You open wide and we look in and throw in several aspirin

[austin_dern]

Our pet rabbit had his annual checkup, and I went with bunny_hugger not because we really especially needed a second person hovering around the waiting area while he was investigated but because I wanted to be sure I knew exactly how to get to his vet's in case of emergency. She'd described the way there and it isn't hard (it's maybe half a mile off the Interstate, two exits east) but I do much better on finding anything once I've been there in person at least once.

The good news is that our rabbit's in quite good shape considering he's eight years old and thus, elderly, particularly since he's a Flemish Giant and larger breeds are expected to have shorter lifespans than smaller ones. (We say that, and the vet said that, although in at least my case I don't know the source for that factoid.) We got the ``senior screening'', including an X-ray, so now I've seen the inside of him too. He does show traces of arthritis, although not in the knees and ankles and the joints where you'd expect it to show up. Actually, it's mostly along his spine, in the lower back. It's very suggestive of his having injured his back, possibly in a leaping injury, and might be a better explanation than simple advancing age for why he doesn't do things like leap onto the top of his hutch or up the stairs and take huge bounds down to the sofa or the floor anymore.

We're going to try something for his arthritis, which should if it works at all work pretty quickly. If it is just back pain that's slowed him down of late that would be wonderful to know as there's apparently no reason he shouldn't be as youthful as a bunny half his age.

Our rabbit was also very good about handling the vet. He was in danger of slipping off the scale when he was first being weighed, probably because the rubber mat underneath wasn't securing his hindlegs, but otherwise he took things in reasonable calm once let out of the pet carrier. While he was waiting around too, he had the run of the back area of the clinic and I'm happy to say that while he's cautious about new places, he's not afraid of them, and there's something incredibly adorable about him coming to a junction in the hallway, sitting up, looking all the different directions, choosing one, and hopping off that way.

After the appointment but before we got his medicine he was acting more lively and boundy, which I have to imagine reflects his cheer at having got through the doctor's appointment and getting a basically clean bill of health.

Trivia: A sample of Icelandic liquorice dating to 756 AD was found to still have medical properties. Source: Sweets: A History of Temptation, Tim Richardson.

Currently Reading: Vermillion Sands, J G Ballard.

Comments

[porsupah.livejournal.com]

I must implore you to include the occasional photo or video of said erstwhile bun. ^_^ I don't enjoy the personal company of a bun, regrettably - you have opportunities I don't know. (Admittedly, I suppose I also get to see wild activities you don't, including those absurdly tightly controlled chases. It's impossible not to admire such extraordinary agility)

In any event, I'm happy to hear he's faring well, and still with curiosity - a trait we can all hope to still embrace enthusiastically as we progress in life.

[bunny-hugger.livejournal.com]

Erstwhile?

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

I can offer one photo, at least: a picture of our rabbit while enjoying the outside (http://nebushumor.wordpress.com/2014/10/03/the-big-insecurity/) has proven pretty useful in illustrating the idea of rabbit for our humor blog.

I'm going to have to try getting a video of our rabbit taking his medicine as that's surprisingly adorable.