plasticbunny
Well-Known Member
CHAPTER ONE: THE STORY OF BUNBUNS
When I was growing up, the only animals I ever remember having were cats. I was never allowed a dog, a giunea pig, a turtle, a hamster... Only one or two cats and that was all.
One Christmas, when I was about eight or nine years old, I begged Santa for a bunny. I remember wanting that bunny so badly, it was all I ever talked about... And when Christmas morning came, I eagerly tore open my loot to find not one, but two bunnies - both of themplastic lawn ornaments. My parents said that Santa must have realized I was not quite ready for the real deal yet.
Flash forward almost 15 years. My boyfriend Rob and I had just begun dating and had moved in together right away. Oh, what a challange. Now, Rob is not a "pet" person. He loves animals, but doesn't want to assume responsibility for any of them, has a hard time dealing with poo...that sort of thing. I was in my early twenties, and was starting to feel that primal urge to make many many babies, and Rob was in his early forties and not interested in a long journey like starting a family. It was time fora compromise: I won't bug you for babies, but I need something to care for. I want a bunny.
Our first Valentine's day, Rob brought me on a surprise trip to a nearby pet store, where they had one little baby bunny. "I think it's a girl" the clerk said, and showed me the small broken orange lop. And so, with cage, food, and bunny in tow, we headed home. I named the new addition Bunnylicious, BunBuns for short, and it didn't take me long to fall in love. She was everything I wanted a bunny to be - puffy, loving, curious, but aloof. A creature that didn't like to sit on your lap, but loved to sit beside you.
BunBuns was with us for almost four years. In the summer of 2010, she began to have signs of GI stasis. I spent days and nights syringing her pumpkin, pineapple juice and mashed pellets. My boyfriend (who was now quite fond of BunBuns) and I rotated four hour shifts with her, so she was never alone and was eating every half hour. On the third day of pulling her through, I decided to try something new. I gave her an enema. Using a pediatric ear bulb, I mixed a few drops of mineral oilwith a few mLs warm distilled water. My poo-phobic boyfriend held BunBuns while I gently inserted and squeezed... We waited anxiously... Within ten minutes, BunBuns hopped into her box and brought forth the biggest bunny dropping I have ever seen. It was easily the size of a large grape! There was no chance she would have ever passed that on her own, no matter how many fluids or fiber or masages she had. The enema had saved her life.
BunBuns had lost so much weight during her ordeal. I free fed her pellets from then on, and monitered her eating closely. She was starting to fill out a bit by October, when our worst nightmare happened - She went into stasis again. This time, syringe feeding her was impossible. She just spit it out and it clumped under her chin. We tried the enema again, with no luck. It was late in the evening when she started to act very differently, and I knew she wouldn't make it to see a vet in the morning. Her eyes seemed dull, and she didn't move or react to my voice. I put her on the floor and her legs gave out beneath her.
I wrapped her in a soft towel and layed with her on the floor. I spoke to her and stroke her face. I told her what an amazing companion she had been, and that I would miss her. And when she started to wail, I told her she could go. And she did.
Rob and I drove out to a nearby protected nature trail, where all of our creatures have been laid to rest. I picked a tree and laid her at it's base, and we covered her in fallen leaves. We said goodbye before going home to our empty house. I swore I would NEVER have a rabbit again.
When I was growing up, the only animals I ever remember having were cats. I was never allowed a dog, a giunea pig, a turtle, a hamster... Only one or two cats and that was all.
One Christmas, when I was about eight or nine years old, I begged Santa for a bunny. I remember wanting that bunny so badly, it was all I ever talked about... And when Christmas morning came, I eagerly tore open my loot to find not one, but two bunnies - both of themplastic lawn ornaments. My parents said that Santa must have realized I was not quite ready for the real deal yet.
Flash forward almost 15 years. My boyfriend Rob and I had just begun dating and had moved in together right away. Oh, what a challange. Now, Rob is not a "pet" person. He loves animals, but doesn't want to assume responsibility for any of them, has a hard time dealing with poo...that sort of thing. I was in my early twenties, and was starting to feel that primal urge to make many many babies, and Rob was in his early forties and not interested in a long journey like starting a family. It was time fora compromise: I won't bug you for babies, but I need something to care for. I want a bunny.
Our first Valentine's day, Rob brought me on a surprise trip to a nearby pet store, where they had one little baby bunny. "I think it's a girl" the clerk said, and showed me the small broken orange lop. And so, with cage, food, and bunny in tow, we headed home. I named the new addition Bunnylicious, BunBuns for short, and it didn't take me long to fall in love. She was everything I wanted a bunny to be - puffy, loving, curious, but aloof. A creature that didn't like to sit on your lap, but loved to sit beside you.
BunBuns was with us for almost four years. In the summer of 2010, she began to have signs of GI stasis. I spent days and nights syringing her pumpkin, pineapple juice and mashed pellets. My boyfriend (who was now quite fond of BunBuns) and I rotated four hour shifts with her, so she was never alone and was eating every half hour. On the third day of pulling her through, I decided to try something new. I gave her an enema. Using a pediatric ear bulb, I mixed a few drops of mineral oilwith a few mLs warm distilled water. My poo-phobic boyfriend held BunBuns while I gently inserted and squeezed... We waited anxiously... Within ten minutes, BunBuns hopped into her box and brought forth the biggest bunny dropping I have ever seen. It was easily the size of a large grape! There was no chance she would have ever passed that on her own, no matter how many fluids or fiber or masages she had. The enema had saved her life.
BunBuns had lost so much weight during her ordeal. I free fed her pellets from then on, and monitered her eating closely. She was starting to fill out a bit by October, when our worst nightmare happened - She went into stasis again. This time, syringe feeding her was impossible. She just spit it out and it clumped under her chin. We tried the enema again, with no luck. It was late in the evening when she started to act very differently, and I knew she wouldn't make it to see a vet in the morning. Her eyes seemed dull, and she didn't move or react to my voice. I put her on the floor and her legs gave out beneath her.
I wrapped her in a soft towel and layed with her on the floor. I spoke to her and stroke her face. I told her what an amazing companion she had been, and that I would miss her. And when she started to wail, I told her she could go. And she did.
Rob and I drove out to a nearby protected nature trail, where all of our creatures have been laid to rest. I picked a tree and laid her at it's base, and we covered her in fallen leaves. We said goodbye before going home to our empty house. I swore I would NEVER have a rabbit again.