Hello from Dominic
When I couldn’t breathe last year, it took some time to get me diagnosed because my case was one of those that were hard to pinpoint the cause of. Bunnies like me are mostly just put to sleep, but I was lucky because my rescue persevered and had many tests and scans done to get to the bottom of what exactly caused my breathing difficulty. It turned out, it was my dental disease! My tooth roots penetrated and deformed my nasal passages, causing pus and muck to accumulate there. It got to the point where that I had to breathe through my mouth, which is unnatural and painful for us rabbits.
After getting my diagnosis, we had to find an exotics vet who would be able to help me. Most vets said I needed to go to the Bridge, but what I really needed was the expensive and very complex procedure of rhinostomy. It is not performed in many bunnies like me because most bunny vets are not trained in this procedure that requires very specialist skills. We found the vet who could treat me at the Royal Veterinary College, and we had a CT scan done. My prognosis was poor because the scan revealed the worst and the most complex case she’s ever seen. By that time, I was so weak that the vet couldn’t even be sure if I’d pull through the operation. If I pulled through, my recovery chances were slim. And, if I recovered, my problem could come back very soon after the procedure – like in two months or so.
While I fundraised for my operation, I had to go into a home-made oxygen box several times a day when my tongue and lips went blue from the lack of air. I was quite unwell. But my rescue knew that I was a strong bunny and that I had the will to live, they believed in me, and our supporters believed in me too.
With your help, with every donation big and small, I managed to fundraise all the pennies that I needed, and I could afford to go in for the operation. And, despite all odds, I survived the surgery, beat the bad recovery prognosis, and exceeded everyone’s expectations—I was expected to deteriorate after a couple of months, but I felt well for over a year, all because of my will to live and the daily nebuliser session that I get.
My last year’s operation was done at the RVC's Beaumont Sainsbury Animal Hospital—one of the top veterinary teaching hospitals. It was performed by Joanna Hedley, the Lecturer in Exotic Species and Small Mammal Medicine and Surgery who now uses my case with her students. My case also became a 6-page article in The Veterinary Nurse journal (and even made it to the front page!) to be referred to by vets and nurses time and time again. So, I hope you understand why I think myself to be a bunny with a purpose, here to teach people many things about the indomitable bunny spirit and about giving us chances that we need.
More than a year on, I’m now at the point where my breathing is becoming bad again. I have been to see my RVC vet again and she thinks that at this time I have a good chance and a better prognosis because I am still well enough for the surgery which should give me another stretch of life that’s fun and enjoyable. She booked off a day for my operation on 3 May, but of course, it all hangs on whether I am able to fundraise for it. You see, I live at a rabbit rescue, and a rescue bunny doesn’t have any money. I know it’s a large sum, but it doesn’t need to cost anyone a lot: if many people who support us donate a little bit, just what they can afford, it doesn’t need to break anyone’s bank, and Dominic the bunny can be helped again.
I hope lots of people and bunnies help me and share my story and I can be well again and spend many more years with my new bun-friend Daphne. And, if you want to find out more about me, you can read my story on our website.
Dominic ♥
