Dominic the Bunny
Dominic the bunny
A 'special needs' bunny that is now called Dominic has turned my life around and been an inspiration for my many undertakings. In December 2011, I fell in love at first sight when I first saw this bony little thing brought to Companion Care vets at my local Pets at Home store by one of their staff. I found that he was "a special needs bunny" and needed a full examination to confirm his state of health before he was put up for adoption. The next day I was phoned by the vet with a long list of the bunny's conditions, only because I expressed an interest the day before. About 5 y.o., this poor soul was not rehomeable due to the high cost of the regular treatments he required and was going to be put to sleep because of this cost. They were not going to give him much hope at all. Wanting to give him another chance in life, I offered to adopt the poor little mite.
The Pets at Home's store kindly paid for his operations including castration, tear ducts flushing, and dental work. His teeth were in horrendously neglected condition, having grown right through his upper and lower jaws, out into his cheeks, into eyes causing the infections there, blocking his tear ducts and giving him awful mouth sores so he could not feed. A vet called Dominic operated on the bunny over the weekend, Saturday and Sunday. In constant pain, he had not eaten properly for a long time. He was just skin and bones, so malnourished and weak they did not even think that he would survive the operations. But he pulled through! And I named him after the vet who saved his life.
Dominic's health conditions includes Enamel Hypoplasia, Molar / Incisor Malocclusion, Dacryocystitis, Mats, Nasal discharge (suspected Pasteurellosis or low grade snuffles), and means that his care is very involving.
Brought home, it seemed like Dominic was eating his pellets non-stop for whole 2 weeks. He has several different kinds of pellets and supplements because he is unable to chew straw and even his greens have to be chopped finely. Despite my best attempts and many tricks to get him to eat hay, I learnt that he is not able to do it. His teeth are blunt and thick stumps, not the usual razor sharp bunny incisors, making him unable to crush even carrot tops and parsley which all our other rabbits adore so much with stems quickly disappearing up their little faces. Dominic tried hard but it all got caught up in his mouth, a sorry sight. He really tries with his greens and makes a total mess of Curly Kale and Spring Greens leaves in the process, but is able to eat them better than long stringy carrot top and parsley stalks. I have to select the tenderest leaves and chop them into fine salad for him to be able to eat them. It became clear early on that Dominic loved carrots and I must admit I treat him to this delicacy a little more than I do the others, along with some banana and apple. His main feed is a mix of good pellet foods with a sprinkling of SF-50 and calcium powders, mainly because he needs to get the best nutrition possible to make his teeth better.
He is a loving and gentle bunny who gets frightened easily. He quickly learnt to use his litter-tray to become a free range house bun, coming to nudge for his favourite face tickles each time I walk past him, absolutely adores fuss and will sit on my lap to be stroked for as long as I will take him. When the weather's good, he is allowed to play in the outside bunny run where he has so much fun, jumping running, doing little twists and shaking his "helicopter" ears. But, still sensitive about his teeth, he hates his mouth touched. We have to clean the muck out of his eyes twice a day and put in antibiotic drops or they will get infected.
Dominic has to have monthly vet checkups. The first time I brought him in, the vet was surprised how well he was doing when they weren't even sure he would pull through. He has put on weight and looks much better now. His care will cost around £200 per operation, several times a year.
Dominic was the driving force and inspiration behind the Hedgehogs and Bunnies website and blog. His courage and the will to live have made me love animals more than ever before. It is because of him that we have gone meat, dairy, egg-free, and cruelty-free cosmetics and chemicals in our house. Although I had 4 rabbits (3 of them rescued) already, it was Dominic who changed my life.
It turned out he was just brought into the store as he wasn’t wanted any longer… His previous people let him down by making him so very sick and abandoning him. Although bringing him in was a right thing to do: any longer and it would have been too late for poor Dominic. Because of their negligence and cruelty he spent most of his short life lonely, suffering and miserable, and nearly lost his life. I hope those people realise one day what a sweet, gentle and loving companion they'd missed out on and I wish we could say to them "You nearly killed him but just look at him now!"
Dominic the bunny
A 'special needs' bunny that is now called Dominic has turned my life around and been an inspiration for my many undertakings. In December 2011, I fell in love at first sight when I first saw this bony little thing brought to Companion Care vets at my local Pets at Home store by one of their staff. I found that he was "a special needs bunny" and needed a full examination to confirm his state of health before he was put up for adoption. The next day I was phoned by the vet with a long list of the bunny's conditions, only because I expressed an interest the day before. About 5 y.o., this poor soul was not rehomeable due to the high cost of the regular treatments he required and was going to be put to sleep because of this cost. They were not going to give him much hope at all. Wanting to give him another chance in life, I offered to adopt the poor little mite.
The Pets at Home's store kindly paid for his operations including castration, tear ducts flushing, and dental work. His teeth were in horrendously neglected condition, having grown right through his upper and lower jaws, out into his cheeks, into eyes causing the infections there, blocking his tear ducts and giving him awful mouth sores so he could not feed. A vet called Dominic operated on the bunny over the weekend, Saturday and Sunday. In constant pain, he had not eaten properly for a long time. He was just skin and bones, so malnourished and weak they did not even think that he would survive the operations. But he pulled through! And I named him after the vet who saved his life.
Dominic's health conditions includes Enamel Hypoplasia, Molar / Incisor Malocclusion, Dacryocystitis, Mats, Nasal discharge (suspected Pasteurellosis or low grade snuffles), and means that his care is very involving.
Brought home, it seemed like Dominic was eating his pellets non-stop for whole 2 weeks. He has several different kinds of pellets and supplements because he is unable to chew straw and even his greens have to be chopped finely. Despite my best attempts and many tricks to get him to eat hay, I learnt that he is not able to do it. His teeth are blunt and thick stumps, not the usual razor sharp bunny incisors, making him unable to crush even carrot tops and parsley which all our other rabbits adore so much with stems quickly disappearing up their little faces. Dominic tried hard but it all got caught up in his mouth, a sorry sight. He really tries with his greens and makes a total mess of Curly Kale and Spring Greens leaves in the process, but is able to eat them better than long stringy carrot top and parsley stalks. I have to select the tenderest leaves and chop them into fine salad for him to be able to eat them. It became clear early on that Dominic loved carrots and I must admit I treat him to this delicacy a little more than I do the others, along with some banana and apple. His main feed is a mix of good pellet foods with a sprinkling of SF-50 and calcium powders, mainly because he needs to get the best nutrition possible to make his teeth better.
He is a loving and gentle bunny who gets frightened easily. He quickly learnt to use his litter-tray to become a free range house bun, coming to nudge for his favourite face tickles each time I walk past him, absolutely adores fuss and will sit on my lap to be stroked for as long as I will take him. When the weather's good, he is allowed to play in the outside bunny run where he has so much fun, jumping running, doing little twists and shaking his "helicopter" ears. But, still sensitive about his teeth, he hates his mouth touched. We have to clean the muck out of his eyes twice a day and put in antibiotic drops or they will get infected.
Dominic has to have monthly vet checkups. The first time I brought him in, the vet was surprised how well he was doing when they weren't even sure he would pull through. He has put on weight and looks much better now. His care will cost around £200 per operation, several times a year.
Dominic was the driving force and inspiration behind the Hedgehogs and Bunnies website and blog. His courage and the will to live have made me love animals more than ever before. It is because of him that we have gone meat, dairy, egg-free, and cruelty-free cosmetics and chemicals in our house. Although I had 4 rabbits (3 of them rescued) already, it was Dominic who changed my life.
It turned out he was just brought into the store as he wasn’t wanted any longer… His previous people let him down by making him so very sick and abandoning him. Although bringing him in was a right thing to do: any longer and it would have been too late for poor Dominic. Because of their negligence and cruelty he spent most of his short life lonely, suffering and miserable, and nearly lost his life. I hope those people realise one day what a sweet, gentle and loving companion they'd missed out on and I wish we could say to them "You nearly killed him but just look at him now!"