PAWS Rescue Clinic Story
Cowboy Cooper
The Rabbit Who Almost Didn’t Get a Chance
A story of rescue, courage, medical care, and the extraordinary difference a second chance can make.
JOURNEY
May 2024 – June 2025
SUPPORT GIVEN
Emergency rescue, abscess surgery and recovery care
Meet Cowboy Cooper
In May 2024, Cowboy Cooper’s future looked painfully uncertain. He and his unwell bonded companion, Cowgirl Callie, were facing euthanasia after no home had been found for them. They were being kept in small cages, surrounded by noisy dogs, while time ran out.
Then Romeo’s Rabbit Rescue stepped in. Cowboy Cooper was given the chance to be safe, desexed, vaccinated, microchipped and loved. For a while, it looked as though his hardest days were behind him — until a serious infection threatened his life all over again.
Veterinary care donated
Over $1,270
Through Little Pet Vet and the PAWS Rescue Clinic, Cowboy Cooper received advanced diagnostics, abscess surgery, hospitalisation, laboratory testing, medication, supportive feeding and ongoing recovery care.
Emergency assessment
Dental radiography
Abscess surgery
Antibiotic beads
Recovery support
A second chance almost lost
After being rescued, Cowboy Cooper began to settle into a safer life. But in early 2025, his carers noticed worrying changes. He was losing weight, drooling, becoming weak and showing signs of pain and infection around his face.
What first looked like a skin problem soon became far more serious. A mass developed beneath his jaw and rapidly enlarged. He became lethargic, dehydrated and unwell, and at one point his temperature reached 41.1°C.
A frightening infection
Dental radiographs were performed to determine whether the infection was coming from the teeth. Surprisingly, the dental structures appeared largely normal. Instead, large abscess pockets were found beneath the jaw and extending into the left cheek.
The abscesses were opened, drained, debrided and packed with specialised antibiotic beads designed to release medication directly into the infected tissues. Samples were submitted for culture and sensitivity testing so treatment could be targeted to the bacteria responsible.
Slowly, he came back
The days after surgery were difficult. Cowboy Cooper needed pain relief, antibiotics, supportive feeding, fluids and repeated abscess flushes. His carers watched closely for every sign that he was improving.
Then the small victories began. He started eating more on his own. The abscesses produced less discharge. His weight began to climb. By March 2025, the swelling had almost completely resolved, and the rabbit who had almost been lost was becoming himself again.
Cowboy Cooper’s journey
A simple timeline of the moments that shaped his second chance.
May 2024
Cowboy Cooper and Cowgirl Callie were facing euthanasia before Romeo’s Rabbit Rescue stepped in and gave them a chance at safety.
May 2024
He was desexed, vaccinated and microchipped, beginning the safe new life that every rabbit deserves.
January 2025
Cowboy Cooper became underweight, dehydrated and unwell, with drooling and a worsening lesion on his face.
February 2025
A large abscess beneath his jaw required urgent surgery, drainage, debridement, culture testing and antibiotic bead implantation.
March 2025
The abscess had nearly resolved, his appetite improved, and he was gaining weight again.
June 2025
Cowboy Cooper was bright, healthy and well-conditioned, with no signs of abscess recurrence and only a small stable bony thickening where the infection had once been.
What PAWS Rescue Clinic support helped provide
Emergency veterinary assessment
Blood and urine testing
Dental radiography
Major abscess surgery
Antibiotic bead implantation
Culture and sensitivity testing
Hospitalisation and fluids
Pain relief and antibiotics
Supportive feeding and recovery care
“Cowboy Cooper’s story is a reminder that second chances matter. He was saved from euthanasia, then saved again when serious illness threatened to take away the future he had only just begun.”
The Team Behind Cowboy Cooper
Romeo’s Rabbit Rescue
Stepped in when Cowboy Cooper and Cowgirl Callie had nowhere else to go, giving them safety, care and a future.
Foster Carers
Provided daily monitoring, supportive feeding, medication, comfort and the love that helped him keep fighting.
Little Pet Vet
Performed diagnostics, surgery, laboratory testing and ongoing medical care to treat his life-threatening abscess and support his recovery.
See more of Cowboy Cooper’s story at Romeo’s Rabbit Rescue
Here
Cowboy Cooper’s legacy
Cowboy Cooper’s story began with a rabbit who almost did not get a chance. Thanks to Romeo’s Rabbit Rescue, his foster carers, Little Pet Vet and the PAWS Rescue Clinic, he was given not just one second chance, but two.
Through the partnership between Little Pet Vet and the PAWS Rescue Clinic, more than $1,270 worth of veterinary services were donated to support Cowboy Cooper’s treatment journey.
Today, he is bright, healthy and thriving — a beautiful reminder that rescue medicine can turn fear into comfort, illness into recovery, and an uncertain future into a life worth living.
Thank you for being part of Cowboy Cooper’s journey and for supporting animals in need.