Rusty’s Rescue Story
Rusty’s story along with other critically injured Charleston Dumpsite feral bunnies we rescued makes up the very heart of the rescue work we do.
Rusty was sitting alone, barely able to move when we first saw him on a Sunday in February 2016. I didn’t pick him up that day, so I didn’t know how gravely injured he was at that moment. As usual, while feeding the different pods of bunnies (mini colonies) within the greater expanse of the dumpsite, I took photos each visit. After returning home, I posted some photos and Rusty was in them, laying near a piece of pumpkin I left out. Pumpkin was not a normal food item that we fed, but that day I did. The same night, a friend commented on his photo and said “You have to go back and get that rabbit. You cannot leave him there to die, Debbie said. So, on Wed 2/17/2016, we went back to look for him. Rusty had only managed to drag himself maybe 50 yards to a spot next to a trash can, 3 days after we first saw him. He hadn’t died but his condition was grave.
Rusty’s Gotcha day was that Wednesday, 2/17/2016 and I also got Bella that afternoon. Both of them had dual broken rear legs at the hock, which were swollen and infected. The photos shown here may be upsetting to you, but it’s the history of what we faced while rescuing out there for 3-½ years between April 6, 2015 (my first trip to the dumpsite) and the spring of 2018. Later we found out that one man had been grabbing the friendlier bunnies who came up to people for food and broke both their back legs in the exact same manner. All 3 bunnies I rescued with the same injury, Pat, Rusty & Bella had such similar injuries that my vet, Dr Blakesley asked to visit the dumpsite with us, to see for herself some kind of fence or something I was missing. Because the two broken back legs, scraped, swollen and infected feet on all 3 bunnies were the same, she didn’t think it was traps that got them but a physical thing like a fence they might be crawling under. Little could we have known it was the result of one bad man, whom we later heard was prosecuted and sent to jail.
If you look at the horrifying photos of Rusty’s feet, you might wonder how he made it and came to live at Best Friends Animal Society in Kanab Utah. Rusty stayed with me for 3 months of intense care and through another rescue friend, he got a rare placement there, because he neededmore advanced care (cold laser) that I could not access in Las Vegas. We drove him to Best Friends on a beautiful day 5/23/2016 and my heart broke when I left him, but it was what he needed to continue on his Wellness Journey. Rusty received cold laser treatments and critical care several times a week at Best Friends. I thought about him every single day and hoped that her understood why I needed to let him go. His two hind legs were never amputated which was what we initially believed we would need to do, to save his life. Four years after Rusty arrived at Best Friends, I heard the wonderful news that he had finally been adopted by a loving couple who would give him a free-roam home. I received a photo and was over the moon with joy. Of all the bunnies I ever rescued, even though I only got to spend 3+ months with him, Rusty touched my heart to the core.
How I cared for Rusty’s broken, dangling, infected feet:
I was under instruction from my vet Dr Sara Blakesley at Southern Hills Animal Hospital in Las Vegas. We also received consulting advice from Dr Sari Kanfer of Exotic Animal Veterinary Center in Pasadena CA. Dr Kanfer kindly took the time away from her own practice to speak to me by phone and coach me on how to care for these types of bunnies with dual broken legs and possibly beat bone infection and house them in such a way that their hocks would fuse and they could keep their legs. That’s exactly what ended up happening with each bunny, Pat The Bunny, Rusty and Bella. We had no amputations and today all 3 live happy lives, granted with arthritis.
I even witnessed him doing a type of handstand on his front legs with his rear legs in the air to go into his box
Rusty gave me absolute trust in order to care for him. His feet were swollen, stinky, wet and inflamed as you can see in the photos. He was an amazing boy and though feral he still chose to try and make it into his special needs litter box. We did twice daily footsoaks in tea strength Betadine under Dr B’s advice. Of course pain management was a must, but this was early on in the life of my caregiver role and our partnership with Dr B, working as a team of a rescuer and a vet. Now that I look back, it's hard to believe that Rusty only received Metacam & Enrofloxacin during this time. At this time, I knew instinctively that his nutrition was the key to his survival as much as tending to his wounds & injury. I fed things that house rabbit only people and naysayers would have a fit over: raw almonds, pumpkin seeds and nutrient dense foods more suited to wildlife rehab. Rusty ate a mush of Sherwood SARx and canned pumpkin at least twice a day. He ate hay and fresh veggies and the most amazing thing about my sweetest boy, Rusty was the constant trust and the looks of love and gratitude he always gave me. This was the phase of time when I fell in love with feral & gravely injured bunnies. I got little to no sleep while providing round the clock care. I had not only Rusty with his feet, but Bella rescued the same day and Pat, who we rescued 1/16/2016. So there were a lot of foot soaks, going on, many medicine rounds, vet visits & maintenance. All thru it, my learning curve was steep but it was Rusty and the other two who let me know they were trying, as hard as I was. They would allow my care and they ate everything offered and took their medicines. I couldn’t have known in this early part of 2016, how life changing Rusty would be for me in my evolution as a rescuer. I owe a lot to that bunny, who taught me how resilient, trusting, giving and pure the heart of a feral bunny or any bunny is.
