Teddy Bear is more than just a close furry friend though. He is an important member of the family. Amanda's mother, Susan, fondly remembers the day he came into their lives.

She said he was a very special rabbit with a lovely temperament.

"He arrived in a little box and was only about 15 centimetres long," she said.

"He was very fluffy, very cute and had a mischievous glint in his eye."

Unfortunately Teddy Bear is a sick little rabbit.

He reacted badly to a calicivirus vaccination he had late last year.

Mrs Iwanyk said all the family's rabbits had been vaccinated against the disease.

"Since then all our rabbits, except one haven't bred," she said.

"And Teddy Bear is wasting away before our eyes."

"Its just devastating. Now he cannot move. He cannot go outside by himself, clean himself or feed himself."

"We have to put food in front of him so he will eat."

Each day Mrs Iwanyk goes through the routine of bathing him in mineral salts and putting him under a therapeutic ray lamp.

He also has a daily injection to relax his muscles.

He has had blood tests and x-rays in an attempt to determine the cause of the problem.

"We don't want to scare people so they decide not to vaccinate their rabbits against this disease," Mrs Iwanyk said.

"The truth is there is a 99 per cent chance the animals will die if they are not vaccinated against the calicivirus."

End