Penelope

MAY 2001: Some months ago, we spotted an advertisement in a local newspaper advertising "8 different breeds" of rabbits available and on 2 May telephoned to enquire about what bunnies were available. Since Spring 1999, we have been seeking a good blue or broken blue doe and could hardly believe our luck to hear a 12-month old female was available. In great excitement and enthusiasm, we set off to see her.....

The French Lop was squashed into a tiny cage/pet carrier which was totally inadequate for a large breed such as an adult Frenchy. At the front was an empty and very dry water bottle, no evidence of any food or hay and, by her owners' admission, she had not been out for "months". Quite how many months, we cannot say, but judging by her poor condition, we doubt she's been able to stretch out or have even a short run so far this year (and this is a charitable opinion.....).

She was thin - VERY THIN, with a prominent spine and every bone in her body could be felt through her thin, dry skin. Gently, and carefully, we lifted her from her prison cage and cradled her in our arms, noting the complete lack of resistance and feeling the bones in her shoulders and pelvis.

Now we saw the pimples in her ears where she'd been bitten, the two runny eyes oozing thick discharge and the inflammation in the left eye. Looking more closely, we saw her left ear actually had a HOLE in it, trapping a very old dropping like an ear stud - it was unbelievable. Her claws were overgrown and caked in filth - in the same way her coat was stained from the urine and dropping pile she must have been forced to sit in.

Having had no exercise for many months, she showed signs of much muscle wastage so we asked if she was able to walk and placed her gently onto the lawn. Immediately, she stumbled a little then tottered over to some longer grass and started munching on it hungrily.

Out of sheer pity, shock, disgust and sympathy..... we made an offer of 50% of the asking price for her but her owners refused. Rather than let her face even another night in that tiny cage, we adopted her and brought her home. We honestly didn't expect her to live beyond 3 days at most, but felt we could at least offer her a more dignified death - should we fail to save her and offer some loving care and affection during her last days.

For the first few hours (now approaching 1am) we let her explore our patio tentatively then introduced her to a full food bowl. In all the years we've kept rabbits, we have never seen a rabbit empty a large bowl (and a refill) so quickly and we have a strong suspicion that she had not been fed for quite some time and certainly not within the last 24 hours. Likewise, she produced very few droppings.

Here, at home, we were able to examine her more thoroughly and then noticed the extent of her dehydration. On plucking the loose skin over her shoulders, it remained tented and we are certain she'd had no water within (at least) the last 24 hours and strongly suspect she's had very little to drink in the last few days.

Overnight, she ate another bowl of food - now taking her to the equivalent of 4 bowls and at least twice what our French Lops eat per day - and our Frenchies weigh up to 10kg - she possibly weighs about 3kg at most.

However, by morning, the results of her binge eating were evident. Combined with her dehydration, she was starting to swell and bloat so every hour we syringed water orally, plus a little liquid paraffin, gently rubbing her tummy. She was very timid about being picked up but once cradled, then there was no resistance and we have previously never known a bunny enthusiastically lap up liquid paraffin from a syringe.

We've now started her on a course of antibiotics to clear up her eye infections and any other infections she might be harbouring. She is being free-fed, offered grass, dandelions and lots of water from both a bowl and bottle. To this, we've added a vitamin concentrate to give an additional boost.

Assuming she makes it through the night and next few days, then we'll start her on probiotics and begin to offer more treatment.

Gradually, we'll change her diet to a high protein pellet and hope that with improved living conditions, she might have the strength within her to respond to increased care and attention along with affection - none of which we think she's had previously.

At 9-12 months of age now, it's hard to believe that she was, we're told, a prize winning show-rabbit at 4 months of age. Whatever went wrong, and why?

The remaining 30 or so small/medium-sized rabbit breeds sharing the shed and the same-size cages appeared much healthier. On a quick scan of the shed, we counted 9 cages with empty water bottles, the only hay we saw was in a small shrink-wrapped 'pet shop' pack at the far end and there was a very strong odour of stale rabbit urine.

As for the owners, they had some knowledge of rabbit care and show-rosettes adorned the walls of their lounge, hence there was no excuse for the ignorance and lack of care shown towards her.

However, it was very, very clear that this French Lop had received little care and we strongly suspect she was simply placed in that cage to die. She hadn't been allowed onto the lawn for even a short run as their ''neighbours have a dog'' and, despite building rows and rows of hutches, they had clearly never had the brainwave of making her (or any of the other rabbits) a simple enclosed run to enable her to have even a limited amount of exercise.

Needless to say, we have reported this to their local Animal Welfare Officer and RSPCA for investigation and have kept a detailed report of our findings, and the condition of the French Lop.

3 May 2001: The photos below can show relatively little and you have to imagine the bones protruding through her dehydrated skin.....

	Here she is - a potentially very attractive blue butterfly French Lop thoroughbred. But note the ragged ears, head held low and general bedraggled appearance. Poor lady.
	Her right ear is full of lumps where she's been bitten by other rabbits.
	Now for the left ear - spot the hole through which a stale dropping was stuck for her to wear as an earring. Daylight shines through! The perimeter of each ear has been nibbled by her former hutch mate (tho' I hate to imagine how 2 large rabbits could possibly squash into that tiny cage)
	The weepy left eye with a thick white/yellow discharge. This has been cleaned and is undergoing medical treatment.
	A sign of her dehydration. If I released the tented skin - it would remain in position.
	PLEASE EAT!
	To enable readers to judge her size... Imagine cramming this lady into a 30" x 18" cage for months on end with no release for exercise - ever..... Note the bloated belly - this is the consequence of last night's binge-eating and, coupled with advanced dehydration, possible early stasis.
	4 May - still looking very bedraggled and miserable

We intend keeping an online diary showing her progress together with updated photographs.

12 May: She is now a much happier lady. Over the last week she has been eating well - VERY well(!) and has now developed a plump belly after a wide variety of food including quality mixes, a broccoli bush, loads of grass, dandelions and some veg. With such a vast assortment of foodstuffs, we feared she might suffer a stomach upset so tried to introduce everything gradually in small quantities - but everything was eagerly devoured with no adverse effects.

We hope that over the next month she'll start to 'fill out' over the rest of her body. She is tottering around the patio and has been stretching out in the sun and we've noticed a visible improvement in her emotionally. She no longer hangs her head in misery but is now looking much happier. Her eyes are much improved and the infections have almost cleared. Her coat, whilst far from glossy, is now more elastic following her rehydration and we guess that she is feeling better and happier in herself. At least, we hope so.

23 May update: Penelope has moved from her 'quarantine quarters' on the patio to a hutch at the foot of the garden. She's still not mingled or met our resident bunnies as we're taking things very slowly and steadily with her. However, she is looking happy, much healthier, has gained a lot of weight and her coat is now beginning to improve. We will be moving hutches around and combining 2 4'hutches to give her 8' to stretch out in.

6 June BELOW: Penelope continues to improve and has gained much weight. Last week we changed her eye drops from chloramphenicol to gentamycin and her eyes are now clear. She is responding to fuss and seems to enjoy nose-rubs and shoulder massages. We're starting her on litter-training now. She hasn't quite go the hang of it yet as she kicks litter out of the tray and wees in the opposite corner instead! Well, it *is* early days...!!!

14 June: Penelope has probably tripled in weight since we adopted her, her coat is thick and glossy, she comes to us for fuss and attention and her true Frenchy personality is very evident. Also, she is now 99% litter-trained in her hutch - which we hadn't anticipated would be so rapid considering she has probably never seen a litter-tray previously.

The change over the last few weeks has been remarkable - and very rewarding! She has mixed with our other bunnies and they get along well together. However, we're taking this very slowly and not leaving her unsupervised as a precaution. Judging by the bites and tears in her ears, we guess she might have been bullied in the past.

8 July: Penelope continues to go from strength to strength and we're delighted with her transformation. She's now huge and her 'Frenchy features' are more noticeable and prominent with her extra weight and bulk. Her ears still hang a little raggedly but the scarring on these is probably permanent (although the hole in her ear did heal - to our great surprise!).

Visitors who've seen her can hardly believe she's the same bunny they first met - then looking thoroughly miserable and bedraggled in isolation, with her head hung low, on the patio....

Today she moved into an extended 8' overnight hutch and has been pacing up and down for the last few hours before stretching out for a doze.

10 July: Penelope became proud mum to 4 sons and 4 daughters this morning. The babies are very plump and Penelope appears radiant.

The change in her over the last few weeks has been amazing and we're thrilled by her happy news. It's very early days but she's also adapted extremely well to her new role as a mother and we're hoping this will continue. The family are a mix of albino with a few broken-blues.

Penelope photographed below on 31 July - a total contrast to her adoption photographs taken just a few months ago:

4 August: Penelope had a brief attack of diarrhoea last week but has made a complete recovery now and looks the picture of health and fitness with her thick, glossy coat. She has such a gentle, docile and affectionate nature and snuggles just like a soft, cuddly toy.

We're utterly devoted to her and it's hard to believe she was neglected for so long....

11 August 2001 All of Penelope's litter are progressing extremely well and we're retaining 3 - Wedgwood and his two sisters, one broken-blue and an albino:

20 August All of Penelope's babies are progressing well and 5 are very close to being weaned.

Penelope remains in top condition, having not lost any weight and her coat has remained thick and glossy - a total contrast to when we adopted her.

She has developed a most docile and gentle nature and, if anything, this and her general health and appearance, have actually improved during her pregnancy and motherhood.

She seems to be a happy and content bunny now, is radiantly healthy and will be sharing a

large hutch with 1-2 of her daughters Claudia (albino) and Claudine (photographed left, with brother Wedgewood).

Although she'll always bear the permanent scars from her former home, we can't help feeling her life now is very different to how it would have been had she remained where we found her.....

August 2004: Although Penelope has since died, she will never be forgotten. Her daughters Claudia and Claudine are alive and well living in our garden and our friends in Kent regularly keep us updated on Edgar and Houdini. All 4 celebrated their 3rd birthdays on 11 July 2004.

August 2005: Claudia and Claudine are still alive and celebrated their 4th birthdays last month - both a re the picture of health and fitness. Claudine is the mother of Claudette while Claudia is mother of Dilly, Winifred and Madam Butterfly. Her line has extended further with Winifred being the mother of Wilma who is Bonnie's mum. Bonnie is the proud mother of our fawn twin girls from whom we hope to breed in 2006.

We only brought her home with us to allow her to die a dignified death - never could we have imagined she would make such outstanding progress :-)

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