March 4, 2000

by Vickee L. Greer, MCAH Advisory Board Member

In November of 1999, Mrs. Rabbit’s students began to notice there was blood in her cage. At first it was thought she might have caught a toenail in the wire of the cage. They watched her closely and found that she was passing blood in her urine. Mrs. Nunes called me and I picked up Mrs. Rabbit and took her to Martin Schafer, DVM in Beckwourth, CA. After listening to her history and doing a physical exam, Dr. Schafer felt Mrs. Rabbit might have pre-cancerous or cancerous problems with her uterus. After a few other tests the decision was made to spay her.

Dr. Schafer volunteered to keep the bill "to cost" to help the students. Dr. Schafer felt this was a "feel good" case for him. I provided weekly updates to the students and I was always asked how soon Mrs. Rabbit could come back to school. After her surgery Mrs. Rabbit came to recuperate at my home. She healed at amazing speed and seemed to take the surgery in stride.

Students would come up to me and mention that they were planning bake sales to earn money to pay for Mrs. Rabbit’s veterinary care. I brought Mrs. Rabbit to school shortly before Christmas break. I felt Mrs. Rabbit needed to see her students and the students needed to be reassured that she was healing and doing well. Two students mentioned that when they had brought up the subject of Mrs. Rabbit’s operation, another viewpoint had been expressed to euthanize her and get another rabbit. It is true that rabbits are not generally expensive animals to come by. This provided the opportunity to talk about how there were a number of different options. The students felt that Mrs. Rabbit was their class pet and deserved the chance to be treated and come back to the class.

Students and parents participated in bake sales at the direction of Mrs. Nunes. It took about three sales to earn enough money to pay for the vet bill. The students have developed pride about their involvement. They were the ones who noticed that their friend needed immediate help. If they had not paid close attention, Mrs. Rabbit would have probably died at that time. They have expressed pride that they took responsibility for her care and earned the money to pay for her bill.

Sadly, on March 8, Mrs. Rabbit passed away. She survived four quality months from the time she had her surgery. The students have no doubt that their efforts were worth the extra time they had with Mrs. Rabbit. Her students buried her. When I visited her resting-place there was a small concrete headstone bearing her name and the date she died. There was also a hand full of baby carrots lying on top of her quiet spot.

I know that Mrs. Nunes and I are both proud of these young men and women. We are impressed with their humanity. Mrs. Rabbit will be missed by her students. She taught valuable lessons to her young people about life’s situations.

This story is dedicated to the students of Loyalton Intermediate School and, of course, Mrs. Rabbit.

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