ChinaBun
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- Apr 23, 2005
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I thought that I would write my tribute to Qingqing ("cheeng-cheeng") right after her death, but I just couldn't do it. Most of the sadness was gone after ten days, and by now it's almost all gone. The memories, of course, will never go. And the sadness can come back. I went to the Rainbow Bridge several days ago, intending to write my tribute, but got so sad reading about others' losses that I couldn't write about my own. I got sad again today preparing a Facebook photo album on Qingqing, but I know I'll feel OK when I get up in the morning.
Qingqing was my first pet as an adult, and I'm 47 years old! Our family had hamsters and cats when I was growing up, but after our last cat (a blue Persian) died at a ripe old age, Mom and Dad said that they wanted no more pets. We children were out of the house by that time, and they were thinking about retiring and traveling.
I didn't feel the need to get a pet for a very long time. After I had been in China for several years, I started thinking about it. For three years. I finally decided to get a rabbit. Cat fur sometimes bothers my eyes, and I wanted an animal that I could keep in a cage if I needed to. As it turned out, Qingqing seldom had to stay in her cage, even though I bought her a large one. She was able to have a small room to herself, an enclosed balcony with lots of sunlight. When I was home she could roam throughout the apartment, though she usually preferred sleeping on my bed or under my bed. She was afraid of going outside, though I tried it a few times. She also hated being picked up! I assume this is because the breeder hadn't handled her when she was a baby. I guess I forgot to tell how I got Qingqing. One Sunday afternoon, April 10, 2005, I decided that I was definitely ready to take care of a bunny. I asked two of my students to help me. We had to talk to four taxi drivers before we found one who knew where we could buy a rabbit. We went to a street that had pet several pet stores next to one another. On weekends, breeders would bring cats and dogs and rabbits and birds to sell. I walked past three groups of rabbits that I thought were too young to buy, and found a woman who was selling two little white rabbits. She said they were two months old. To me they looked old enough to be away from home. A little girl was holding one bunny, so I picked up the other. I petted her, and looked her in her scared little eyes. My students petted her, too. After about five minutes, I said that I would take her. I paid US $1. 25 for her, and twice that for a medum-sized cage. Six months later I got her a larger cage and saved the first one for traveling.
I was used to cats, so I expected her to like being held. I was surprised that she didn't, but I learned to accept her the way she was. You know, I don't have any kids of my own, but I learned a lot about being a parent from having Qingqing. Like I just said, I learned to accept her the way she was, even though I really wanted to pick her up and pet her. I learned to be responsible and buy her vegetables every couple of days. If I ran out of food for myself, I could go to the street and buy some street food. But the vegetable market closed at sundown, so I had to plan ahead to make sure my starving rabbit had enough for that night and the next morning.
Many of my students loved her. I teach university English majors in China. Sometimes they come over at night to talk. They loved feeding Qingqing and tried to get her to come to them. Sometimes she nibbled on their shoes or pantslegs. If we couldn't think of any good topics of conversation, we could always watch the rabbit.
I have a lot of houseguests because I live in a top tourist city. Xi'an is the home of the Terracotta Warriors. Most of the visitors enjoyed having a rabbit about the house and she's one thing they remember about their visit.
Qingqing had a long fight with health problems. She had a lump on her jaw that didn't respond to treatment, then stayed the same for many months, then got very hard. At the end of October she developed a wound or a skin problem. This one responded to treatment, but in November she developed another skin problem that spread. She lost weight. If you do a search on ChinaBun you'll see the times when I relied on this forum for advice. Living in a city without rabbit-savvy vets, this forum was vital for me. The morning she died, I posted this question about putting her to sleep and was again grateful for the answers. This same post will tell you about her end.
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=30608&forum_id=16
When I did a search on my name, I saw that Qingqing had been mentioned in the new RO Today section. I hadn't noticed that until now. I really appreciated those who asked for good thoughts to be sent our way.
I can't say enough how grateful I am to this forum for the advice and encouragement I got here. I love you!
I made a Facebook photo album to share with you and others. Even if you aren't on Facebook you can still see it. Click below to see 19 photos of my lovely pet bunny.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=81456&l=abf19&id=613620524
Qingqing was my first pet as an adult, and I'm 47 years old! Our family had hamsters and cats when I was growing up, but after our last cat (a blue Persian) died at a ripe old age, Mom and Dad said that they wanted no more pets. We children were out of the house by that time, and they were thinking about retiring and traveling.
I didn't feel the need to get a pet for a very long time. After I had been in China for several years, I started thinking about it. For three years. I finally decided to get a rabbit. Cat fur sometimes bothers my eyes, and I wanted an animal that I could keep in a cage if I needed to. As it turned out, Qingqing seldom had to stay in her cage, even though I bought her a large one. She was able to have a small room to herself, an enclosed balcony with lots of sunlight. When I was home she could roam throughout the apartment, though she usually preferred sleeping on my bed or under my bed. She was afraid of going outside, though I tried it a few times. She also hated being picked up! I assume this is because the breeder hadn't handled her when she was a baby. I guess I forgot to tell how I got Qingqing. One Sunday afternoon, April 10, 2005, I decided that I was definitely ready to take care of a bunny. I asked two of my students to help me. We had to talk to four taxi drivers before we found one who knew where we could buy a rabbit. We went to a street that had pet several pet stores next to one another. On weekends, breeders would bring cats and dogs and rabbits and birds to sell. I walked past three groups of rabbits that I thought were too young to buy, and found a woman who was selling two little white rabbits. She said they were two months old. To me they looked old enough to be away from home. A little girl was holding one bunny, so I picked up the other. I petted her, and looked her in her scared little eyes. My students petted her, too. After about five minutes, I said that I would take her. I paid US $1. 25 for her, and twice that for a medum-sized cage. Six months later I got her a larger cage and saved the first one for traveling.
I was used to cats, so I expected her to like being held. I was surprised that she didn't, but I learned to accept her the way she was. You know, I don't have any kids of my own, but I learned a lot about being a parent from having Qingqing. Like I just said, I learned to accept her the way she was, even though I really wanted to pick her up and pet her. I learned to be responsible and buy her vegetables every couple of days. If I ran out of food for myself, I could go to the street and buy some street food. But the vegetable market closed at sundown, so I had to plan ahead to make sure my starving rabbit had enough for that night and the next morning.
Many of my students loved her. I teach university English majors in China. Sometimes they come over at night to talk. They loved feeding Qingqing and tried to get her to come to them. Sometimes she nibbled on their shoes or pantslegs. If we couldn't think of any good topics of conversation, we could always watch the rabbit.
I have a lot of houseguests because I live in a top tourist city. Xi'an is the home of the Terracotta Warriors. Most of the visitors enjoyed having a rabbit about the house and she's one thing they remember about their visit.
Qingqing had a long fight with health problems. She had a lump on her jaw that didn't respond to treatment, then stayed the same for many months, then got very hard. At the end of October she developed a wound or a skin problem. This one responded to treatment, but in November she developed another skin problem that spread. She lost weight. If you do a search on ChinaBun you'll see the times when I relied on this forum for advice. Living in a city without rabbit-savvy vets, this forum was vital for me. The morning she died, I posted this question about putting her to sleep and was again grateful for the answers. This same post will tell you about her end.
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=30608&forum_id=16
When I did a search on my name, I saw that Qingqing had been mentioned in the new RO Today section. I hadn't noticed that until now. I really appreciated those who asked for good thoughts to be sent our way.
I can't say enough how grateful I am to this forum for the advice and encouragement I got here. I love you!
I made a Facebook photo album to share with you and others. Even if you aren't on Facebook you can still see it. Click below to see 19 photos of my lovely pet bunny.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=81456&l=abf19&id=613620524
