July 14, 2008 by Auntie Heather
Fawkes at the shelter
On Thursday afternoon July 3rd, I received a call to rescue a baby rabbit. This was not an unusual request as our shelters do not
keep rabbits too young to spay, and they look for immediate rescue when one comes in.
I was sent a picture of what looked to be a small rabbit. I was told he was urine stained but otherwise doing ok.
A second call came in from our sister shelter asking for rescue for the sibling of the first baby! I stopped in to
check on the condition of the little one when I heard he had required emergency care. He had been on an IV, and his condition was much worse
than I expected. He was a tiny boy, with significant skin inflammation, with breathing
difficulties, thin to his bones and very frightened. I asked to rescue him that day but was told I needed to
wait until Friday when his stray hold period was up. I did not want to leave him but I did not have a choice. I prayed
he would hang on one more day until I could rescue him into The Haven and take care of him.
Rubeus at the shelter
I learned that he had come into the shelter system on the 27th of June from the Watsonville fire
zone. A serious wildfire had taken place there just a week ago. Three rabbits were rescued by animal control officers from the same site.
One of the tiny rabbits perished, and only this tiny boy and his brother survived.
Blessings to animal rescue (Todd and staff), they really did some great work to save these two, as
did our rabbit advocates.
On Firday evening, the tiny boy and his brother both came to The Haven. What a shock we had in store. They both had what
appeared to be burnt fur, and they smelled just like the other animals we took in from the fires days before. Their fur was stained with
ash and they smelled of smoke, the unmistakable smell of fire.
I placed both immediately into a special unit for critical care, collected a nebuliuzer and oxygen and called our vet for
detailed instructions. I was able to collect much needed info from our Los Altos Vet team and began treatment
immediately.
Fawkes after his fur fell out
The little one, now called Master Fawkes after the phoenix in the Harry Potter books, was losing fur in masses.
The skin on his neck was red and inflamed under the fur.
His eyes were very irritated and he had difficulty blinking. His brother, who we named Rubeus after Harry Potter's friend Rubeus Hagrid,
was fairly healthy but had some trouble breathing normally and his temperature was lower than I liked.
Fortunately, we have excellent vet support and a great nurse Linda who is
incredibly helpful in these special cases. With vet instructions we began to care for this small injured
pair. They were given oxygen, warmth to stabilize their temperature, Lactated Ringer's solution lavage, subcutaneous fluids, pain medications,
critical care, and Kitten Milk Replacer for extra calories.
Fawkes was having trouble eating due to injuries on his mouth and nose, so I offered him as many calories as possible.
On Saturday morning after round the clock care and gentle treatments the tiny boy Fawkes seemed much stronger. He was so hungry
and actively went after the KMR and critical Care syringe. What a fighter! Strong will to live! Pain medications helped
immediately, and allowed him to take in much needed nourishment.
His brother Ruebus perked up too! Oxygen helped them both with their labored breathing. Luckily, it appears that the larger of the
two did not sustain direct fire injury. He may have a problem with his eyes as he cannot close his eyes fully when he blinks.
I have been applying warm
packs and soothing eye drops to help his eyes. I think he'll be just fine! He has not stopped eating. I carried out the vet's
instructions and carefully kept his temperature and breathing stable. Tiny Fawkes fell asleep next to me.
What a terrible ordeal they must have been through. We are so pleased to be able to help them both. We will keep you
posted on their care. You can make a cash donation to help with Fawkes' and Rubeus'
expenses via Paypal, or
donate by check.
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| Fawkes and Rubeus |
