Posted by Melony on 6/3/2005, 6:31 pm, in reply to "head tilt" Your experience with the vet comes down to a couple of factors, in my opinion anyway. Firstly, most vets just don't expect the pet owner to be willing to spend both time and money on their pet beyond the usual vaccinations or minor health issues. Head tilt in particular is expensive emotionally and time wise. Some feel that the short term stress involved for the rabbit is enough to warrant euthanising. As the person with the final decision it's important that WE, the pet owners, push hard to investigate all options. Don't get me wrong, I would never deny euthanising an animal that was going to have no quality of life, but 4 times now I have been advised to euthanise a rabbit and each time they have survived and gone on to enjoy a long life. Secondly is the lack of knowledge surrounding rabbits in the veterinary industry. Most vets do a very small portion covering rabbits in their training and a lot of research we currently have is based on old data and more related to lab animals... in other words animals that have a very short life span and live in controlled environments. Given this later fact it stands to reason that most is not relevant to our pets who tend to live much longer lives and are subject to a range of factors during their life. There is only one way to combat both of these barriers and that is to educate ourselves and find a vet that is willing to work with you. There are so many different groups that you can join with a range of people willing to share their experience and knowledge. Take notes, print out information and go to the vet fully informed. I do hope you find another bunny to love in the future. For me this is the best memorial I can give to my pets that have passed, to open my heart to another animal in need. Melony
141.168.10.118
I am so sorry about Ginger, please don't feel badly as you can only do what you believe is right and go with the information you had at the time.
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