PERMANENT RESIDENTS

Cricket was brought to the vet the next day where we found that she had end stage dental disease. Xrays showed that her lower molar roots were right down to the bottom of the jaw bone with areas that were at high risk of developing abscesses, and her upper molars were very overgrown. None of her teeth were normal and there were tons of points on her molars that were stabbing her in the cheeks. Her jaw was still intact but just barely. The plan was to do a molar grind and put Cricket on strong pain meds to see how she managed. A rabbit presenting with a monster mouth like Cricket should understandably be in a lot of pain, but Cricket was immediately so happy when she got into foster care. She bonded quickly with her foster mom and demanded constant snuggles, and in return she’d give her kisses. She had a good appetite and was active - running around the room, jumping on the bed and doing head binkies.
Unfortunately over time, despite regular dental trims, Cricket’s dental disease progressed and her teeth started growing right through her jaw. Cricket was in a lot of pain and there was nothing else we could do to help make her comfortable, so we had to help her cross the rainbow bridge. We wish Cricket would have had more time but we’re happy that we were able to provide her with a loving home where she was spoiled for the last 9 months of her life.

Over time, Scooter started to regain feeling and partial use of his back legs. He was doing weekly physio and acupuncture which seemed to help for a bit, and his foster mom did daily exercises and sling walking with him. Sadly he never did regain full use of his back legs and his body grew to be quite twisted, as he was compensating with his front legs which resulted in them splaying out to the side. He had very limited mobility and received daily metacam (which is an anti-inflammatory that also helps with pain) to help keep him comfortable. Sadly Scooter’s mobility kept declining, which we expected as he reached his full adult weight. He was really starting to struggle to get around, and he was visibly frustrated with being unable to move around easily. His quality of life was not good and it wouldn’t have been fair to keep him pushing on when he had very little control of his body.

From the moment Scooter came into our care until the moment he took his last breath, Scooter only knew love. He got to meet a lot of PARR friends (bunnies, cats and people), and on his last day, his foster mom gave him lots of treats and apple sticks to chew on (which he loved). At the vet he was surrounded by those who loved him - Jasper, Orville, his foster mom and dad, and our volunteer who initially picked him up and brought him to the emergency vet - and they gave him lots of snuggles while he passed peacefully.

Since Clementine was a New Zealand/Flemish Giant mix and they generally have shorter lifespans compared to the smaller rabbit breeds, it’s quite amazing that Clementine had made it to 9 years of age, especially since she wasn’t spayed. We got her vet checked and spayed and she lived happily with Earl for another 3 years, where they had an entire room to themselves and spent most of the time snuggling. They were the sweetest pair and they just loved each other to bits.

Sadly in June of 2023 Clementine passed after getting liver lobe torsion. Vets attempted surgery but the blood loss was too much and she wouldn’t have made it through the surgery, so we had to make the heartbreaking decision to help her cross the rainbow bridge. Even though Clem was an older lady, her passing was extremely sudden. She was a gentle giant who just loved to be loved and us and Earl will always miss her.

Ember would remain stable for a few weeks/months and then start having seizures and need to have her medication increased. Whenever Ember would have a seizure, her foster mom would have to either give her midazolam intranasally or via injection to help her stop seizing. She also required seizure meds once every 8 hours, which can be hard for a lot of people to manage. We were very thankful to have a foster home where Ember could be monitored closely and know she's in good hands when she wasn’t doing well.

Ember was part of the original trio that consisted of her, Jasper and Orville. The three of them bonded instantly and were the absolute sweetest together. More of their story and additional photos can be found here. Ember was such a sweet girl who loved being petted and giving everyone kisses, and she was such an angel to every bunny she met. We all miss her dearly and wish she could have stayed with us for longer.

Lily started to gain trust in humans, and realized how much she loved to snuggle. She was okay with being picked up and would regularly sit on your lap or cuddle up to your chest while she was being petted. She learned that cats weren’t scary and didn’t need to be attacked (not all of the time at least) and ended up becoming best friends with one in her foster home.

Lily loved napping in the sun in the afternoons and cuddling with her foster mom on the couch in the evenings. She was an amazing guard bun and would run after any “intruders” (aka visitors) to ensure they were respecting her territory.

Lily was so tiny and fierce and she learned to overcome her sad past of being scared and kept in a small cage so that she could enjoy the good things in life. We’re so happy that we were able to give her 15 months of happiness, although any time spent with her beautiful soul would have never been enough.

Bear settled into his foster home and quickly made himself at home, but despite being comfortable, he wasn’t eating. He had to be force fed critical care 3x a day and was losing weight, so we did X-rays to check out his teeth. Unfortunately his dental disease was so advanced that his molars were being pushed into his lower jaw, which made it painful for him to eat. We were very worried at the time because he wasn’t eating at all and was basically starving, but with the right amount of pain meds, Bear started showing interest in certain foods. He started eating parsley, cilantro, basil and pellets, and would occasionally nibble on some hay. He still had to be fed critical care at least once a day to supplement but he was doing well and gaining weight.

Bear passed away suddenly and unexpectedly in February of 2022. He was so incredibly loved by his foster parents, who went to great lengths to care for Bear and help him keep his weight up. For months he needed to be force fed critical care twice a day, but over time he started eating more and more on his own, and he seemed to be in a good place. He was such a happy presence in the home and he is dearly missed.

Perdita

Intake Date: August 2020
Passed Away: October 2021

When we took in Perdita, she was a senior bun who had late stage uterine cancer that had metastasized to her lungs. This could have been prevented if she was spayed earlier in her life, and it’s why we stress the importance of spaying and neutering your rabbits. Since there was no treatment for this type of advanced cancer, all we could do was provide her a loving palliative home for however long she had left.

We suspected that Perdita only had a few months to live due to how much her cancer had spread, but she surprised us and stayed with us for over 13 months. She was able to stay in the same foster home with a family who loved her so, so much. She was on daily pain meds for her arthritis, which she would only eat off of a banana, on one particular glass food dish - otherwise she wasn’t interested. She loved rearranging her blankets, snacking on fresh greens and exploring the hallways (while giving the occasional thump!) She had a whole room to herself and got lots of pets from her foster family, and we’re so happy that she was able to be spoiled for the last year of her life.

Kaiya

Intake Date: May 2021
Passed Away: July 2021

Kaiya was originally found as a stray in spring of 2020, then she was transferred to us from a local shelter after they cared for her for over a year. When she was found outside, she was covered in literally hundreds of ticks, 30 of which caused abscesses and infections. Her teeth were also in poor shape and she was starving, but all she wanted was to be petted and loved. The first night in her foster home she was using her litter box, making friends with the resident cats and taking her meds perfectly.

When we took Kaiya in, her health had been up and down for a while. She had numerous xrays done, been to OVC in attempt to have some problematic teeth removed (which wasn't possible at the time), and she had points on her teeth that were cutting into her tongue. She also had some dental abscesses from some rotten molars so she was on antibiotics on top of her daily pain meds.

Despite all of Kaiya's medical issues, she was a happy bun in her foster home. She loved the cats and would run around and binky all the time, and she loved sleeping in her box tunnel every day.

Kaiya passed away suddenly in July of 2021. We suspect the infection in her jaw got into her bloodstream and caused her to go septic. She partied her last two nights, almost as if she knew she had to make the most of the time she had left.

Hope

Intake Date: August 2020
Passed Away: June 2021

Hope was found as a stray in August 2020 with her 6 month old daughter, Honey. The two were bonded and relied on each other for comfort as they adjusted to life in foster care. A few months after being rescued, Hope was diagnosed with heart disease, and she was put on two medications to help manage the disease.

Even though Hope’s daughter, Honey, showed no signs of also having heart disease, she passed suddenly from heart failure in December of 2020. This left Hope by herself and we were worried how she’d fare. But Hope ended up forming a strong bond with her foster mom, and really started to love humans. She always got so excited when anyone would come in the room and she’d go on all hind legs with her front paws against the fence while waiting for someone to go visit her.
Sadly in January of 2021, Hope developed a fast growing dental abscess. She needed an urgent procedure to drain the abscess and we hoped that would be the end of it. But in February she developed another abscess, and needed another procedure, and we were concerned about being able to raise enough funds for her surgery. It’s sad to say but not as many people care about red eyed white bunnies, so it can be hard to bring in donations for them when they get sick. But people LOVED Hope. They saw how amazing and forgiving and loving she was, and they wanted to help her get better. Between January and June, Hope underwent multiple procedures to try and get rid of the infection in her jaw, and she was a champ the entire time. Every time she woke up from surgery she’d act like nothing happened and just start gobbling down critical care - all the clinic staff were always impressed with her resilience. When she was at home she’d spend her days flopping near her foster mom’s work computer, doing binkies or getting pets from her foster mom who worked from home at the time - so they got to spend a lot of time together. But sadly in June, Hope started to decline as the antibiotics were taking a toll on her body and causing an imbalance in her GI system. She fought hard but ultimately her body started shutting down and we made the very very hard decision to help her pass. Her foster mom and the bunny community were absolutely devastated over her loss as she truly had such a big impact on people’s lives and so many people were rooting for her. She’s the main reason that we have a soft spot for REWs now as she showed us how absolutely sweet and loving they can be. Hope is missed every day and will always be remembered as such a special part of the PARR family. She was an amazing bunny and deserved so much more time.