wants little else than to be held and quietly petted. She acts like its a new feeling that she obviously likes.
She is probably around 8 years old, her left eye is useless and she has a growth on her neck. The eye loss and the tumor (apparently fibroid) are consistant with a blow to the head/neck area .. the toe of a shoe, maybe? .. a board or something? And, as a bonus, she also came with mites included at no extra charge.
We noticed a head tilt also, but that seems to be from her using her one good eye.
Click for Larger Image
We got her in for an immediate evaluation. We were concerned that her best solution might be to go ahead and leave us. Well, we've decided otherwise, but she must be rid of the mites before we can go for surgery to remove the growth from her neck.
There's nothing we can do for her one-eyed blindness, but she doesn't seem to mind the handicap as long as we promise she won't get hurt or thrown away again. We'll keep you posted.
Kits, Kits and More Kits!
A filthy, urine-stained English Spot (supposedly a "mini lop") came to us from a "breeder" at a rabbit show. Her babies were not doing so well at the shows so .. out she goes! After all - since they're only good for as long as they're useful, getting rid of a living, breathing creation of God is no big deal, eh?
It was either give the entire line to us or literally "dispose" of them!
We named her
Momela .. the breeder only knew her by number.
She arrived with four "unsatisfactory" sons and a litter of three (one had died, they said) she'd just kindled a couple of days before.
Guess what? She'd been kept with her sons after it was decided they would be disposed of anyway. We separated everybody as soon as they arrived, but it was too late.
This poor girl was pregnant while she was nursing the litter she was brought in with!
We got the "arrival" litter weaned just in time for her to birth another litter of four. You know, she may have been disposed of because she didn't make big litters .. who knows.
One person with one bunny was, in this case, responsible for - No, that would actually be - made us resposible for
twelve bunnies!
Who knows how many more this "breeder" has .. and is delivering regularly to the mall pet stores?
Kits, Kits .. Continued ..
And then there's this family that called themselves "breeders".
"We've got too many..", they said. Obviously found that selling bunnies wasn't as easy they thought.
They brought us two. Then they decided, a couple of weeks later that they needed to get rid of four more. Then they came with a couple more. Then their apartment manager (apartment manager? .. Breeder?) says they can only have one! So they bring us two more.
Ten more bunnies from someone that thought they'd "get rich at Easter".
Kits, Kits .. Continued
Then there was this guy that simply pleaded ignorance. At least he was honest.
"They said they were both female..", he said. "My wife has all our pets spayed and neutered".. oops, caught him in a lie there - can't have babies without the equipment.
"We were able to get rid of most of the first litter..", he said -
First litter? - "But we've still got a couple and five from the second litter.." -
Second litter? - "but when we put the last litter -
Another litter? - in a separate cage with the momma, they died of heat stroke."
No doubt .. turns out that this was all happening during our first real heat of the summer (91-93 degrees). These bunnies were all kept outside with no protection in a large, chicken-wire box!
As he was dropping them off, he asked if he could use the hose to "wash off the rabbit food". He explained that he'd been feeding them vegetables he was getting from a dumpster behind a grocery store!
Nine more bunnies born of pure ignorance - and mistreated by that same ignorance. "I didn't know they could breed so quickly..", he said. Followed by, "I thought they only ate lettuce."
The
P.S. to this story is that - because of the living arrangements - the Mom (again) and all four daughters are probably pregnant! Of course, we'll keep you posted.
Oops ...
already have an update ...
Kits, Kits .. Continued
Then there's
Gypsy. "We thought she'd been fixed..", they said. Well, they didn't want to take care of her and her seven kits, so .. all
eight came to us.
Then there's
Misty. We've no one to blame but the people that won't keep their bunnies contained. The lady that brought Misty in said that the neighborhood boys are under a standing reward to catch and return any bunnies running loose to an (unknown at this time) address a couple of blocks away. Misty blessed us with five little beauties for a new family of
six!.
Kits, Kits .. Continued
Then there was the Dutch "breeder". This one decided that this particular line "didn't show well".
Same song - umpteenth verse. They'd have been sold at auction if we didn't take them. Well, we all know that prospective pet owners don't go to auctions. Snake owners and "breeders" do, though, because the price is right.
We got
seven Dutch, but we also got
three Fuzzies and a beautiful little lop. The "breeder" cared so much for these guys that the lop was dumped as an "unproductive buck".
Well, he was named
Barbie after the arrival examination. More than just Barbie was mis-sexed out of that crew.
I was removing her from her hutch to go get spayed and just had a feeling that I'd better check. I palpated her and .. SURPRISE .. Barbie's pregnant. The very next day she kindled a litter of
four! We're sorry to say, but Barbie was so young that only one baby made it. We named that baby
Miracle for obvious reasons.
That's a total of
twelve cast-offs from another "breeder".
NOTE:
All the "Kits, Kits .." stories apply to a single month period (late March thru April).
At the time of this writing, Monta is literally "under the knife". Say a quick prayer, ok?
She is
1. getting the growth removed from her neck,
2. getting an antibiotic injection
in her "bad" eye, and
3. getting spayed.
Yes, that's a lot to ask of a loving little creature with no idea of what's going on, but she's a plucky little girl and we have every confidence that she'll do well. We're praying, too.
Monta update.
