Christmas is coming... my least favorite holiday. It should be a wonderful time but it has become so commercialized that it is almost ... disgusting. On the other hand it's in my own hands as to how I approach it... so I need to correct that as well.
About a month ago something terrible happened that really affected me... most people who know us know that we live in a bit of a "zoo" with multiple pets of varying ancestry (dogs, cats, birds, reptiles and arachnids). We spend more time with animals than other humans, really... but anyway... my daughter and her friends like to train our dogs in the grass patch across the street. One day they were over there and they got away from them and attacked a rabbit. Turned out this rabbit didn't really run away because it was an escaped / released domesticated rabbit.
The girls got the dogs but it was too late and the bunny was paralyzed from the waist down. We took the bunny in, gave him a warm spot, water, food pretty sure he would die very soon. He didn't. In fact it was almost like he did not know he was crippled. So we began to call bunny rescues for advice and after no one responded for 2 days we called the vet... the rabbit vet was on vacation and wouldn't be back for a week.
In that time we learned a little about bunnies from "George" as we called him. Despite his problems, what happened to him he was so sweet. My wife took decent care of him while he was here (regular wipe downs / cleanings, etc.) and the time came to go to the vets. Brought him in and the doctor did an exam, x-rays, etc. and concluded that the paralysis was permanent and George would never recover at all. I made the decision to have him put down and stayed with him for the entire time (which took a long time, btw... I had an hour to spend holding, talking, feeding him treats as he slowly fell asleep then passed). I was a wreck that night because of the loss of such a sweet creature who was still young and could have lived a long life.
Over a few weeks it gnawed at me and I began researching rabbit which, until George, I never really gave much thought to... I finally settled on a breeder in Mesa and brought home Bun Bun, my baby lionhead rabbit.
Rabbits are far more complex and amusing than I ever thought they could be. I'll probably blog about her from time to time but for now I just wanted to share our new addition to the family.
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