HELP! Rabbit needs URGENT MEDICAL ATTENTION but no car!

some more pics...this was about 11 days ago..i was allowed to take him home for the weekend so i could give him his meds...i returned him on monday...his eye is much worse now and completely closed.

you can also see a video clip of him i took 11 days ago....
http://tinypic.com/r/334u452/5

This pic was taken about 3 days ago...his eye now completely shut...more discharge, and now he's not eating.... we need to take him to the vet ASAP.

Thanks. I'll look into that directory and do some more calling. I've already been to a couple animal hospitals in anseong and one doesn't know anything about rabbits, and the other doesn't have much product/medicine for rabbits. If they even prescribed me oral amoxicillin, i think that shows how much they know about rabbit care. Honestly, I don't know how well the rabbit will fare being on a bus ride for 1 hour. That's 2 hours both ways of rough ride, constant stop and go, lots of people, and it might end up being for something I could have just gone by myself and pick up. I'd have to be 100% sure this clinic or hospital will actually treat him and do something of signifcance to warrant such a risky trip. I learned my lesson with his son about 3 months ago when he suddenly lost motor skills and in my naivete i took a taxi to go directly to anseong city to an animal clinic. Cost me $25 one way, and the vet didn't have any medicine for him even though he told me to come in and see him with the rabbit. We ended up injecting anti-fertilizer medicine and anti-poison medicine which I also paid for but he ended up dying there 2 hours later. I know now that MOST clinics no very little about rabbits because they are "exotic" animals, and with some more research and direct contacts, I can make sure wherever I'm going will be a place that will actually have everything this rabbits needs.

Lastly, I apologize if I'm a little agitated right now. For me, i've been involved with this ordeal for 6 months (stretching back to his son who first had a nasty case of ear mites, then 3 months later after looking like he was completely healed, died within 12 hours after exhibiting loss of motor skills). Now I've been treating and doing everything I can for his dad the past 2 weeks, using my weekends and holidays to see him at school. So it's not new for me...and I've had to re-explain or try to regurgitate the whole story several times over on several boards, and over several phone calls with several different clinics and vets in several cities..... for you the reader, it will most likely be the first time reading about this so you're at a point where you have a fresh mind and unexhausted (is that word?) threshold of patience. I've at the end of my rope so again my apologies if i come off that way right now.

or can anyone inform as to how to rent a car in korea? Do i need a korean DL? I have my valid Cdn DL and other documents (Passport, ARC, etc). If I can rent a car, I'd just take him to Seoul myself.

Hey Karen, I clicked on that link and I'm getting a "unable to connect to network" error page.

I did a search in members and found only 1 person in anseong. Her last log in was 6 months ago. I sent a message anyways to see if she responds.

I talked with my coworker teacher and he helped me research about car rentals but I need an international driver's license....I would need to go to Yongin Transportation Ministry to apply and get it there, but they are open only M-F 9am to 3pm which is my school working hours. Even if i could do it, i'd have to first go to my Cdn Embassy to show my valid Cdn DL and get it confirmed, then bring that form to the Yongin office...the whole process could take well over a week or two by which that time i think will be too late.

There's nothing I can do simply because I don't have a car. I've explored every option I can think of and the only thing left is for someone good samaritan to give me a ride to a hospital!!

I just got off the phone again with ACRIS in Gangnam (Seoul), and they told me about hospitalizing him (i asked about that option). They would give him the injections and medicines he needs but it would cost me $80 a day for him to stay....if he stays up to the recommended 7 days, it'll run me around $560. I can't see any other option for him. Even if i got a ride to the hospital, i would probably need to go several times for injections...thats why i thought a one-time visit would be good to drop him off and they take care of him for a few days to recovery and then i can pick him up (minimize the travelling). He's not even my rabbit and I'm just a NET acting as a good samaritan to try and help him! If there is any others out there who think they can pitch in and help me cover the costs of his hospitalization, it would help me greatly. I want to do this as soon as possible but I'm still gasping at the $500 it might cost me out of my own pocket. Please check my updates on http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f27/help-diagnose-young-rabbit-71017/index2... .... what else is there left to do other than fork up the money to cover his costs, or just turn my back and let him die?

I even considered just buying a used car but drive ILLEGALLY without a Korean DL just cuz the chances of me getting pulled over or caught is very small...i could successfully get him to and from a hospital multiple times ...but my coworker said if the car breaks down or i get caught....well there's goes my employment here too. All this for a rabbit. I think i'd rather just try the hospitalization method and try and raise funds to help cover the costs for him.

I called a whole bunch of places in Anseong and Pyeongtaek and none of them can hospitalize the rabbit. Most of them don't even treat rabbits. It seems I have no choice but to go to ACRIS in Seoul. I've decided that I'm going to ask one of my korean teachers who lives in Seongnam if he give me a ride to Seongnam at least. Then from there I can take a taxi and get to ACRIS in Gangnam. If he agrees, I will take the rabbit today in about 30 minutes...hospitalize him at ACRIS for 7 days and pay $560 out of my own pocket. I just have to do this even if nobody will help me and donate some funds. I just can't live knowing what he's gone through and knowing that it was only money that meant the difference between living and dying.

I will update everyone some more later once I find out if I can go immediatey right after work in 30 minutes. I'll bus it back by myself to Anseong after I drop him off at ACRIS.

Thank you for the cool pet info....i actually tried calling them 3 times all day today and their line was busy with the background ad and then just hangs up on me.

I just finished talking with my Korean Teacher and my school and they all approved. One of my Korean teachers said he can drop me off at the ACRIS hospital in Gangnam since he lives near Bundang. I have set up the appointment at the hospital to receive him so it's all set, im going in 15 minutes.

I was talking to another vet in Pyeongtaek and he was trying to convince me to come to his place even though they are not as specialized for rabbits as ACRIS. He said that the transportation could be bad for the rabbit. I dont actually know the age of the rabbit. He was here when I got to this school 3 years ago come this september. The longest serving staff was here in April of the same year I came (only 6 months earlier than me) and she said the white rabbit was here too. So he's at least 3.5 years old. Most likely he is 4-5 years old. The Pyeongtaek vet told me that since he's getting old, he might not respond to treatment so all of this could be a waste (in terms of how much money i'm about to spend for him).

How much of what he said is true? If a rabbit is say 6 years old, is it normal for rabbit owners to just let the rabbit go (put to sleep)? Is that really too old to invest 500 bucks in medical bills to help him recover or is it still worth it? I never thought about the age issue, but he never looked that old to me too. I always thought he was pretty young but maybe he just looks good for his age. Anyways, these are just last minute thoughts before I leave for Seoul. It'll be a long day for me..i won't get home by probably 10pm when I take the bus from nambu terminal.

Wish me luck guys....this is all for the rabbit...i really dont care about the money right now...can't think of anything else other than getting him hospitalized.

It's 10:40pm and I just got back from ACRIS in Gangnam. First off, regardless of the outcome, I'm so thankful to my korean teacher (a homeroom teacher), who drove me all the way there and even stayed the whole time while we were talking to the vet and looking into options. I feel like he really went above and beyond his way to do this for me today and I'm deeply overwhelmed and thankful to him.

The staff at ACRIS were incredibly nice and knowledgeable and you tell right away they knew how to handle rabbits.

The bad news is after they examined him (he weighed 2.42kg + cleaned out the gunk in his eye with saline solution), they said his eye is already irrecoverable. When they opened his eye up for the first time in 4 days, his eyeball was covered in that white pus color. I told him that before his eye swelled up and shut, his eyeball was clear, black, and didn't look to be a problem at all. I'm not sure what cause his eye to become irrecoverable after his eye got more swollen and shut. They said that he'll be blind in that eye and that it was already necrotizing? (the term that means it's in the process of death). The only option given really for him to live on is to surgically remove the eye. At that point, I realized that he had to be put down and I couldn't control my emotions. I wasn't expecting that news that his eye was this bad. I was prepared just enough to pay the 7 day hospitalization fee (7x$80) and then pick him up healed, and return to normal life. But now this meant not only would I have to pay $330 more for his eye surgery, but hospitalization too for his recovery time after surgery, and now some after care if/when he is released from hospital. It meant that he most likely would need someone to take him in for good and keep in a clean environment and look after him. With much distress and tears, I had decided he should be put down because I have no idea how i can commit to take him in after the surgery and now give him full attention as my own rabbit. There was no guarantee too that he would survive the surgery cuz of the use of anasthesia. I kept looking at him and he seemed so fine except for the eye...and he was still breathing so fast cuz of being nervous and he'd prop up and down to look around his new surroundings.

After I told them that was my decision, they convinced me (but I sort of wanted to change my decision too) that all the vets there didn't think euthanasia was the best for him because they believe he could be fine and live normally after the surgery. Then they told me, he could possibly still keep the eye, but he'll just be blind....so they suggested, why not i just let him stay for a couple days and they will treat him and see how the infection responds. If they can get the infection under control, then we won't need the surgery and he can just keep the blind eye in there, but if he's not getting better, then they'll tell me after 3 days that he needs to get it removed. Obviously, i had 2 thoughts run through my mind...one good and one bad. The bad thought was that maybe these guys are just milking me out of as much as they can before the rabbit dies. I dished out $200 to keep him there for 3 days under there care and treatment....and opted not to do surgery right now...after 3 days, they'll tell me if they think he can make it without removing his eye or if he must have the surgery. I have a feeling these 3 days I just paid for aren't going to mean anything....after 3 days, they'll just tell me that his eye infection is not significantly better or cleared up and i need to give him surgery. I would have been better off just paying for the surgery now ($330) and then 7 days of hospitalization afterwards ($560), for a grand total of just under 900. But now, if I do the surgery 3 days later, its the 200+330+560 of after surgery hospitalization and i'm paying way more than i first started lol..... now that's my bad thought. Do you guys get what I'm saying? I'm sorry I can't type and say things clearly right now, im completely wasted, stressed out, been on emotional rollercoaster all day, had to go through horrible traffic and then bus it back home.... I just don't know what the hell i got myself into sometimes. But one thing I know for sure is that i didn't him to die just yet. I want to give them a chance to see if they can help him recover without the eye surgery....but my guess is the eye surgery will be required and i'll just end up dishing out more money than I bargained for. So one moment he was on the brink of being euthanized to the next moment, me agreeing to let them hospitalize him for 3 days and then see if he needs surgery...then hospitalize him some more, then when he's ready to go home (if he survives the surgery) I now have committed to take care of him in my place. I worry what will happen when I have to leave this country ....not sure I can take him with me to Canada....I just know that me having to say bye to him later, will be harder than if i just said bye to him now.

Ok I'll stop rambling...im giving myself a headache...im mixed in feelings right now because im totally content knowing he's still alive and has a chance to live on even if albeit blind forever in one eye....but im stressed and kinda in shock that i just committed to dish out 1k for a rabbit that's not even mine, and now looks like i'll have to care for him everyday in my home for the rest of his life...

How did it all come to this? I was just a NET who was compassionate about animals, and wanted to get him medicine. Now this.... I'll find out on Saturday what they say about his progress....but again, initially, they said it was really bad and worse than they thought and said right away the eye is lost (irrecoverable) and he needs to have surgery to remove it.

A couple pics of him i took while he was at the hospital....

This is a short video i took while in the car on the way to Seoul. We left my town at 5:15pm and we got to hospital at 7:30pm...lots of traffic...he was nervous during the whole ride, heart beating/breathing fast and once in a while
he would peek up...i tried to just lay my hand on him or near him to ease or calm him...not sure if it helped...
Car ride: on the way to Seoul
http://tinypic.com/r/23lmcde/5

I'll be updating the situation and a couple of ppl so far have expressed interest in visiting him at the hospital and trying to raise funds.

I created a new paypal email for anyone who is able to donate any amount.
It's: [email protected]

This is mainly to just help the cost of the hospitalization and pending surgery he'll most likely need.

I've already paid $217 last night to get him hospitalized and another $50 as a gift for my coworker who drove me 2 hours all the way to the big city hospital.

I don't want to anyone to feel guilty or feel obligated and normally I don't like asking for any money (I declined a couple donations a few months back when things were well within my manageability). But now it's grown exceedingly beyond what I believe most ppl would pay for a rabbit that is not even their own. I want to do everything I can to help him live a full and normal life while I'm still here.

I've already committed to paying well over 1k out of my own pocket and will do so even if I get no donations. But at this point, yes, any help will be big help.

Costs: $217 - 3 day hospitalization *hospitalization includes all the injection/medince he'll need
$50 - gift for coworker who drove me 2 hours to get him to big city
$330 - for eye surgery removal
$560 - (7 days x $80/day) for hospitalization after his surgery

Total: $1157.00 (converted to cdn or us dollar maybe around $900-$950).

Funds raised: $0.00

Donation can be made via paypal at: [email protected]
or if you're in korea and want to make a direct bank transfer to my NH bank account, I can try that also.

(this will be cross-linked also at: http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f27/help-diagnose-young-rabbit-71017/index2...

And also if someone can add this to facebook in ARK facebook (mainly ppl who live in Korea, expats and korean citizens) that would be helpful too.

Anyone who is in or around the area of Gangnam, Seoul and would like to visit him in the hospital (ACRIS), you are more than welcome. He'll be there at least for another couple days, and if we opt for the surgery, most likely another 7 days after. I'll inform them that he may get visitors so hopefully they allow that.

Last but not least, I'm looking ahead down the road and interested in anyone who might be able to ADOPT him after he is recovered and ready to leave the hospital. If there is anyone who might want to be his owner or you know anyone who might be able to give him a good and loving home, I'd be more than happy to see him go with you. I'll take him if no one can, but I'll keep looking out for any new owners, because I'm not sure how well and how long I can care for him with my limited experience in owning rabbits, and no car for transportation (so if he gets sick again or simply needs a medical checkup, I can't send him to the vets again...).

I think I'll just apply for an INTERNATIONAL DRIVER'S LICENSE anyways because at our school we have 2 new baby rabbits who are about 3 weeks old now and who knows if they'll ever need medical attention one day...i should plan ahead...i'll post video of them if you like...they are so adorable...getting bigger and eyes are opening...but still sleeping most of the day.

I just wanted to say thank you to Eileen who visited the rabbit today at ACRIS hospital and made a donation for his surgery! Thank you so much!

Thanks so much again! I just received 2 more donations from my original thread at rabbitsonline.net and I'm just so grateful for everyone who is helping whether by donation or by words of encouragement, or spreading the news around. The rabbit has now received a total of 3 donors! Total funds raised is now at: $220.00

Since he's at the hospital in Seoul and I'm in my small town 1.5 hours away, I can't see him! I miss him already and I want to take his pics and videos... right now, we just have to hope and pray he'll recover enough strength and health to be ok for the surgery and come out clean!

Actually, this is something funny I want to share. I was just watching a movie today called '300'. It's about those Spartans. I just realized that there was this one guy who ended up losing an eye in battle, and he went on to narrate the whole story because Leonidus sent him back home to share the story so nobody will ever forget. It just felt weird cuz when I saw him with his eye patch n all and giving his motivational speech, the first thing I thought of was the rabbit. He even kinda looks like a rabbit.

Here i put the picture side by side. Maybe we should name him Dilios since that is the character's name?

WOW! Thanks for taking that video of him! I see some poop again even though they are small still so it's good he's getting his appetite back after i stopped giving him the oral antibiotics 3 days in (baytril). Wow, they put such delicious food out for him!

I just returned from Seoul a few minutes ago. I'm so sorry but he did not make it. I got the call while riding the subway from the hospital that he had a weak heart beat and they told me it was an emergency. I was already on the way there and when I got there, they told me he had died just a minute or so before I arrived. He was laying on the table, half covered in a blanket and the vet nurse was very sad with tears in her eyes also explaining what happened.

The cause of death is not really known, but it is believe not to be as a result of the eye infection, but due to his general health/condition which was getting worse each day. He had stopped eating or eating regularly about 5 days ago when I had him at my workplace and was giving him oral antibiotic. I stopped giving it to him when I saw it was robbing him of his appetite just like the amoxicillin did a week previous. He didn't much at all during the 2 days prior to sending him to the big city hospital. Then while he was hospitalized for 3 days there, they had given all sorts of food but he hardly ate...maybe only sparingly and they said they tried to syringe feed him too but he wouldn't eat still. Combined with the fact that he was under extreme stress during these days (the travelling, the examination, the new environment at the hospital), I believe he died of a heart failure. He was breathing really fast during the ride and I'm sure his heart rate didn't settle down during the 3 days there too.

So he did not have to go through with the surgery or anything else, which I was visiting there today to pay for anyways. As a result, I have refunded all the donations made to me back to you and truly appreciate and thank all of you for your support and help in this time. It's been stressful for me too, but having received such generous and caring support from people I don't even know from all over the world, means so much to me.

Maybe his story is a bit of a sad ending, but maybe it's a good thing he's now no longer suffering and I believe there is an afterlife where I can see them again one day and they'll know me and I'll remember them.

I think I will take a break now from these forums......it's been such a rollercoaster of emotions and now that everything has been taken out of my hands and it's a done issue, I can just sort of let it go and put everything at peace now. Thank you all so much again for your time, patience, support, and everything else you did to help me through this. It means a lot to know there is a such a loving community of animal (rabbit) lovers out there who care this much.

God bless you all.

This is the last picture of him....he was already dead when I arrived but his eye was open and I was petting him the whole time while talking with the vet.

I had made a "in memory of" video for Lucky Star (his son) when he died back in March.....i don't think I can stomach making another one but I thought I'd just share the quick
video I made for him....as images and videos of dad rabbit too and pics of mom rabbit (before she died also 1 year ago). The ending in korean just means that i will miss them so much and one day in heaven I will see them again and bring them lots of yummy and delicious food for them again (like I did during their time on earth). I fed them for almost 3 years every day.

In Memory Video (repeat from Lucky Star)

http://tinypic.com/r/24x2jr4/5