Monday, October 26, 2009

October diary


This month BOING celebrated World Animal Day at Edgar’s Mission in Willowmavin, Victoria – http://www.edgarsmission.org.au/

World Animal Day is celebrated every year on 4 October to acknowledge the diverse roles that animals play in our lives. Nimal & I had a wonderful day at Edgar’s Mission and enjoyed visiting our favourite friends Tony Blair (turkey), Edgar (pig), some very funny sheep and of course the rescue bunnies!! BOING had a small table to highlight the diverse range of interactions between bunnies and humans – from loving companions to products in the meat, fur & cosmetic testing industries.

This month at the Do Hop Inn we were reminded of the dangers of leaving items around the home where inquisitive bunnies can find them. After coming home with a plant cutting I intended on putting in the garden, I placed the plastic bag with the plant inside on the couch (silly I know!!!!). Coming back into the room a few minutes later, I discovered Poppy sitting on the couch next to the bag & a piece missing out of the plant. Panic set in, the bag was thrown out the door and all we could do was to wait & see if she would be okay. Fortunately, she was fine but it is a reminder to all bunny lovers to not leave items around for your fluffy friends to find!!

Sadly, we discovered this month that Pancake (pictured on the right sitting next to her buddy Ally) is suffering from renal (kidney) failure.

She has been quite weak & has been losing weight for the last few months. Pancake is around 8 or 9 (we guess) and has always been a very confident & happy bun.

Currently Pancake is on daily fluids and is being encouraged to eat more. Luckily, she is very keen on banana & critical care mixed in a bowl and she licks that up very happily. Ally (her long term partner) will be devastated if he loses her. He spends most of his time grooming her and is never very far away from her side. It’s a sad time at the Do Hop Inn as we know that her time with us may be coming to an end.

Poppy & Lulu (our ex-farm bunnies) are back on antibiotics after a urine sample revealed a medical condition that causes pain when urinating. A culture is currently being grown to see what the actual bacteria could be & the best way of treating it.