Rabbits don't live that long. Everyone knows this. And when we decided to get a pet four years ago, this was one of the reasons that we chose a bunny. We knew that we were not making a lifelong commitment. We expected that our Spanky Rabbit would only be with us for 5-7 years and that would be enough.What I did not expect was that he would be fine one minute, and barely clinging to life the next. I did not expect to be sitting in the middle of my kitchen floor -- all alone -- cradling my little bunny while each of his body parts quit working. He couldn't hold his head up. Then his front paws stopped working.
So there I am -- bawling -- at 12:30 in the morning with no one to help me. Do I take him to the emergency vet? Do I put him in his cage? Do I hold him? I finally decided to call the 24-hour vet, and between sobs the poor lady on the other end of the line thought I was talking about a puppy.
At this point, Spanks was trying to push himself across the kitchen floor with his back legs. He kept floping and running into things. My once-spunky pet now looked helpless and confused. Sobbing harder, I gave in and called my mom -- who is equally terrible at dealing with pet deaths. She was helpful though and suggested that I call our college-aged-male-friend-Daniel to come and help me.
Sometime between calling my mom and calling Daniel, Spanky threw in the towel. At this point, I was actually relieved to see him stop breathing. I just wanted the whole ordeal to be over. Because I am totally incompetent at dealing with this sort of thing, Daniel drove a half-hour to help me gather the rabbit off of the floor, wrap him in the appropriate plastic materials, and prepare him for burial.
So our beloved pet is gone to heaven. It is amazing that a little three-pound animal can make your life seem full -- and that his absense actually leaves a little bit of emptiness. We will miss him but I'm sure there are more pets in our future. Next time, I am just going to make sure that Mark is home when one of them decides to kick the bucket.
3 comments:
Sorry to hear about Spanky Rabbit. While it might not seem like a blessing now, at least you got to be there with him in his final moments.
When we had a rabbit, we kept him in the garage and mom "accidentally" left the garage open one day and we never say Smoky again.
I'm so sorry Becky! How awful to have to go through that alone. I'm glad your friend was able to come and help you with the final part. I know Spanky was a special pet. Pets always hold a dear place in our hearts. Especially before we have children. We are designed by our Creator to love and care for those those smaller and weaker than us. He gave us hearts capable of loving and breaking to reveal his own. I'm glad you had the opportunity to love this little creature and I'm sorry it ended so abruptly! >>HUG<<
Sadie will be crushed! That is a very sad story---sorry you had to go through it all alon! =( Where was Marky-Mark?
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