Old Man Bo(nzo), the Tibetan Terrier and Wilberforce, the rabbit, have had a really bad time of it recently and have both found their way to me and I have promised them that I will help them heal and recover from their ordeals but as much as I like to think of my self as very independant, I’m afraid I find myself having to ask others for help to fund their much needed vet treatments and costs to help them to start having full lives again.

Old Man Bo’s story

Bo is an old boy, thought to be between 11 and 14 years of age and in the recent months, he has suffered horrible neglect and has been let down by the people who should have protected him in his Autumn years.

Bo weighs 6.4kg (he should be over 10kg) and he’s skeletal. He’s got very limited vision, he’s deaf, his claws were the longest I’ve seen on an animal still able to move, his coat was a matted mess, hes sporadically incontinent, had an eye infection and his teeth are abysmal and will need removing. I also suspect he has a sinus infection which I will be consulting my vet on tomorrow.

But the most shocking thing of all was when, shortly after de-matting his feet/pads, I discovered maggots. Lots of them. They’d been living in one of the thick, claggy mats that encapsulated one of his paws. I almost threw up on the spot but instead just cried my eyes out.

No creature deserves to be left to rot like this and when that creature also has the most beautiful and trusting disposition, it makes it even harder to believe.

Wilberforce’s story

Wilber arrived with me this afternoon after a pair of wonderful people managed to get him to safety, after seeing a post on social media about a rabbit running free on a local road and appeared to be in a bad way.

I am not a natural Rabbit mum but I‘ve found myself taking them in over the last year from a range of backgrounds and with various ailments, and Wilberforce brings that number to 10.

Wilberforce is around 4-5 months old and likely has Angora in his genes which means his fur needs A LOT of maintenance. Sadly, for Wilber, this hasn‘t happened (I don’t believe a rabbit can become 70% matted in a day or two) and he now faces extensive grooming to demat him and this will likely have to be done at the vets as some of his mats are so close to his skin (around his neck and chest, in particular) that it wouldn’t be safe to do so without sedation, at least.

Wilber is underweight and is generally out of condition. His teeth also need examination as he drools, and this could be a sign of dental disease (and at such a young age :(). It can also be assumed that Wilberforce has not been vaccinated and he hasn’t been neutered and I’d like to get both of these things sorted for him, funds permitting as it‘s so important for long term rabbit health.

I’d be truly humbled and forever grateful to anyone that can spare even a few pennies as both Bo & Wilber are going to need a considerable amount of care and vet treatment before they’re well again.

Animals are my very reason for existing and I want to be able to do the best for both of these boys, because they’ve been let down so much.

I’m currently waiting on estimates for Bo’s teeth extractions but it is expected to be well into the late hundreds of Pounds, at least and I will post updates as soon as I can.

Thank you so much.

From Alys, Bo, Wilberforce and all my orher wonderful animal 💜