CHAPTER 22 – In Case of Emergency
Dad placed a large plastic box on the floor and spread out a bunch of items. Abigail wondered what all these strange items were in her territory, so she hopped over to investigate. None of them looked familiar to her. She sniffed, and decided they certainly weren’t edible. “What do I do with this?” she asked with her inquisitive eyes.
Dad looked down at her as he began placing the items in the box. “Well, Abigail, I’m making an emergency kit for you. I call it a Rabbit Response Kit. It’s in case you ever have an emergency,” he explained, “Hopefully, we’ll never need this, but if something happened to you, I might not have time to run around the house looking for all this stuff.”
The first item to go in the box, was some Nutri-Rescue. “This is in case you stop eating and I have to feed you,” he explained. “So your insides don’t slow down too much.”
Next came medical supplies – a roll of gauze, scissors, tweezers, some little sticks for splints, a bottle of styptic powder to stop bleeding, a spray bottle of Vetericyn for cleaning wounds, a package of antibacterial cloth mitts for wiping her coat or his hands, and some paper towels. “This stuff is in case you get hurt,” he said.
Then came the health check items – a stethoscope for checking her heartbeat, a digital thermometer for taking her temperature, some Vaseline for inserting the thermometer where she wouldn’t like it, and some smaller syringes for administering oral medication. Dad had learned from volunteering at a rabbit rescue place that it was important to be able monitor a rabbit’s heartbeat and temperature.
“In case you get cold, I have this pet warming pad which I can heat up in a microwave oven to help keep you warm,” he said, placing a padded disc in the box.
Then came the paperwork – her vet’s name, address, directions, and phone, as well the closest emergency clinic’s name, address, directions, and phone. He listed her basic stats – weight and birthday. And he wrote down typical rabbit vital statistics; respiratory rate – 50 breaths per minute, pulse – 130 beats/minute, temperature –101-104 degrees F, because during emergencies, sometimes it’s hard to remember this stuff.
And, just in case he wasn’t home during the emergency, he listed HIS contact information for the pet sitter for easy reference.
Dad made a big red cross on the lid, using some red electrical tape. He added a couple of rabbit stickers for fun, and then labeled it the “Rabbit Response Kit”. He placed it in the closet. Abigail stood up on her back feet and peered inside. Next to it, she saw her carrier and a cloth bag containing a blanket, a spare litter box, some litter, a towel, a bag of hay, a container of pellets, a water dish, and a bottle of water. She wondered what all that was for. “That’s so if we suddenly have to leave quickly, I can not only save YOU, but I have supplies for you until we can get settled somewhere,” explained Dad.
Abigail was impressed. Dad was prepared! “Were you a boy scout?” she wondered. Dad laughed, “You are the most precious thing in the world to me, Abigail. I just want to know I can take care of you – no matter what happens!”
