Dead Rabbit caused by heart attack? *pictures*

[Mini Lop Fan]

Hey everyone, well as the name suggest I have a dead rabbit. when I got home from the weekly grocery run I found that my mutt rabbit had gotten out of his outdoor pen, which I usually only put them in for a couple hours at a time, and was lying dead in the middle of our backyard. I have tried to piece together what could have happened and it runs like this: Our dog and our neighbors dogs were outside that morning and my poor rabbit had decided this was the morning he was going to dig out of his pen. Well he got out and the dogs chased him. He being probably the dumbest rabbit I have ever had, he didn't run for shelter and just stayed out in the open. The dogs caught him without mutilating or biting him and he died from fright. Now this is the weird thing, I could not find ANY bite wounds or anything except some blood coming from his nose and mouth. I think it must have been the neighbors dog who probably killed him initially, but not sure as our dog is generally very good with the rabbits. I am also assuming it was a heart attack, but I don't know...Do you guys have any guesses? Thankfully it wasn't any of my show Mini Lops and from now on I am going to be WAY more careful when putting them out.

 

[Preitler]

Definitly possible. As far as I know they overload their heart in panic, lack of oxygen or whatever leaves permanent damage and they die from the shock, that can be hours later.
Had that happen with my buck when a fox attacked a few years back, no injury whatsoever, dead anyway:
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A bloody nose can happen when he hit something or tried to run through a fence - in panic they either don't see it or expect it to part for them.
When scared they never go home, makes it a chore to herd them back to their hutches after nightfall when something spooked them.

 

[Mini Lop Fan]

Thanks, that was very helpful. It would make sense that he tried to running through a fence.

 

[michaels4gardens]

sometimes lungs hemorrhage, when rabbits kept in small places suddenly run more than they can handle, and heart attack follows. Happens to jack rabbits, and cottontails chased by dogs also .

 

[GBov]

Thanks, that was very helpful. It would make sense that he tried to running through a fence.

Where are you located?

I agree with everyone else but dang rabbits can find so many ways to die, I once lost one to a tiny bit of wire and would never have known how she did it if I had not seen her skewer herself on it.