CHICAGO — A baby bunny rescued from Ping Tom Park has finally "turned the corner" after being infested with more ticks than his vets had ever seen, animal shelter workers said.
Ping Tom, a tiny, black-and-white Dutch rabbit, is named after the Chinatown park where he was found abandoned Aug. 30 by staff from Red Door Animal Shelter.
"He probably wasn’t going to make it 24 more hours," said Marcia Coburn, president of Red Door, a Rogers Park no-kill shelter that takes in dogs, cats and rabbits. "He was in bad shape."
The shelter set up an IndieGoGo fundraiser Wednesday with a $1,045 goal to help pay for Ping Tom's extensive medical bills.
Kyla Gardner says the bunny will eventually need a new home:
The rabbit was found dehydrated, malnourished and covered by 200 ticks and fly slime, which meant flies had been eating at his flesh. He had also been out in 90-degree summer heat for at least several days, Coburn said.
"We don’t know what shape he was in when he got dumped," she said. "A lot of rabbits just can't last long at all."
Not to mention that Ping Tom was also just 3 or 4 weeks old — much too young to have been separated from his mother, which usually happens around 10 weeks, Coburn said.
"How bewildering it must have been for him," she said.
Staff knew the tiny bunny might just have the spunk to survive when he immediately chomped down on the lettuce given to him.
"We have never seen a rabbit eat it [right away], because they're too frightened at first," Coburn said. The shelter is no stranger to taking in abandoned rabbits, especially after Easter.
Though Ping Tom was extremely weak, he also put up a bit of a fight when staff tried to capture him, Coburn said.
He was then rushed to an emergency animal hospital, where veterinarians removed the ticks and found an additional 10 bot fly larvae underneath his skin.
The vets said "they’ve never seen so many ticks on one animal ever in their lives," Coburn said.
After weeks of slow healing, the future is finally looking bright for Ping Tom.
"I don't want to jinx him, but he seems to have turned the corner and is doing pretty well," Coburn said.
Now about 10 weeks old, the rabbit still has a few months until he's old enough to be neutered, micro-chipped and made available for adoption.
When he is available, Coburn said she didn't think Red Door would have any problem finding him a new home.
"He's going to be a happy, healthy bunny," Coburn said. "He’s really sweet, and he really likes people."
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