Salt went to Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) on Friday May 13. She had developed head tilt, which causes a rabbit to twist their head sideways, involuntary eye movement, dizziness and, in severe cases, balance issues and rolling. Salt had been doing very poorly – she had been rolling, was disoriented and seemed depressed despite being on medication. At OVC the hope was that she would respond to medication by Monday May 16. This did not happen so we proceeded with a CT scan. The CT scan showed that not only did Salt have an ear infection, both of her ears were affected. This type of infection does not respond well to antibiotics alone, so Salt underwent surgery on both ears on May 18. The surgery went well (the pink in the photos is antiseptic wash). We will have a better sense of how she responds in the coming weeks.
Salt has not had an easy life. She came to us back in 2011, one of 25 rabbits we took in from an OSPCA seizure. That intake removed 200+ rabbits from a single property. Salt is bonded to her sister, Pepper. They were adopted a few years ago, but returned to the rescue and have been waiting for their forever family to come along. We didn’t give up on Salt in 2011 and we’re not giving up on her now. When an animal comes to KAR we commit to them for life and we will always do all we can to make that life as wonderful as possible.
The cost of Salt’s surgery and care is $2,300. This is the third major rabbit surgery we have been faced with in the past month. We are grateful for any and all donations – they are very much needed.