Karuso
A rabbit story with a happy ending
What had happened?
On Easter Monday Karuso was discovered in the garden. It was thought to be a female. The real sex could not be determined immediately because of the stuck together and with urine and excrement soiled places. The genitals were totally swollen and inflamed.
From now on, the rabbit will be called Caruso. Caruso is derived from the Italian word "caro", which means "dear" or "expensive". Therefore, the name can be translated as "the dear" or "the expensive". The same is the nature of Karuso: dear and expensive.
But what had happened to the barely one-year-old rabbit? Why was the animal found in such a neglected, sick condition in a garden?
Had Karuso hobbled away from his owner or had he been abandoned? We will never get an answer to this question.
Karuso - he sat there like a heap of misery
Karuso is a so-called lion-head rabbit with brown-white-gray fur, and he is about one year old.
The claws were too long, the much too long incisors were sticking out of the mouth. Karuso's bottom was all sticky from diarrhea and urine.
When Karuso was handed in, a colleague from Henndorf was soon in Osnabrück and took little Karuso with her. Before he started his journey, he was taken to the vet for first aid, who corrected his teeth and carefully removed the fecal adhesions. Then it was off on the journey to the rabbit house at Gut Aiderbichl Henndorf, because dogs and cats live in the animal shelter at Gut Aiderbichl Osnabrück, and keeping rabbits is not allowed there.
The Henndorf animal caretakers know that the care of a rabbit must not be neglected.
What is important in the rabbit care program?
- Check claw length - Monthly. In case of doubt shorten the claws or have them shortened by the vet
- Check teeth - Monthly. Can the rabbit chew normally? Is the jaw inflamed? Does it have bad breath?
- Droppings/feces- Daily. Does the rabbit have diarrhea? Are there chains of droppings?
- Coat length - Monthly. For long-haired breeds possibly trim in summer, especially in the anus area.
- Feeding behavior - Daily. Observe if the rabbit is eating at all, is it behaving normally?
- General health check - 1-2 x per week. Here a short check of the fur, the skin and the anus area is enough something stuck or inflamed? Has it lost weight?
Karuso's new friends and the big rabbit enclosure are waiting
The warm season is now here, and you can also see that the rabbits' desire for grass and sun is growing every day. They want to go out into the enclosure to dig, play with each other or just lie down under a shady bush to sleep. Others want to hide in a tube or sit curiously on a cut tree stump and see what's going on.
Karuso's lion head is combed daily, the little teeth can bite and nibble well again, and the many runs on the meadow will also be good for healthy claws. Let's go, little Karuso. Just let it go well for you.
It is not "just an animal" ... It is a heart that beats, a soul ... that feels and a life that wants life.
~ Sylvia Raßloff
