Hydrotherapy is a common therapeutic option: for rabbits…

07 May Hydrotherapy is a common therapeutic option: for rabbits…

Aching Rabbit Now Hydrotherapy Believer

from Aqua

In our crusade to turn pools and spas into health and wellness products, we celebrate every victory, no matter how small:

A 15-pound continental giant rabbit from Dorset, England, has officially joined the movement. Heidi, the bunny in question, suffers from rabbitoid arthritis and for months has endured in silence the pain and stiffness that accompanies this debilitating disease.

Finally, her vet, aware of the medically proven benefits of warm water immersion, prescribed hydrotherapy. Seemed like a good idea, but Heidi’s owner, Amanda Williams of Christchurch, immediately began to wonder how the land-lubbing rabbit would take to the aquatic environment?

“Like a duck to water,” she told the BBC in a recent interview. Williams adds that Heidi also enjoys her post-workout shower. “None of us thought she would tolerate even one minute in water. She is certainly a lot more lively and is obviously benefiting from this treatment.”

Twice a week the big bunny now paddles around a heated pool in a little orange vest, enjoying freedom of movement she must have believed was lost forever