Lady Bea's medical costs
Donation protected
Dear friends,
We’re reaching out for some help, and we’re hoping you can help in a small way. At a time when there are so many disasters around the world, and so much suffering, we realise it’s not a great time to be asking. But here we are, and we’re asking.
Our beautiful rabbit Lady Beatrix Bunnington, was the embodiment of joy. She never got mad or held a grudge towards Jesslyn and I, even when she was being wrapped in a towel and medicated every 12 hours. She had this aura of happiness around her- if she bounded into the room to say hello, the mood would brighten instantly. She was SO in love with our other rabbit, Sir Bunford Bunnington (Esq), and would smoosh herself as close to him as she could (he adored her right back) and just lay there looking blissfully happy. She was originally rescued from living under a Woolworths dumpster, and it was clear to us that she knew just how lucky she was and how much we loved her. She was such an endearing little darling, leaping about the house and being adorable. She also (hilariously) held a huge grudge towards the cat, and would chase her nipping at her heels then bounding off doing happy dances, any chance she could! We think it’s because the cat gave her an "ooh, what are you?" boop on the head when we first brought her home, but it's probably that she sensed the cat was (and is) a total wuss.
Despite her terrible start, Lady Bea thrived with us and brought joy to our lives every day. Then disaster struck. In February this year, she was diagnosed with pancreatitis following emergency surgery. Our rabbit expert vet, Dr Gerry Skinner, said it was the only case of pancreatitis she’d ever seen in a rabbit. (She theorized that any other cases before this would have been misdiagnosed as gut stasis, as most don't get surgery).
At this point, many would recommend she be euthanized. “But she’s just a rabbit” is what a lot of people would think. But Lady Bea was a stubborn little fighter, and for seven months she thrived, thanks to lots of TLC and a range of meds. When the medication wasn’t enough to get her through a flare up, we’d take her back to the emergency vet and she’d spend the night in intensive care and/or be given a Fentanyl patch.
Sadly, Lady Bea’s courageous fight ended on September 23rd, when she was in too much pain and we had to ease her suffering. Sir Bunford Bunnington (Esq) is missing his best friend, as are we. We were on borrowed time and we knew it, but we made sure her life was full of joy, pats, fresh greens and cuddles.
We dug into our savings, and when the savings were gone, we used our overdraw and then the credit card. Unfortunately, there is no pet insurance available for rabbits in Australia. We’re currently overdrawn by $2,000 and are paying off a $4,000 credit card bill and living on staples in the meantime. But we are so incredibly grateful to have had those extra months with Lady Bea. It was worth it.
(The final bill)
We appreciate any donation you can make. If you can’t donate, please help spread the word. Honestly, I'd not even considered making one of these and we were planning to just keep on living really frugally for months till we got back on our feet, but my friends suggested it so here we are.
In the meantime, Lady Bea’s death has not been in vain. Dr Gerry Skinner from The Rabbit Doctors, who has already learned so much in these past several months, will be able to learn much, much more about rabbit diseases from studying her; we told her to do whatever she needed to do to learn as much as she could. This will help other rabbits in the future when they present with similar symptoms, and we feel a little better knowing this.
Whatever money we receive will go towards paying off the credit card bill and climbing out of overdraw. Should we exceed our original goal, we'll donate it to the Rabbit Runaway Orphanage where Lady Bea was adopted from, and Freedom for Farmed Rabbits.
Thankyou ._.
We’re reaching out for some help, and we’re hoping you can help in a small way. At a time when there are so many disasters around the world, and so much suffering, we realise it’s not a great time to be asking. But here we are, and we’re asking.
Our beautiful rabbit Lady Beatrix Bunnington, was the embodiment of joy. She never got mad or held a grudge towards Jesslyn and I, even when she was being wrapped in a towel and medicated every 12 hours. She had this aura of happiness around her- if she bounded into the room to say hello, the mood would brighten instantly. She was SO in love with our other rabbit, Sir Bunford Bunnington (Esq), and would smoosh herself as close to him as she could (he adored her right back) and just lay there looking blissfully happy. She was originally rescued from living under a Woolworths dumpster, and it was clear to us that she knew just how lucky she was and how much we loved her. She was such an endearing little darling, leaping about the house and being adorable. She also (hilariously) held a huge grudge towards the cat, and would chase her nipping at her heels then bounding off doing happy dances, any chance she could! We think it’s because the cat gave her an "ooh, what are you?" boop on the head when we first brought her home, but it's probably that she sensed the cat was (and is) a total wuss.
Despite her terrible start, Lady Bea thrived with us and brought joy to our lives every day. Then disaster struck. In February this year, she was diagnosed with pancreatitis following emergency surgery. Our rabbit expert vet, Dr Gerry Skinner, said it was the only case of pancreatitis she’d ever seen in a rabbit. (She theorized that any other cases before this would have been misdiagnosed as gut stasis, as most don't get surgery).
At this point, many would recommend she be euthanized. “But she’s just a rabbit” is what a lot of people would think. But Lady Bea was a stubborn little fighter, and for seven months she thrived, thanks to lots of TLC and a range of meds. When the medication wasn’t enough to get her through a flare up, we’d take her back to the emergency vet and she’d spend the night in intensive care and/or be given a Fentanyl patch.
Sadly, Lady Bea’s courageous fight ended on September 23rd, when she was in too much pain and we had to ease her suffering. Sir Bunford Bunnington (Esq) is missing his best friend, as are we. We were on borrowed time and we knew it, but we made sure her life was full of joy, pats, fresh greens and cuddles.
We dug into our savings, and when the savings were gone, we used our overdraw and then the credit card. Unfortunately, there is no pet insurance available for rabbits in Australia. We’re currently overdrawn by $2,000 and are paying off a $4,000 credit card bill and living on staples in the meantime. But we are so incredibly grateful to have had those extra months with Lady Bea. It was worth it.
(The final bill)We appreciate any donation you can make. If you can’t donate, please help spread the word. Honestly, I'd not even considered making one of these and we were planning to just keep on living really frugally for months till we got back on our feet, but my friends suggested it so here we are.
In the meantime, Lady Bea’s death has not been in vain. Dr Gerry Skinner from The Rabbit Doctors, who has already learned so much in these past several months, will be able to learn much, much more about rabbit diseases from studying her; we told her to do whatever she needed to do to learn as much as she could. This will help other rabbits in the future when they present with similar symptoms, and we feel a little better knowing this.
Whatever money we receive will go towards paying off the credit card bill and climbing out of overdraw. Should we exceed our original goal, we'll donate it to the Rabbit Runaway Orphanage where Lady Bea was adopted from, and Freedom for Farmed Rabbits.
Thankyou ._.
Organizer
Jess Flint
Organizer
Cocoroc VIC
