The Marshmallow Ranch Gazette

Volume 5, Issue 19 -- Wednesday, October 7th, 2020

Howdy, partners!

Our dear rabbit Puckles took a sudden turn last Thursday, and I spent that evening trying to find an emergency vet office that would even look at "exotic" animals. It was a rough time. Puckles is over 10 years old, which is a very good run for even a small rabbit, and he's been fighting a persistent infection this year that gives him sneezing fits. I've read that this is a pretty common infection among rabbits, but it's gotten the better of him more and more. He'll become listless and stop eating, which is a serious issue -- the leporine digestive system is a perpetual motion machine, designed to be in use pretty much all the time. If the works shut down, it can easily lead to death.

We managed to find an emergency vet, who wanted to keep him overnight, inject him with fluids, keep him warm, and monitor him...all for the low, low price of $1600. I'm sure this is the nightmare scenario for every pet owner, forced to choose between going into debt or letting the life of your loved one end. Ultimately we decided that it would be better for him to spend his last night at home, with his warren mates, and to make him as comfortable as possible. An hour and $500 later, we had a course of antibiotics, pain medication, and GI status medicine to take home with us.

The weekend was fraught. Puckles was listless and not eating for a few days, but little by little he's perking up. We understand that we'll likely have to say goodbye to our dear rabbit soon, and after the last scare I thought we would be ready for it. But having to call the vet to let her know we couldn't afford an overnight stay and we were taking him home, knowing that it was likely he would be gone without the care...it was a lot harder than I had anticipated.

He's excited about his favorite foods again, but he's also still sneezing and he's developed a worrying head tilt that might be a sign of another infection. Our focus has been on spending as much time with him as possible to make sure he knows he is loved and safe. We were emotionally exhausted for the start of the work week. Monday was hectic, and Tuesday our power went out at around 9 AM. We didn't get it back until 10 PM yesterday evening, so all of our food is now suspect and I have so much catching up with work to do. It's been a week.

That's why part 3 of "A Bearable Partner" has only gone up recently despite it being done last Thursday. It's also why part 4 will maybe not be out this Thursday, but I'm working hard to make sure it's ready to go by the weekend. I'd like to return to the story of Laquan and Cory at some point, so this isn't the last we'll see of these guys.

For now, it's all about settling back into a consistent routine. I really appreciate everyone's patience while I juggle all of these curveballs. You really are the best people! I'll see you later this week.

• Jakebe