B A A H A U S
examination by
an expert in rabbit
health led to the following conclusions:
Eiko is completely blind; his teeth are
malformed; one side of his head is
somewhat collapsed, either from a
genetic defect or some kind of abuse
at a very young age; he may be missing
facial bones and/or sinus
cavities on
the right side of his head.
It was hard to understand how
Eiko had
survived this long. Obviously, his
Tacoma rescuer, while not realizing the
full extent of his handicaps, took gentle
care of him.
But how did he survive babyhood? Or
was his head mashed in later by an-
other animal or a human? We will never
know, but Eiko is living a relatively full
life now, as part of the large BaaHaus
rabbit colony. For his
own safety, Eiko
has his own living quarters where he
can hear and smell the other rabbits all
around him. He vocalizes and seems
happy, at times cuddly and responsive
to human touch. His rescuer had de-
scribed him as "very brave." She only
knew the half of it.
This very small rabbit (1.5 pounds) came to us via a referral from the House Rabbit Society of Washington, a nonprofit shelter in Seattle.
Eiko had been rescued by a Tacoma woman and her son, but their circumstances were changing and they could not keep the bunny. So Eiko came over to Vashon.
One glance at him told us that
things were not quite right in Eiko's world. Aside from a heavy infestation
of fleas and ear mites, he had a slightly askew expression, and his
reflexes seemed strange. A thorough
