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Oliver, the Butthead

Status: 
Late Bloomer Guardian Angel
Shelter of Origin: 
San Jose Animal Services
Location: 
SaveABunny

In Memoriam: Oliver.

Oliver, beloved buttheaded lop and a founding member of the Late Bloomer Club, died peacefully...

Posted by SaveABunny on Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Toe bath. Following up from yesterday's SaveABunny post on Oliver's medical scare, Oliver is very happy to be back with...

Posted by SaveABunny on Monday, March 7, 2016

Oliver (Late Bloomer Club member) medical update.(post 1 of 2)

Posted by SaveABunny on Sunday, March 6, 2016

A few weeks ago Oliver went in for dental surgery (he also has a progressive, incurable infection near his brain). In...

Posted by SaveABunny on Sunday, March 6, 2016

Oliver catches some zzz's (turn up sound).

Oliver

Sunday morning snores with Oliver (turn up sound) The Late Bloomer Club will announce the addition of 2 new members later on today. Guess who they are (no spoiling the fun if you already know). Hmm, who could it be…?What is the LBC? http://saveabunny.org/rabbits/specialneeds

Posted by SaveABunny on Sunday, November 15, 2015

G'night from Late Bloomer Club member Oliver (turn up sound).

Posted by SaveABunny on Thursday, July 16, 2015

A quiet Sunday morning with the Late Bloomer Club.This is the first time we've ever seen Oliver groom one of his...

Posted by SaveABunny on Sunday, August 23, 2015

Don't forget to wash your face before bed! ~ Late Bloomer Club member Oliver.The story of Oliver's rescue and long, ongoing medical journey here: http://saveabunny.org/rabbit/oliver

Posted by SaveABunny on Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Late Bloomer Club members Tej and Oliver share a bowl of pellets -- Amazon Wish List thanks.In order to keep up their...

Posted by SaveABunny on Thursday, March 5, 2015

Oliver, not a big believer in "going around."Oliver is doing pretty well and loves being with friends (when he's not...

Posted by SaveABunny on Thursday, September 11, 2014

Update 12/7/13

Oliver update.Oliver visited Dr. Harvey this week for a checkup and she was pleased with his recovery from the ear...

Posted by SaveABunny on Saturday, December 7, 2013

Update 10/30/13

Sweet, brave, little Oliver is back from surgery. He's groggy but felt well enough to sneak a little piece of banana treat. We do tell Oliver your good wishes and about the help that you send on his behalf . He he can feel it. You've made a big difference in his life.

Update 10/29/13

Oliver Update: Surgery Tomorrow.

While we're still hand feeding and monitoring the newly arrived baby bunnies, SaveABunny continues to care for many other bunnies, including our very dear Oliver.

One of the best vets in the world, Dr. Carolyn Harvey, rearranged her busy schedule in order to perform surgery on Oliver on Wednesday. As Marcy explains here we hope that this will help relieve Oliver's pain and give him a better quality of life.

We will post another update after surgery. In the meantime, please consider sponsoring Oliver, whose surgery will be approximately $800.

http://SaveABunny.org/sponsor

URGENT UPDATE 7/10/13

Oliver's infection has returned which is really sad given that he was making so much progress. He needs surgery again. As soon as we learn more we will let you know.

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4/29/2013 Update


4/3/2013 Update and Video


3/11/13 Update
Everyday we work with Oliver on healing the best he can. Per the veterinarian, twice a day we flush his wound with a curve tip syringe (no needle), apply a topical anti-inflammatory,give him pain medication and antibiotics. As a treat he gets some greens and a very small piece of apple.


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He's still kind of quiet, but as you can see from the photos there is a little more light and hope in his eyes. We really appreciate your caring and support for this bunny. Donation are urgently needed. Thank you from Oliver and all of us. Donations are tax-deductible.

3/7/13 NOTE FROM SAVEABUNNY FOUNDER:
We realize that these pictures may be hard to look at and that Oliver's story is a sad one. However, it's very important for Oliver,and all "unwanted" rabbits that he represents, for his story to be told and heard.

Oliver is a very cute, little Holland lop boy who was abandoned at the San Jose shelter in very bad condition. It is clear that he was very neglected and left to die alone.

As you can see from the shelter photo (which is all we saw before taking him in)he clearly had some medical issues. Until he arrived at SaveABunny as an emergency rescue case in conjunction with The Rabbit Haven, we had no idea of the extent of his wounds.

I cleaned him up, groomed him and suspected that he had a swollen testicle and an abscess on his cheek--both of which are significant health issues. As it turned out upon his initial veterinary examination he suffered from a massive herniated bladder--hanging OUTSIDE his body! (not a swollen testicle) and a very severe ear infection.

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The vet (a good rabbit vet) gave him a very grim prognosis requiring $3,000-$4,000 surgery without a guarantee of curing the problem. She recommended euthanization. We were heartbroken, but also don't believe in making a bunny suffer just because we don't want to lose them. To truly love a bunny it often means making tough choices.

When this sort of life or death situation comes up we will try to get a second opinion as we did for Oliver.

The rabbit specialist gave us a little less dire scenario, but still a very guarded one. She felt that Oliver was still interested in hanging around a bit longer and that he may be able to live pretty well with a herniated bladder, but we would need to monitor his ability to urinate properly, which so far seems ok.

Of much greater concern is the deep, invasive abscess in his ear and dental area. In order to have a shot at a "cure" he would need major surgery at UC Davis and she estimated the same cost range of $3,000-$4,000. We simply can't afford that much---at least not at this time and with all our other rabbits who need care.
So, she suggested that we start with surgically opening the abscess and draining it. If he didn't wake from anesthesia we agreed not to resuscitate him. He made it through the surgery and is back at SaveABunny.

The next step is that he now needs to have the opening flushed twice per day and swabbed with an anti-inflammatory. Additionally, he will continue with two pain medications and an antibiotic. We will be closely monitoring both his physical health, as well as his emotional health. We want and need him to enjoy his life and not be in pain and suffering. That would not be compassionate.

We greatly appreciate everyone's loving words, kind healing thoughts and support. We URGENTLY need to raise funds for his ongoing care---regardless of if/when he might have surgery.

We are also protectively seeking a VERY experienced and local medical foster home for him. We want him to receive truly focused one-on-one care. SaveABunny will cover all his expenses.
If you are interested in learning more and have a LOT of successful experience with special needs rabbits please contact Marcy at 415-388-2790 or saveabunny@aol.com






With gratitude....
Marcy Schaaf
SaveABunny Founder and Executive Director
"SaveABunny. Save A Life!"






It's a little embarrassing to admit, but sometimes I snore so loud I wake myself up (turn up sound).

Oliver

Sunday morning snores with Oliver (turn up sound) The Late Bloomer Club will announce the addition of 2 new members later on today. Guess who they are (no spoiling the fun if you already know). Hmm, who could it be…?What is the LBC? http://saveabunny.org/rabbits/specialneeds

Posted by SaveABunny on Sunday, November 15, 2015