A paralysed rabbit is hopping for joy after being given the chance to walk again - with a bunny wheelchair. Bertha the bunny was left unable to move around her home after her hips collapsed in May. But ignoring vets' advice to put her down, her devoted owner created a specially-designed wheelchair to give her a new lease of life. Struggling: Bertha the bunny was left unable to move around her home after her hips collapsed in May Melanie James (pictured) was determined to give her pet a second chance:  'The vet and myself can't believe how well the wheelchair is actually working so we've got everything crossed that it will go to plan.' Melanie James, who adopted Bertha as a baby four years ago, said: 'When the vet said the nicest thing to do would be to put her down, she still had so much life. 'I've actually seen dogs in wheelchairs and I thought 'if it works for a dog, then why not a rabbit?' 'It took her two days to take to the wheelchair but it's given her so much independence.

'She's always been very dominant and if she didn't want to do something she wouldn't. 'She sits in it maybe for a couple of hours and then she has a rest.' The specially-adapted wheelchair hooks on to Bertha's back end and means she can finally roam freely around her home at the Ani-Mel charity in Bank Mill, Cumbria. Defiant: Ignoring vets' advice to put her down, her devoted owner created a specially-designed wheelchair to give her a new lease of life Melanie James, who adopted Bertha as a baby four years ago, said: 'When the vet said the nicest thing to do would be to put her down, she still had so much life' The specially-adapted wheelchair hooks on to Bertha's back end and means she can finally roam freely around her home at the Ani-Mel charity in Bank Mill, Cumbria 'It's actually a puppy wheelchair that's been adapted to fit her and hopefully within the not too distant future she was regain mobility herself,' said Melanie. Bertha was injured when a fracture to her back leg went unnoticed and healed itself, forming a callous.

Due to her size and weight as a giant rabbit, this led to hip dysplasia, and infections on her hip and back. She needed daily treatment to avoid infection, and a vet she should be put down, with the alternative being daily baths, physio, antibiotic injectionstable and chair rentals in fort pierce fl and as much movement as possible.table and chairs for sale stockton on tees But Melanie was determined to give her pet a second chance.salon chair rental wisconsin She said: 'The vet and myself can't believe how well the wheelchair is actually working so we've got everything crossed that it will go to plan.tub chairs online hyderabad

'The majority, maybe 98 per cent of people, think I'm doing really well and that it's great how she's adapted but you still get the odd one saying she'd be better off put down. 'My answer to that is that wherever there is still life, everything deserves a chance.old barber chair singapore 'I first thought when she lost the use of her legs that she would just give in but she hasn't and her muscles keep getting stronger.'tub chairs online hyderabad What we typically do is use diapers (huggies #1 or some other brand of size 1) to keep the bun dry. I pull the diaper, still folded, from the package, and cut a hole out of the butt end of it. When you unfold it, it is in exactly the right spot for the tail to poke out. I like this because the tail stays dry and also the poops come out, which prevents them from mixing with the urine and getting all mushy.

Then I usually lay the rabbit on a nice synthetic sheepskin rug wherever he wants to be. Your rabbit may be mobile with his front legs, in which case he’ll just pull himself around your house with those. My last guy, Dandelion, was super strong with his front legs and could move very fast. So I just let him do what he wanted, and changed his diaper twice or three times a day. In terms of feeding, if your bun’s appetite is still good, then he can eat anything he wants, as much as he wants. You want to provide food for him ALL the time, to keep his weight up (he’ll lose quite a bit just from a loss of muscle mass). If his appetite is not very good, you can syringe feed him a pellet slurry (recipe in House Rabbit Handbook) and also baby food carrots, squash, applesauce, and stuff like that (step 1). Sometimes when they first get paralyzed the appetite goes away, and if you syringe feed him, it’ll start to come back bit by bit till he’s eating 100% on his own. That’s what happened with Dandelion.

So don’t be too discouraged if at first he doesn’t want to eat or drink on his own. Many disabled rabbits learn to use a cart to get around in. Companies that sell such carts include Doggon Wheels, Eddie’s Wheels, and Handicapped Pets. Beyond that, just give him lots of attention, and make sure he doesn’t feel isolated. Find out more about disabled rabbits here.A disabled rabbit has been given a new lease of life thanks to a miniature wheelchair. And although she is not exactly hopping for joy, Bertha the giant bunny is happily trundling around on her new wheels. Her owner Melanie James ignored the advice of vets to have the four year old put down when her hips collapsed earlier this year. “When the vet said the nicest thing to do would be to put her down, she still had so much life” said Melanie, who runs an animal charity and designed the rabbit chariot herself. “I’ve actually seen dogs in wheelchairs and I thought ‘if it works for a dog, then why not a rabbit?’

“It took her two days to take to the wheelchair but it’s given her so much independence. “She’s always been very dominant and if she didn’t want to do something she wouldn’t. “She sits in it maybe for a couple of hours and then she has a rest. “It’s actually a puppy wheelchair that’s been adapted to fit her and hopefully within the not too distant future she was regain mobility herself,” said Melanie, who runs the Ani-Mel Haven in Silloth on Solway, Cumbria. She needed daily treatment to avoid infection and a vet decided she should be put down. But Melanie, who adopted Bertha when she was just a kit, was determined to give her a second chance. She said: “The vet and myself can’t believe how well the wheelchair is actually working so we’ve got everything crossed that it will go to plan. “The majority, maybe 98 per cent of people, think I’m doing really well and that it’s great how she’s adapted but you still get the odd one saying she’d be better off put down.