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July 30, 2008
There's Always Something
I have always been the website admin for our "Make Mine Chocolate!" site. This spring, I also took over the CHRS site, relieving Karalee of that responsibility. It's something I should have done a long time ago since, most of the time, I really enjoy working on our websites.
Being a website admin is as close to the perfect volunteer job as I am likely to find. Most of what I do these days is maintenance: writing a blog entry, adding adoptable and sponsor rabbits, and other mundane activities. These tasks require very little effort but provide the perfect excuse for postponing less interesting responsibilities like unloading the dishwasher. After all, if I don't get Tanner's information posted tonight, that perfect adopter who visits our site tonight will not see him and Tanner will miss out on that forever home he clearly deserves. It's a bogus excuse but, as an expert procrastinator, my standards for what constitutes an acceptable excuse are pretty low.
But every now and then I get THE CALL or THE EMAIL. Invariably, Karalee is the sender and the message is usually pretty consistent: something that used to work now doesn't. I immediately begin a memory search, trying to remember what I worked on the previous night. Because, almost invariably, I made a mistake. Most of the time it's a simple fix but every now and then, I actually have to do some troubleshooting, which can mean a late night. Once the source of the problem is identified, the fix is usually pretty simple.
As you probably already know, I got THE CALL today. Columbusrabbit has become a debt relief site. Huh??? No memory search this time - yes, we've wandered off the reservation of what I know about websites. All I could think was, at least it's not a porn site!
The website looked fine on my work computer and on my new cell phone. Terri Cook said it looked fine. Initially, only two people, Bev and Karalee, saw our new debt site. My initial thought was a virus. So poor Karalee spent a chunk of her afternoon running virus scans. There are few things more boring than that but we were both in a panic by this point. Only later would we find out that Bev, who first discovered the problem, uses a Macintosh. That piece of information immediately demolished my virus hypothesis.
I then contacted our service provider for the second time. Their initial response suggested changing passwords but a quick look at the files indicated that the website content was untouched. They also suggested that local computers could be the source of the problem, such as a virus. But I subsequently learned that they were investigating the problem on their end.
They eventually discovered that there was a problem with the DNS zone file. Google is a marvelous thing and provided a simple explanation. I won't bore you with the details but, basically, there is a file that provides a directory of locations for sites such as ours. This directory somehow got modified and our website disappeared. My suspicion is that there are multiple directories and only one got changed. Which would explain why not everyone got to see the new debt site.
Thankfully, the problem now appears to be fixed. Our sincere thanks to Bev, Heather, Terri, and the other folks who helped us troubleshoot the problem.
I would like to use this occasion to make a request. If you ever see something on either site that doesn't seem right, please let Karalee or me know as soon as possible. It can be a concern that something on the site isn't correct as Laine Kathary did when she questioned something I had written about Teddie in this blog. Or it could be something more dramatic, like what happened today.
Karalee keeps a watchful eye on our sites but we need as many eyes as possible looking after our sites.
All's well that ends well, and I look forward to a quiet evening. Terri has sent new pictures of Tanner so I'd better get them up on the site. After all, that perfect adopter just might stop by!
Posted by Sue at 4:38 PM
July 24, 2008
A Binky for Luck
My house has been a binky-free zone for years. My Molly used to be a champion binky bunny but at 11 years of age and minus a leg, we're both pretty happy she can still hop. Shelby, also 11 years old and in possession of all her body parts, was never inclined to binky. She still occasionally does laps around the bird room when I'm late with her breakfast but no binkies.
During the roughly two years I've lived with him, the youngster of the house, Kramer, never showed any binky inclinations. He always greets me enthusiastically in the morning, speeding from the living room to the kitchen, tail bobbing up and down, with an occasional flick of his head. But yesterday morning, he delighted me with a full-fledged binky that took him a foot off the floor.
Needless to say, I was delighted. Not only are binkies fun to watch but I have always considered them good luck. I left the house yesterday morning confident I would have a good day. And sure enough, I did.
May your home be filled with binkies!
Posted by Sue at 6:36 PM
Updates - Part 2
Lucy and her babies have been a popular topic on this blog. You may recall that Lucy is suffering from chronic wobbliness. She had been placed on Prednisone for a week in an attempt to reduce inflammation in her brain that might be causing the wobbles. Unfortunately, there has been little change in her condition. On the other hand, she hasn't gotten any worse so we're pretty happy about that.
One of her babies, Maddie, was recently adopted. Maddie now lives happily with Nicky!
And last but certainly not least, I am very pleased to introduce Boswell, a young, 15-pound Flemish Giant. Boswell is happily ensconced at the Curry residence. Karalee recently lost Nickie, another Flemish Giant, to abscesses, so Boswell's arrival has helped to fill the enormous gap left by Nickie's death. Although he is thin and appears to be suffering from pneumonia, Boswell is one very happy fellow.
Isn't he amazing?
I think that's it on the news front.
And if you're wondering what happened to our anti-dumping mini-campaign, we are still planning to do it. Unfortunately, July has disappeared into the depths of countless distractions so the plan is to get it done in August. Stay tuned....
Posted by Sue at 6:16 PM
Updates - Part 1
The news has been largely good lately. But first, I must send condolences to Terri and Jeremy Cook on the loss of their mouse, Stuart. Yes, I know, he wasn't a rabbit but Stuart was one of the luckiest critters I have ever had the pleasure to meet. He was literally picked up in a parking lot by a good samaritan outside an OSU lab, thus avoiding both becoming a laboratory test animal and being done in by any number of outdoor hazards. The ultimate stroke of luck was to be adopted by the Cooks. RIP, Stuart.
Our friend Quincy continues to recover nicely from his eye surgery. In case you're curious to know what an eyeless rabbit looks like, see below. Doesn't he look fabulous? And that gorgeous white figure belongs to Lucy.
As you may recall, Laine and Doug Kathary had bonded Teddie with Hope just a few weeks before Hope died unexpectedly from kidney problems. Teddie is now visiting with Maggie who is also a graduate of the Cardington barn rescue. So far, the bonding is going very well. Maggie is a gorgeous black and white lop. Keep your fingers crossed that the bonding continues to go well!
Posted by Sue at 5:46 PM
July 14, 2008
RIP Hope
In case you haven't already heard, Hope was euthanized today. All indications are that the surgery went well as did her initial recovery. However, after a few days of fluids and the standard meds used to keep her gut going and prevent infection, her activity level dropped precipitously yesterday. She also did not poop or pee overnight. During today's checkup, the decision was made to euthanize.
You may recall that her pre-surgery blood work showed a kidney problem. Unfortunately, what was not obvious was whether the high values were a result of the bloat or a pre-existing condition. The necropsy showed that her kidneys were pale and enlarged, which is consistent with a pre-existing kidney condition. Apparently the post-surgery meds and fluids caused her kidneys to shut down.
My sincere condolences to Laine, Doug, and Teddie. Teddie was one of the Cardington rabbits rescued in 2006. He was adopted soon after his rescue. We thought he had found his forever home but he was recently returned to CHRS and Karalee because of a divorce. He had just bonded with Hope a few weeks ago. Although Hope is now gone, Teddie has finally found his forever home with Laine and Doug.
Hope was very lucky to have found a home with Laine and Doug. I hope that they find some relief from their grief in knowing that she was one very lucky rabbit.
Posted by Sue at 6:35 PM
July 12, 2008
Choices
My apologies for taking so long to write. I bought a new computer and have spent an amazing amount of time trying to get it set up just the way I want it. It's a relief to finally be able to start thinking about other things, such as the topic of this post.
When I bought my first rabbit (yep, from a pet store), I assumed that the hardest decision I would make was whether I was prepared to make a life-long commitment to this adorable creature. Little did I know how many difficult decisions we lagomorph lovers would have to make.
The past few weeks have really demonstrated this fact.
I have already written about Quincy, who had both eyes removed a few weeks ago. At ten years of age, Quincy is clearly a senior citizen so Terri and Jeremy had to make a choice whether to accept the risks of surgery in the hope of a greatly enhanced quality of life for Quincy. The last two weeks have been a nightmarish roller coaster ride for the Cooks. After quite a few sleepless nights and an enormous amount of worry and TLC, Quincy is now clearly on the road to recovery under the watchful eye of friend Lucy.
I took my girls over to the Norton Road vet clinic for their bi-monthly squeeze this past Thursday. Both girls suffer from chronic bladder sludge so these visits are normally pretty routine. I did, however, expect to see Karalee who was bringing in a young rabbit, Duffy, whose owner had died. Duffy had bad teeth and bouts of sneezing, which raised the possibility of a serious underlying problem. The examination showed that Duffy's prognosis was poor and his chances for a reasonable quality of life were very low. Unfortunately, the most difficult choice of all had to be made, and Duffy was humanely euthanized.
Laine and Doug Kathary were also at Norton, having brought Hope in as an emergency. Hope was suffering from severe bloat. She appeared to be rallying during the day but by that evening, she was bloating again. Dr. Borders recommended she be taken to an emergency clinic where she could be watched over night. Dr. Oglesbee (some of you may remember her from the OSU exotics department), who works at the clinic, examined her that evening and recommended surgery.
Stomach surgery on a rabbit is inherently risky. Making the decision even harder was the blood work which showed a problem with her kidneys. But Laine and Doug made the choice to go ahead with the surgery. They did not want to live with "what ifs" if they chose to euthanize.
The surgeon found a hair-covered poop that was the cause of the blockage. As soon as it was removed, Hope immediately started to poop, even under anesthesia. It's still early but her prognosis looks promising.
We give our hearts to these amazing creatures and we make the best choices we can. Sometimes things work out the way we want them to and other times they don't. All we can do is learn as much as we can about these amazing animals, support each other during the difficult times, and accept the reality that death will eventually come.
But each happy outcome is an opportunity to rejoice...
So please join with me in a happy dance for Quincy, Hope, and their adoring humans!
Posted by Sue at 4:59 PM
July 2, 2008
Energizer Bunnies
A quick update on two of our favorite patients, Quincy and Lucy.
First, let me clarify that I will be talking about two Lucy's. Quincy is bonded to one Lucy. The second Lucy is the mother of the babies and she is the Lucy with health issues.
Still with me?
I am very pleased to announce that Quincy is home, eating, pooping, and hanging with his gal pal Lucy. So far, Lucy appears to have forgiven Quincy for his stinky hospital smell and altered appearance. Keep your fingers crossed that she continues to stand by her man!
If all goes well, Quincy will be on pain meds and Dicural for two weeks. Those are the only meds he will receive. Amazing, isn't it!
You may recall that momma Lucy has been suffering from severe bouts of wobbliness. She was put on Prednisone a few days ago to see if it might encourage some neuronal healing. Karalee reports that she showed immediate improvement. However, she did have another bad episode of worsened wobbliness but this round was not as dramatic as previous bouts. A trip to OSU showed that her ear drums are still intact. Karalee's hope is that the Prednisone reduced the severity of this latest episode. Only time will tell.
In the past, rabbits were believed to lack the will to overcome significant medical setbacks. The argument was that there was little point in providing "extraordinary" care because the rabbit would give up and die anyway.
Quincy and Lucy clearly demonstrate that this is just another silly rabbit myth. Keep the prayers and positive vibes coming for our energizer bunnies!
Posted by Sue at 7:06 PM
July 1, 2008
Looking After Each Other
I've been in a bit of a funk lately, feeling that too much of our recent chapter news has been largely negative. So tonight I would like to tell a story that demonstrates the lengths our members will go to help each other and our beloved lagomorphs.
The star of my story is Quincy, beloved partner to Lucy and cherished member of the Cook family. A very spry and happy 10-year-old, he has suffered with an unrelenting series of problems in both eyes, which has left him almost completely blind. The loss of his eyesight doesn't appear to bother him, and his otherwise good health made surgery a viable option to finally end all the eye problems. So after much consideration the decision was made to remove both eyes.
Not surprisingly, Terri spent a nervous day waiting by the phone for news. Ellen Eder sent her a link to a Flickr site that documented another rabbit's recovery from eye removal. For many of us, one of the most difficult aspects of major surgery is not knowing what to expect. Terri found the site to be very informative and appreciated Ellen's sending her the link.
The surgery started late, I believe sometime around noon. Dr. Borders did the surgery and Dr. Herrli handled the anesthesia. They were the dynamic dual who removed my Molly's leg so I have a tremendous amount of confidence in them.
The surgery itself went well. However, Quincy tends to be slow to come out of anesthesia and he did so this time as well. Of greater concern, though, was the bleeding and erratic blood pressure. The severed blood vessels were slow to clot and a blood transfusion was required. Thankfully, another CHRS volunteer was there to help. Karen Winstead's Jenny was the donor. We owe Karen and Jenny a tremendous debt of gratitude.
Thanks to the tremendous efforts of Dr. Borders and Dr. Herrli, the bleeding stopped, his blood pressure stabilized, and Quincy was released to spend the night at an emergency vet clinic "just in case." Terri and Jeremy took him over this evening. I just got a report from Terri that Quincy is eating Critical Care and lettuce, so things continue to progress.
I once described CHRS as a small but mighty group of people. We're not so small anymore but we are still mighty, doing our best to look after each other and "our" rabbits. Because today, Quincy belonged to us all.
Thank you to everyone who was there when Quincy needed you.
10:30 update from Terri: "His temperature is up and his red blood cells are up to 29% (pre-surgery was 30%). He is eating lettuce and hay. And we have POOP!!!"
Posted by Sue at 6:07 PM