[TerryL]

i am having a very tough time tonight. many years ago my bunny was sick and the vet instructed me on how to treat her at home. i followed his instructions but during the treatment she died i felt so guilty for years. i know i was just following the vet's instructions but still, i was the one who was treating her. i had kind of thought it through and i knew it was not entirely my fault (if at all). now that i know more i have realized that the vet's instructions were awful and dangerous. but recently i was telling someone about what happened and it stirred up all the guilt again. i would never intentionally hurt an animal and to think of what happened is just so hard.

[Citrine]

You know now that the vet was wrong to leave you to treat your animal and the actual instructions were very bad. The chances of success were very low. I truly can feel how guilty you must feel as I adore animals too. We are their guardians, caretakers and like children they rely on us but unlike children they are not also cared for by external parties (school, social services even the lady at the school crossing) all of whom keep a 2nd watch on everyones children. Animals have no others watching over them. It is very hard to keep them safe and well all of the time. The guilt you feel serves a purpose even though its painful, it ensures you never get into a situation like that again and that you will strive to be even better than before. It just goes too far and makes you feel very bad about yourself. Clearly you are a loving owner or you wouldnt have posted this. Hugs to you.

[Travelinglady]

TerryL, I understand your guilt, but you did what you thought was best at the time. We assume the docs know what they are talking about! Please don't try to beat yourself over what you did. You know in your heart that you did all you knew how to do for your bunny. Okay?

[googley]

I'm so sorry you lost your bunny. Loss of a pet is a painful thing. You did the best you could and took the directions from the vet. The vet should have given you better instructions. You took the advice of a professional. You trusted the vet. You didn't know not to trust the vet. Professionals are supposed to give us good advice. This isn't your fault, it is the fault of the vet who gave you bad advice.

[Rose76]

I know from experience that Vets can sometimes give wrong advice. But you acted in good faith, believing that you were doing the best for your pet. That's all you could have done at the time.

Future pets that you would have would be the beneficiaries of what you leaned - the hard way - from past experiences with pets. That's just how life is. I loved my dog who is gone now for 7 years. I am still thinking, at times, of how I could have spared her some pain if I knew beforehand what I learned through caring for her when she was sick. I can get myself quite upset about it, but I always stop myself and think: I did my best at the time. If I adopt another doggie, I will be wiser on a number of fronts. We're human and we learn through the unhappy discovery that we have deficits of knowledge.

You are so interested in what could have been done best that you are still investigating and learning. That's how you even found out that what you thought was the right protocol may not have been. How responsible of you to still care enough to find these things out. Allow yourself to be human, just like you were content for your bunny to be what it was capable of being . . . and did not expect it to be something beyond that.