Goodbye Pablo
Yesterday was a very sad day for me. My four-year-old rabbit, Pablo, became ill and ultimately had to be put to sleep. I wanted to share some pictures and his story.
I never wanted a rabbit. My sister Melanie brought home Jessie around Christmas of 2004. She had been left in the food court of Target in a small carrier with some food. When my sister asked if she could keep her, I said sure, thinking that it wouldn't trouble me any. It's funny how wrong that was! :)
Baby Jessie and Grown-up Jessie
Melanie bought a cage for Jessie and a bunch of rabbit magazines and enjoyed playing with her, even though Jessie never really liked to be held or touched (neither did Pablo). Melanie read in one of the magazines that rabbits are happier and live longer if they have a companion. When I left town for a convention (the first ORC) a few weeks later, Mel went to the pet store and bought a small grey lop-ear bunny. The pet store told her it was a girl, and she brought it home. The rabbit was tiny. So tiny in fact, that it once squeezed through bars that are about 1.5" apart to escape from its cage!
Not long after buying the second rabbit, we tried to introduce the rabbits to each other. We didn't really know what we were doing. We heard a squeal and the little grey bunny (still unnamed) bolted away. Upon examination, we realized that Jessie had ripped his ear. He had to have surgery and for awhile it looked like he might lose the ear. My sister decided to name him Pablo because of his ear injury. It took a few days to realize that it was Vincent Van Gogh who cut his ear off, not Pablo Picasso, but Vinny wasn't as good of a name and it didn't stick.
Poor baby Pablo with his sewn up ear
It finally became time to spay our girls - only to find out that Pablo was actually a boy! Pablo and Jessie were accidentally put in the same cage at the vet's while awaiting surgery, but instead of fighting, they consummated their relationship. They would never be in touching distance again - at home they would try to bite each other through their cages if they were close enough to touch, and we never wanted to risk one of them getting hurt again.
Pablo and Jessie were incredibly destructive, but also really entertaining. They chewed through anything and everything they could get their little teeth on - phone chargers (3 times), the carpet (through the padding and the plywood underneath to the concrete floor), and anything else that strayed close enough to their cages. Recently I was having an issue with flickering lights, only to find that Pablo had managed to get to a surge protector and was chewing on the cable! But we loved them anyway. Eventually my sister started to develop an allergy to them, so they came to live with me in my living room. They were too big to be comfortable in cages, so we used dog pens and they seemed pretty happy. When they got really happy, they would hop around crazily!
Pablo especially was curious about his surroundings and would stand up and look around often (I wish I had a picture of him doing that!). He would grab fresh vegetables out of your hand and pull them off to eat them, and boy did he love his veggies. He also liked the vacuum cleaner (Jessie is terrified of it) and would let you vacuum a little of his stray fur out, as long as you didn't get too close. He had a licking reflex that would activate if you rubbed his back in a certain way - it would trigger him to start cleaning himself and it was beyond adorable.
When I moved to my new place, the rabbits came with me. I didn't want them to be able to mess up my floors and I wanted them to have room to play, so Josh and I built them large platforms that would normally be 2'x4' but could fold out to 4'x4'. They seemed to enjoy the new cages a lot, and we settled into our routine. Pablo especially reacted to Josh - he realized quickly that Josh almost always brought a treat when he came into the living room, so whenever Josh was around, Pablo would hop about and stand on his hind legs to see what Josh had for him. He got really comfortable in his new cage and would take to flopping over onto his side and even sometimes his back to go to sleep.
A few months ago, Pablo had a problem. He had grown a little too big to clean his backside properly, so I took him to the vet. We put him on a diet and he felt better and was more active. I noticed he wasn't eating as much a little while ago. He would still jump up to get the fresh veggies though, so I thought he was okay. In the last few days though, he wasn't really interested in food. Yesterday morning, he didn't get up when I fed him, which is unusual. He just looked at me. I decided then to take him to the vet.
I returned home from work to pick him up and found him much worse than when I left - he was sprawled on the floor of his cage like he couldn't move. I suspected the worst, but was still hopeful. Unfortunately, it was false hope. Pablo had developed an intestinal blockage, but had continued to eat. Rabbits' bodies don't tell them not to eat until it's really too late. His stomach had grown very large and the vet said it had likely started to rupture. He said there was nothing I could have done - everything seems pretty normal until it's too late. On his recommendation, I decided the most humane choice would be to let Pablo go. He was already pretty out of it and I didn't want to put him through a painful surgery when there was no hope of it being effective.
I have never had to euthanize one of my own pets before. It's affecting me much more deeply than I thought it would. Josh and I would always joke about not getting any more pets that don't form attachments to their owners, but I see now that Pablo's interest in me had no effect on my love for him. I keep imagining him hopping around and sniffing at things, and I'm sorry and really sad he didn't have a longer time with us. He will be missed.
I never wanted a rabbit. My sister Melanie brought home Jessie around Christmas of 2004. She had been left in the food court of Target in a small carrier with some food. When my sister asked if she could keep her, I said sure, thinking that it wouldn't trouble me any. It's funny how wrong that was! :)
Baby Jessie and Grown-up Jessie
Melanie bought a cage for Jessie and a bunch of rabbit magazines and enjoyed playing with her, even though Jessie never really liked to be held or touched (neither did Pablo). Melanie read in one of the magazines that rabbits are happier and live longer if they have a companion. When I left town for a convention (the first ORC) a few weeks later, Mel went to the pet store and bought a small grey lop-ear bunny. The pet store told her it was a girl, and she brought it home. The rabbit was tiny. So tiny in fact, that it once squeezed through bars that are about 1.5" apart to escape from its cage!
Not long after buying the second rabbit, we tried to introduce the rabbits to each other. We didn't really know what we were doing. We heard a squeal and the little grey bunny (still unnamed) bolted away. Upon examination, we realized that Jessie had ripped his ear. He had to have surgery and for awhile it looked like he might lose the ear. My sister decided to name him Pablo because of his ear injury. It took a few days to realize that it was Vincent Van Gogh who cut his ear off, not Pablo Picasso, but Vinny wasn't as good of a name and it didn't stick.
Poor baby Pablo with his sewn up ear
It finally became time to spay our girls - only to find out that Pablo was actually a boy! Pablo and Jessie were accidentally put in the same cage at the vet's while awaiting surgery, but instead of fighting, they consummated their relationship. They would never be in touching distance again - at home they would try to bite each other through their cages if they were close enough to touch, and we never wanted to risk one of them getting hurt again.
Pablo and Jessie were incredibly destructive, but also really entertaining. They chewed through anything and everything they could get their little teeth on - phone chargers (3 times), the carpet (through the padding and the plywood underneath to the concrete floor), and anything else that strayed close enough to their cages. Recently I was having an issue with flickering lights, only to find that Pablo had managed to get to a surge protector and was chewing on the cable! But we loved them anyway. Eventually my sister started to develop an allergy to them, so they came to live with me in my living room. They were too big to be comfortable in cages, so we used dog pens and they seemed pretty happy. When they got really happy, they would hop around crazily!
Pablo especially was curious about his surroundings and would stand up and look around often (I wish I had a picture of him doing that!). He would grab fresh vegetables out of your hand and pull them off to eat them, and boy did he love his veggies. He also liked the vacuum cleaner (Jessie is terrified of it) and would let you vacuum a little of his stray fur out, as long as you didn't get too close. He had a licking reflex that would activate if you rubbed his back in a certain way - it would trigger him to start cleaning himself and it was beyond adorable.
When I moved to my new place, the rabbits came with me. I didn't want them to be able to mess up my floors and I wanted them to have room to play, so Josh and I built them large platforms that would normally be 2'x4' but could fold out to 4'x4'. They seemed to enjoy the new cages a lot, and we settled into our routine. Pablo especially reacted to Josh - he realized quickly that Josh almost always brought a treat when he came into the living room, so whenever Josh was around, Pablo would hop about and stand on his hind legs to see what Josh had for him. He got really comfortable in his new cage and would take to flopping over onto his side and even sometimes his back to go to sleep.
A few months ago, Pablo had a problem. He had grown a little too big to clean his backside properly, so I took him to the vet. We put him on a diet and he felt better and was more active. I noticed he wasn't eating as much a little while ago. He would still jump up to get the fresh veggies though, so I thought he was okay. In the last few days though, he wasn't really interested in food. Yesterday morning, he didn't get up when I fed him, which is unusual. He just looked at me. I decided then to take him to the vet.
I returned home from work to pick him up and found him much worse than when I left - he was sprawled on the floor of his cage like he couldn't move. I suspected the worst, but was still hopeful. Unfortunately, it was false hope. Pablo had developed an intestinal blockage, but had continued to eat. Rabbits' bodies don't tell them not to eat until it's really too late. His stomach had grown very large and the vet said it had likely started to rupture. He said there was nothing I could have done - everything seems pretty normal until it's too late. On his recommendation, I decided the most humane choice would be to let Pablo go. He was already pretty out of it and I didn't want to put him through a painful surgery when there was no hope of it being effective.
I have never had to euthanize one of my own pets before. It's affecting me much more deeply than I thought it would. Josh and I would always joke about not getting any more pets that don't form attachments to their owners, but I see now that Pablo's interest in me had no effect on my love for him. I keep imagining him hopping around and sniffing at things, and I'm sorry and really sad he didn't have a longer time with us. He will be missed.