I have done what I can to protect the identities of the original owners even though they could probably be brought up on charges of animal abuse. Why this poor fella wasn't taken to the vet or returned sooner is something I'm not likely to ever learn the answer to. My main concern in writing this article is that future buyers of my English Angora rabbits will not return a bunny to me. I want to make it very clear, that I take my bunnies back, no questions asked. Should you choose to provide me with information, great! It will be very helpful to me. If you have questions, I will always answer them to the best of my ability with the information I am provided. The bottom line is, please, no matter the situation, don't concern yourself with how I may feel personally. If you need or want to return an English Angora rabbit, contact me. I will not report you. I will not lecture you. I will simply arrange a meet time and day. I will then repossess the bunny. That's it. Promise. I have a No questions asked return policy on all of my English angora rabbits. All I care about is that these gorgeous animals are cared for. It is the whole reason I wrote my Angora Rabbit Care article. Angora rabbits are: A Lot. Of. Work. Angora rabbits are: A Lot. Of. Work. Most (but not all) of the time when an angora is returned to me, it is in bad shape. I steel myself to accept that I will likely not be happy with the animal that is returned to me. That I will have an incredible amount of work on my hands to restore the bunny to good health. However, I also remind myself to be thankful that the person/s returning the angora was honest enough with themselves to admit that they took on more than they can handle. In my nearly two decades of exclusive English Angora raising, I thought I'd seen it all. The return of this rabbit has shown me that I was very wrong. To quote my husband, "They tortured it." This Ruby Eyed White (REW) buck was purchased from me on December 4, 2021. I was contacted on December 8th after the Junior buck was taken as a teenagers pet. I didn't hear from them again until a little over a year later on January 25, 2022. December 8, 2021: "Hello. I understand completely that purchasing this rabbit from you does not automatically obligate you to answer our questions about him for life. So if you need to make a clean separation at any point, please do say so. Nonetheless we do have a few questions if you’re willing. We weren’t sure if the fresh foods guidance on your website was just for adults or kits too. He has unrestrained access to pellets (we did end up having local supplier for the New Country Organics pellets) hay and water. We’ve tried offering him some apples and made the cardboard tubes filled with hay and he hasn’t shown much interest. In fact, he hasn’t shown much interest in any of the chew toys we got him (pumice stone, applewood sticks, rabbit chew toys from the pet store), preferring to eat a genuinely shocking amount of hay instead. He digs a bit, but no chewing behavior to be seen so far. We are having some struggles keeping his fur totally clean. The brushing in general is going well and kind of fun at this point, so we don’t see any problems with mats or tangles. But any time he’s not on the wire bottom cage (say on the platforms in his cage to give him a break from the wires or the enclosed space on laminate flooring we’ve set up to give him space to run around) he nearly always ends up with at least a little urine and poop on his feet and belly. Cleaning out the solid pellets isn’t a problem, but sometimes they get smooshed into his fur a bit and while we can dry the urine on his fur with a tool that doesn’t feel “clean” exactly. Most advice seem reluctant to recommend any kind of water-based bathing, but haven’t found a great way to handle this situation otherwise. He also has a very small amount of crust under his nose (something I would consider totally normal for most animals, but noticed he didn’t have when I picked him up from you). Someone suggested kitten wipes as a solution for this kind of cleaning—any thoughts on that? Alternate suggestions? He has been an absolute delight so far and seems to be acclimating to our household nicely overall. All advice appreciated very much. Take care and thanks again." I responded on December 9, 2021: "Hi [redacted], Your bunny is still very young & is likely interested in other things right now than the chew toys. When he wants/needs to chew on something he will. Having easily accessible chew treats will hopefully reduce the likelihood of him chewing something you'd rather he didn't. High sugar treats like apples should only be provided sparingly. Too much sugar can cause diarrhea. When not on wire, a angora that is not litter box trained will hop through their own urine & feces. The only ways to avoid this are to constantly watch him & clean up his messes right after he makes them so he cannot walk through, get him litter box trained, or avoid allowing him on anything that doesn't have some sort bottom that drains. Rather than a solid platform, you can try woven grass mats. They will allow urine to pass through. Pellets however will remain. Once soiled or eaten (bunnies will often chew the mats as well), the mat can be composted or thrown out. You do not want to bathe him. Soaking up the wet wool with a paper towel or cloth & further drying the wool with a hair dryer on low heat or grooming blower is your safest option. Crust around the nose could be from many different things. Rabbits are very sensitive to fragrances, cleaning products, lotions, etc. If you need to clean his nose, use a soft wet cloth or paper towel. Less is more. Wipes for cats have the potential to contain ingredients that while safe for cats, may not be safe for rabbits. If the crust around the nostrils seems bad or he starts to sneeze excessively or produce a lot of snot, you may want to take him to the vet. Based on what you told me, I'm inclined to think it's environmental though rather than viral/bacterial. I'm glad you are all enjoying him. Did your [redacted] pick out a name for him yet? Jen :o)" On January 25, 2023 I received the following email: "Hello. About a year ago we purchased an angora bunny from you. Most of the year has gone fairly well but over the last few months the bunny has developed some strange habits that have made it, from our perspective, impossible to keep him clean and healthy. We love him very much but want to do what’s best for him, and so we are definitely considering your kind offer to take him back if that’s what’s best for him. But I thought I should start by just telling you what we’re seeing first and get your thoughts on the situation. He seems to often behave in ways that all sources agree Angora rabbits should not behave.
We’ve also attempted to find professional grooming services for him without luck. From your experience, do you have any suggestions about what we could do to improve his situation from here? Does your offer to take him back still stand? He’s quite large (much larger than any pictured on your site) and produces a tremendous amount of fur. Thanks very much for your time." The behavior described was unlike anything I had ever heard of in all of my years of breeding, grooming, housing, and rescuing English Angora rabbits. I answered as best I could with the information provided. "Hi [redacted], For brushing his hind feet, use a comb. You can start with a slicker, but you'll need to carefully use a comb to catch deeper mats. Be careful not to catch his toes. You can then finish with the slicker to catch any loose hairs that are too fine for the comb. If the mats are too deep &/or big, try breaking up the mats into smaller bits. You can use small blunt nose scissors. Aim the scissors away from his flesh so you don't accidentally nick him. For maintaining his genital area, I recommend scissors. If he is not fixed, you will need to locate his testicles first & move them out of the way. Also be weary of his penis. They will sometime poke them out during grooming. Don't cut too close to the skin & use blunt nosed short scissors. Never wash an angora rabbit. From your description, it sounds like he is not on wire & therefore is getting very dirty. I recommend a wire bottom. You can use resting pads that attach to the bottom so that he is comfortable. Any hay should be in a rack on the outside of his cage. The only time it's realistic to have him on bedding & have hay in his home is when his coat has been pulled. The long tooth can become a problem if he doesn't go to the vet to have it clipped. Usually, with enough to chew, their teeth stay trimmed. Sometimes though their teeth will over grow. In this situation a visit to the vet is necessary. The vet will trim the tooth to a more proper length. Have you tried apple sticks & branches for him to chew? Most rabbits love them. If the chew toys you provided are of no interest to him, you'll need to continue to search for something that he does like to chew. The situation with his eyes sounds more like weepy eye then him getting his eyes wet from his water. This is especially so if you are using a water bottle. For weeping eyes, a trip to the vet is needed to see if he has any eye drainage issues or possible infection. Sometimes it's as simple as debris in the eyes. Your exotic vet may be able to recommend appropriate groomers in your area &/or may even do a sanitary cut for you like they often do for aging cats to prevent urinary tract infections. If you feel that you can no longer care for him, then yes I will take him back free of charge. Jen" About three weeks later on February 16, 2023 I was contacted again: "Thanks so much for your response. I’ve been delaying getting back to you to give my [redacted] a bit of time to think and sort out the situation. [redacted] decided that if you’re willing to take him back, [redacted] would like to bring him back to you. We just don’t have any resources around here—we talked many local vets and none of them are willing to work with an angora nor have any recommendations. The one we’d heard about has left that office and they have no plans to replace him. The nearest vet or groomer we can find is over two hours away near [redacted] and we clearly aren’t able to give him the care that he needs on our own. We do genuinely believe he’s a bit of a special case, for whatever that’s worth. We’ve tried basically every kind of chew toy we can find that’s labeled as being for rabbits including apple sticks, pumice stones, pine cones, ropes balls, and wood toys. His cage has a large area of solid flooring (about 2’x2’) and a larger grated area (about 2’x3’) with a puppy pad underneath on the same side as his food, hay and water. He seems to intentionally wait to poop and pee on the solid side and then hide the pellets underneath himself (the puppy pad goes basically unused). The hay is indeed outside the cage, and he will grab some in his mouth and carry it over to the solid side repeatedly. I was also skeptical of the water bottle situation, but we’ve both watched him go over to the bottle and bump he head on it over and over again. Is there a time in the upcoming week or two where it would be good for us to meet up? I can make almost anything work as needed. Thanks again for your kindness." On February 18, 2023 I was back in possession of the buck. At this point he is about 14 months old. The rest of this article shows my progress over the course of a month as I worked tirelessly to rehabilitate this bunny. For those who rescue angoras, I hope this will be helpful to you. For those of you who have never owned an angora rabbit, I hope this will be helpful to you as well. Let this be a reminder of what happens when these animals are not properly cared for. The condition of this rabbit occurred in only one year! Possession of the rabbit in the slide show above was shocking and horrifying. From the emails, I was informed that he was being groomed regularly. At a glance it was obvious that this animal had not been groomed in a very long time. A year if not longer. Angora rabbits coats will mat, but not the moment you stop grooming them. To end up in this condition, the coat was never properly groomed nor was it ever removed the multiple times the coat was shed. Instead all of this fiber built up into a stiff shell around an emaciated body. The teen cuddled him in their arms and sobbed when they gave him up. I informed the teen that I had been doing this a very long time, that English Angora rabbits are all I know. I informed the teen that I would provide photos at which point the teen brightened but then started to cry again as I finished with, "if he lives." I see no reason to pussyfoot around the hard reality of life and responsibility. However, the parent clearly didn't do their part either. So far, the previous owners have not contacted me to see how their beloved pet is doing or if he even survived. The buck smelled so bad I was convinced that under his disgusting coat was a huge festering and rotting mass of decay. I held little hope that he would survive whatever the heck happened to him. Immediately upon returning home, I got out my grooming supplies and set to work. You can see my progress in the slideshow above. For some areas of his coat, I had to use hoof trimming shears to cut through the many layers of hard encrusted feces to uncover his sore ridden flesh beneath. The fur around his face was stiff, filthy, heavily matted and yellow thanks to his eyes continuously weeping. I trimmed away all of his facial hair. I almost cut off his tail. Working around his groin area was incredibly difficult. This was by far the worst area on his body and that's saying a lot. It wasn't until later that evening or maybe the next morning that I realized that I didn't find his penis. There were many long and thick sections of feces that I had to cut off. Mere seconds before taking the hoof trimming shears to yet another encrusted part of his body, I paused. I thought to myself, wait a sec. where the heck is his tail? I started to feel all over him. I even thought that maybe his tail was gone. Then it finally dawned, the thing I was about to cut off was his tail! That was a very difficult task. Removing hard layers of feces from his skinny tail without actually snipping the tail. I had to ask my husband to hold him so I could use both hands to work this area (and his groin) free. Once uncovered, the skin on his tail was one ulcerated sore that was bleeding a little. As I painstakingly removed his coat over a period of several hours, he started to lick at himself. His overgrown teeth kept clacking. I stopped my coat removal process and clipped his teeth to a more normal length. I then resumed removing his coat. His coat was so stiff and dense that not even a quarter into the process my brand new grooming sheers were dull. When I got the first section off I held it up to my husband when I saw him walk by. He looked over at me and said, "It died?" He thought that quarter section of the bunnies coat was the actual bunny. His coat on his entire body was densely matted to the skin. There was not any section anywhere that was not matted. I have never in my life seen a angora matted this badly. His groin area was massively swollen with what I believed at the time to be a raging infection of his urinary tract, genitals or both. He had festering sores all over his body. Around one back leg, the teen said they applied some gauze for his wound. The gauze was soaked in foul smelling feces. During removal it was clear that at that time the bunny had diarrhea. The bunny couldn't stand properly or move his back legs to kick. I figured it was due to the extensive matting. His legs and even his head were matted to his body, reducing his mobility. Once his coat was removed, he fell over. At this point I've concluded that his leg muscles have atrophied and he will start to regain use of his limbs within a day or two. I was wrong. I brought him into our home and set him up near our wood stove. By this point his condition seemed very poor. We expected him to die. He didn't. This fella had a very strong will to live. Day Two. I'm shocked in the morning when I get up to see that he is still alive. He's not standing on his own. He doesn't appear to have moved from his side all night. A bed sore has resulted on his hip. I clean him up with a nice warm bath. Note: I do not recommend bathing angora rabbits. This is an extreme case where the life of the rabbit is on the line. His coat has been removed. An angora that has been bathed can easily catch a chill and die. This is why it is critical to provide proper coat maintenance. If a particular area of your angora tends to be dirty, I find it best to trim away the wool from that area. If it is simply hay, grooming will catch the hay bits as will your fingers. For soiled wool, cut it out with blunt nose scissors as needed. I towel dried him, then used a blower on him to dry the little amount of wool he still has. At this point his groin has been washed thoroughly with soap and water and rinsed just as thoroughly. I made up a paste using lavender essential oil, raw honey, and sulfa powder. This was applied generously to his genitals. Pictured is before applying the paste so that I can record his progress or regression each day. Sovereign Silver has been added to his drinking water as a holistic antibiotic. At this point I don't want to risk him ingesting a stronger antibiotic because it can upset his gut micro flora. This can cause diarrhea and death. With how stressed his body is, I'm trying for a more gentle approach. His groin area is incredibly swollen. Presumably with infection. It took a lot of effort to push through the swollen flesh and locate his red puffy penis. From what I can tell, he has both a urinary and possible reproductive infection that is very bad and very well might kill him. His groin is by far the worst area of his body regarding skin sores. This is due to the massive amounts of urine and feces that was on his flesh for months. He is still not able to stand and is dragging his body around. I have to tend to him very often throughout the entire day. I ordered a baby changing mattress pad to put on the bottom of his cage in hope of reducing the odds of him developing additional bed sores or making the one he has worse. He is already amusing me in his enthusiasm at being touched by me. He licks constantly. I can only imagine just how good it must feel to him having his actual skin being touched, cleaned, massaged, and caressed. He eats out of my hand and is a bit of a cuddler already. I haven't been contacted by the previous owners on this day either. Perhaps they are giving things time before checking in on the pet they said they loved so much. Day Three. After his soak and during my administrations around his groin and crotch area, I realized that the huge puffed area wasn't a mass of infection. Instead, it was a massive mix of fur, fecal matter and urine that was purifying. His bath soaks helped to loosen this mass, enabling me to remove it. The loose skin by his crotch stretched out to create a kangaroo style pouch where all of this collected. Once all of this was removed, I did my usual Vetericyn wash. This was followed by a paste I made using Neomed Sulfur powder and WholeNest honey lavender ointment to help fight infection. Day Four. It was a beautiful and warm February day. I decided to get him outside for a few hours where he could lay on a thick bed of hay and enjoy the sunshine and fresh air. The photos in the slide show were taken in the early evening right before I brought him inside for the usual cleansing and healing ablutions. Because these photos are prior to bathing and treatment, you can clearly see the infection in his penile area. He is also ready to pop out a few healthy looking pellets. You can see this as well in the photos. Day Five. As expected, healing has greatly improved now that the impacted mass has been removed. He spent a good deal of time under the infrared lamp. He really seems to love it. He also loves to rest his head in my hand and doze. The baby mattress works wonders at helping to keep him comfortable while he heals. I put puppy pads in layers over the mattress. I then secure the pads so that they don't slide around. His appetite is excellent. He eats plenty of pellets, hay, and treats. He has such a strong will to live. I also discovered his behavior of hitting his head on the water bottle. This was pretty simple to understand after observation. Because he cannot move two of his legs properly, he tends to move in unbalanced lunges. He is not intentionally hitting the water bottle with his head. He is working to position himself to drink. Once he is comfortable, he drinks. He does not hit his head into the water bottle needlessly. Day six. His many scabs continue to shrink with healthy pink skin in their place. Inflammation also continues to go down. I am having a hard time with this, seeing how much suffering he has been through and how far he still has to go. Day seven. Even with the baby mattress and continuing with gently manipulations and handling, he prefers to lay on one side. This has created a huge bed sore at his hip bone. On top of that his penile area seems to have worsened. More warm Epsom bath soaks are needed. I cannot stress enough that an angora rabbit shouldn't be bathed - ever! This is a very extreme situation. A very abnormal situation. Plus, he has very little hair. Even so, he must be gently towel dried and then dried completely with a hair dryer on it's lowest setting. He then rests with a heat generating infrared lamp to ensure he isn't chilled. By the way, infrared devices are great for humans, cats, dogs, horses, etc. I have several different types for different issues and situations. The main thing I don't like about the lights is that they are very bad for the eyes. Please keep this in mind should you choose to use one. Day eight. While not out of the woods yet, the improvements in his swelling continue, albeit very slowly. The redness of his penile area have greatly reduced. This is such a relief. He doesn't enjoy the baths, but they make a huge difference. They also help to get him clean. The water color is thanks to a combination of the sulfur, his own urine, and the Epsom salt. He gets dirty easily because he cannot sit or stand properly. He spends most of his time lying on his side. He usually drags himself around. I go through a lot of small puppy pee pads to keep him clean. I choose the smaller sized pads so that I'm not wasting larger pads. When using larger pads, when he soils only one area, I end up having to toss out a mostly clean pad. Most of the mess that gets him dirty occurs overnight while I am sleeping because I'm not constantly checking to see if his pads need to be changed. Note: I tried cat sized diapers, but no matter what I did, he would drag them off overnight. Plus, the way the tail hole is situated, a lot of his pellet poop would still make it out of the diaper and he'd still get soiled from a combination of dragging himself through and laying on his poop pellets. Day nine. His testicles are practically back to normal. Almost no scabs are left. The final battle seems to be the swelling in his penile shaft and his bed sores. If the bed sores can't be healed at home, he may need surgery because it can travel to the bone. Day ten. This bed sore has been the most difficult to treat. It is shrinking though. I use Silverquine Hydrogel, a colloidal silver based ointment after he is done with his Epsom salt soak. Remember, do NOT bathe your angora rabbit! This is a very unique situation. A healthy angora with their coat should never, ever be bathed. Day eleven. His testicles look great! His penile shaft is still swollen. The bedsore is challenging. I am continuing with a very gentle oral antibiotic after his bath. Once dry he gets Vetericyn wound spray and Silverquine colloidal silver ointment when I'm finished. Day twelve. I'm feeling a lot more optimistic today regarding his recovery. He managed to stand (with my assistance) for about twenty to thirty minutes without falling over! He was happily eating for most of this time. Normally he will only stand for about a minute before tipping over. Once he's off his feet, he cannot get back on them, no matter how hard he tries. He does sometimes manage a okay upper body lift, but mostly he lays flat. Frankly, it's pretty horrible. He has the bed sore to show which side he tends to lay on most. Day thirteen. He has spinal and nerve damage plus muscle atrophy in his hind and front legs on his right side. This is why he cannot stand. Without knowing exactly what happened, there are two likely possibilities for his spinal and nerve damage. One is he was dropped or mishandled. Two is he became frightened and caused his own injury (it can happen). The muscle atrophy is due to the mats that connected his legs and head to his body, further restricting his movements. All of this is why he ended up in the worst condition I've ever seen a rabbit in. Two weeks. He got to snooze on a thick bed of hay in the sun for a few hours today. I was hoping it might perk him up. Instead he perked up after his bathing and medicating routine. He really loves his infrared light! Sweet Mr. Snuggles that he is. Two and a half weeks. The bedsore continues to shrink very slowly. His genital area continues to heal very slowly. I am still giving him the daily routine of Epsom salt bath soaks, oral antibiotic, wound spray, and colloidal silver ointment. Three weeks. The constant Epson salt bathes and need to dry him, are making him bald and pink. His appetite remains strong. I have been continuing to help him to stand. He loves being held, tickled, and cuddled. In so many ways he acts more like one of my cats that one of my bunnies. He tends to get his PJ's off, so I make sure he always has a heat source. He zens out under the infrared lamp. Total house rabbit. Christened, Mr. Snuggles (not his original name). One month. Mr. Snuggles is fully healed from everything other than his bedsores and his inability to stand or sit normally. I give him a two times daily does of over the counter rabbit antibiotic that he loves like a treat. It's a very gentle product that I have found very safe and useful over the many years I've been caring for angora bunnies. Unlike the majority of my rescues, he will not be going to a new home. The previous owners have yet to inquire about his outcome. January 25, 2025: I am no longer selling my English Angora rabbits to anyone. I always try to give people the benefit of the doubt. I never policed any purchase. Personally, if you were going to spend what I was charging and make the drive to pick the bunny up, I trusted you would also be responsible. An angora didn't have to be a pet. They are fiber animals. As long as the bunny was properly cared for, I was a okay. Taking back bunnies in poor condition became expected. I was never happy about the condition of the bunnies I took back, but none were ever like this. Mr. Snuggles was the first tortured rabbit I had to rehabilitate. I'm done. I suppose I may change my mind at some point. But it seems unlikely. Please don't ask me for a bunny. I am not responding to those types of inquires. If you are curious, the previous owners have never contacted me since returning him to me on that fateful day. You may also like:
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