Casper

(December 1998 - January 1999)

In January 1999, my husband and I went to our usual pet shop (Petsmart) to get food for our two cockatiels. We always enjoyed browsing around and looking at the animals. We did the same on that Saturday. When we looked at the rabbits, we discovered this most beautiful white rabbit with deep blue eyes and lop ears. It looked truly stunning. However, we did not really want another animal at the time and we certainly did not want to buy one on impulse. Apart from that, I knew that my husband would never agree to having an indoor rabbit! So we left the shop and went home with only the bird food in our shopping bag.

I just could not stop myself from thinking about this lovely white ball of fur. I kept seeing it right in front of me looking at me with those big blue eyes. Throughout the evening I kept mentioning it and continued on Sunday morning. I was not trying to convince my husband - I knew he would never agree - I just expressed my feelings. Out of the blue, my husband suddenly asked me whether I wanted to have that rabbit. I did not believe what I just heard. We discussed it and I agreed overjoyed. We rushed through breakfast and getting ready and off we went hoping the bunny would still be there. And it was!

We bought all the necessary bits and pieces and were the proud new owners of a bunny. It did not take us long to find a name: CASPER - after the little white ghost with the blue eyes.

We settled Casper in his cage with bedding, food and water. He did not look terribly interested in things - we put it down to the stress of being moved around. He did not touch his food, only drank a little water. When he did not eat anything the next day either we got concerned. We booked him in for a vets appointment the next morning. Before taking him there, I phoned the pet shop to inform them, that Casper needed veterinary treatment straight away. I was first told that rabbits never eat in the first 48 hours until they settle... (they could not have been more wrong about rabbit care; rabbits need food in their intestines all the time)! I was then asked to bring him in and they would attend to it. I refused - I had this feeling that he would just be left alone somewhere without the veterinary attention that he so urgently needed. After talking to about three people on the phone, it was finally agree that they would carry the cost for my own vet. I would not have accepted anything else.

Our vet diagnosed a very serious condition which basically meant that Casper's digestive system was not working at all. The intestines were not moving anymore. Casper was given injections and oral medicine as well as pineapple juice in a desperate attempt to save him. But it was too late, he did not make it through the night. The vet stated that Casper was very thin which indicated that he had been ill for some time. Because it was our very first rabbit and we had no experience whatsoever, we did not recognise the serious condition straight away.

We were refunded the cost of the vet and of the animal itself. Of course this was no consolation in any way - but we would not let the pet shop make any profit out of this. That is why we accepted the money.

After this very distressing experience I did not want to get another rabbit straight away. My husband however thought it would be best to look for another one as quickly as possible to help me get over it. He found one in another pet shop that was recommended to him by a friend. He reserved the baby rabbit for me to have a look at him. He was honey brown with lop ears and a lovely, mischievous face. Nevertheless I wanted to wait a while. It was too soon after Casper. We kept him reserved for another few days to give me time for a decision - which the pet shop did not mind doing - even knowing that we may end up not buying him. They were most helpful indeed.

Casper however had already infected me with the "bunny bug" and after over a week we finally went ahead and brought Benji (see his own post) home. He started eating within the first five minutes without problems. Nevertheless we brought him to the vet for a check up right the next day, just to be on the safe side. He was perfectly healthy (and still is after one year). He's turned out to be the most wonderful animal one could imagine. He loves cuddles, he is so gentle and has a fantastic character all around. Although he cannot replace Casper (and we never wanted him to), he certainly is a great honour to him!

Unfortunately I don't have a picture of my beautiful baby boy Casper, but he was the most stunning blue eyed white dwarf lop!