Caspian Rolland

Caspian came to me in September 2007 along with two other rabbits who had been bred from, neglected and then cast aside when they became an inconvenience to the owner. At the time I was running Happy Hoppers Rescue and we catered for around 30 rabbits at full capacity. I was told to expect the arrival of two Netherland Dwarfs and a 'mixed breed' bunny. When I opened the carrier to Caspian I saw he was anything but mixed breed. Caspian was a stunning Tri-Coloured Dutch, a rabbit I had sought after for a long time but never aquired as I had yet to find one in rescue (I have gone on to rescue two more since).

So from day one it was obvious this little chap was not going anywhere but we had problems to overcome. Caspian had pretty much every behavioural problem going. He was handshy, cage aggressive, food aggressive, a lunger, a biter and a nipper. Every morning just filling his food bowl became an immense challenge and I took to wearing garden gloves to protect my hands. Neutering was what he needed, that and understanding but there were more sinister issue's afloat which meant 'the snip' became an impossibility.

After a couple of days when Caspian wa still living in the 'rescue room' with the other bunnies I began to hear strange noises, loud gurgling sounds which seemed without an origin. Baffled and bewildered I would sit in silence for minutes trying to work out what I was hearing and if I was even hearing it at all. After my partner too announced he could indeed hear the strange rumbling we began to narrow it down, eventually it became obvious it was eminating from the small, angry rabbit in the corner.

We felt his tummy and he showed a little discomfort, demonstarted through a renewed effort to skin my hand. Feeling a small gas bubble located in his tummy we dosed him with simethicone and kept a close eye on him. He ate, drank and passed stools and seemed oblivious to the racket his stomach was making almost constantly. However this phase was not to last, on the day we went to Warwickshire to collect a group of seven neglected rabbits from a large rescue Caspian became critically ill with bloat and was rushed to the vets for emergency care. The most draining few hours of my life were spent getting him home, comfortable and drugged up before setting off on our 5 hour round trip to return with the new rabbits. I arrived home to find Caspain no better and spent the night nurseing him. The next day it was not just him that was ill.

It was something I had been through before and had found no reason then. The Dr who I saw informed me it was stress and unable to eat, keep down food or move from my bed I was signed off work. Caspian needed me too though so he was moved into the bedroom and set-up next to the bed. Our medicines sat side by side on the dressing table and I would wake to give us both our various drugs at the same time. Being ill had taken the spark out of Casp and with it all the aggression. How I longed to be nipped or lunged at during those few days.

It is often said that the bond you build with an animal you have nursed will always be stronger and deeper for you both than with any other pet. Well the bond you develop when you are living for each other is unreal. I never thought it was possible to feel like that about a rabbit. Caspian began sleeping on my chest under the duvet with me, or curled into my side. He would take all his medication in good grace and even drank from my glass when it was proferred. We supported each other and he came to trust me. From this point on he was never aggressive again. A few days after the initial vets trip Caspian delighted me with a bout of the squits all over the pillows. My OH was not so delighted.

Caspian went back to normal in terms of eating and drinking after that and I soon returned to work, what never returned was his aggressive personality. The nervous wreck that had arrived on my doorstep just a few short weeks ago became my living shadow, never far from my side or sat next to me on the sofa.

The nosies however never vanished and he had days where it was obvious he didn't feel 'right'. On those days he would sit in the kitchen by the radiator, alone, and could not be coaxed out. Slowly problems were ruled out, teeth, diet, coccidia, enteritis and the likelyhood that it was something very sinister became more real. Caspian either had a growth blocking his GI tract or Pyloric Stenosis. Neither had a good prognosis and it was my personal belief not to consider GI surgery a procedure I wanted him to endure.

On the 19th November Caspian relapsed into full bloat. We carried out the same intensive nurseing campaign we had used just a month earlier but this time to no avail. He had stopped responding to medication and his body was slowly shutting down. Desperately we kept on and at times he would try to eat or drink, he even produced stools, but we couldn't pull him out of it. I couldn't make him better anymore. On the night of the 24th November Caspian began to dribble and soil himself, his tummy had become so bloated his rib cage had begun to stretch under the pressure. I made the decision that if he was the same in the morning we would be making the final vets trip together. He slept in the bed with me that night, on my chest, his favourite spot.

Getting on the bus with him the following morning was the hardest thing I ever did, it took so much restraint not to ring the bell at every stop, jump off and take him home. We went straight into the consulting room at the surgery and spent a few minutes saying goodbye before the vet entered. I stayed with Caspian until the end, it was the least I could do for him and I owed it to him....he had been there for me too after all. I can safely say I have never got over that day, or that rabbit.

Caspian was my heart bunny, the bond I shared with him is one I doubt I could ever achieve again. I still miss my little shadow so much, even though now I have the joy of 7 other unique and beautiful bunnies to share my life with. There is always a little emptiness, a small hole that cannot be filled, meerly patched over as best as I can.