Hubby only had energy to lay on the sofa on Saturday. He had been running a high
fever due to a stomach problem and had no energy.
I let Buddy Rabbit out
to get his hour of play time and sun, but he also seemed lethargic. He lay in
the sun and didn’t make an effort to move much at all. He didn’t poop or pee,
but I didn’t think much about it because it was later than his normal outdoor
time. I assumed he used his litter box before going outside.
When he came
in, he went right to Hubby’s side and lay on the floor beside him.
I
figured that Buddy sensed that Hubby felt bad. After Hubby’s last surgery, Buddy
never left his side. I guessed this was the same.
I lay on the floor
beside Buddy to rub his head. My hand slid down his back, toward his shoulder
blades. I was surprised that I could feel his bones of his shoulders as
pronounced as I could.
Over the previous few days, I noticed that he was
leaving a lot of his food, but he had always been a finicky eater. He still
begged for treats, so I thought things were OK.
I looked more closely.
The movement of his nose was more pronounced; more deliberate in each breath. I
told Hubby that I thought Buddy was sick.
Buddy had a scheduled doctor
visit on Monday; routine teeth trim. I figured he could wait until then.
Sunday, Buddy seemed the same, but Hubby’s fever broke during the night.
Two strong antibiotics had done the trick for him. He was able to sit up and
move around more. He was weak, but better. I rented a movie which occupied some
of Hubby’s time.
During the day, I stayed by both Buddy & Hubby;
Buddy getting head rubs which seemed to comfort him. I didn’t see any change in
him and I quietly worried.
Monday morning, Buddy didn’t even eat treats.
The time arrived to carry him to his vet appointment.
Normally, he
fights getting into his pet carrier, but today was different. He didn’t have any
fight left in him. We put him in the carrier without any bunny
protests.
At the vet’s office, she asked how he was doing. She said his
breathing didn’t look right. I gave her the list of symptoms. She was alarmed by
his weight; a full pound lost.
She anesthetized him and x-rayed his
little body. The x-rays showed what appeared to be a lump on his lungs pressing
against heart & lungs. There was only a tiny pocket for air to flow.
She took a syringe and drained his lungs. They were full of fluid. That
helped greatly with his breathing. She repeated the x-ray and the new x-rays
showed a larger capacity for air.
I talked to the vet about possible
treatment. She spent hours with Buddy and me.
We are going to take Buddy
to get an ultra-sound on Wednesday. There is a vet oncologist in the area and we
will be talking to him very soon. Our primary Vet suggested that radiation
therapy might extend Buddy’s life by a year. It wouldn’t get rid of the tumor,
but would shrink it.
My question for the oncologist is “What will be his
quality of life?” If his final year is going to be pain and suffering, I don’t
want to be selfish and keep him alive just for us humans. Both of his human dads
love him too much for that.
Writing that last paragraph is causing the
tears to flow again and I’m having trouble seeing the monitor to type this.
This is a tough decision that we have to make. It’s one I never wanted
to make.
