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September 2007 has proved to be a bad month for our family of rabbits with two losses within a fortnight.
Bluebell and Sidney have both left us, passing over Rainbow Bridge.
Old age had crept upon Bluebell. She had been suffering for some time with arthritis, gradually becoming increasingly immobile. She had got to the stage where, despite long courses of pain relief she was getting uncomfortable and we had to make the decision for her that it was time to go. This was utterly heartbreaking because she had been the sweetest and gentlest girl ever, caring for 3 bucks and making their lives complete. As we said our goodbyes and buried her in the garden with her two first loves we felt amongst our sadness that we needed to celebrate a fulfilled life.
Sidney however was a much younger rabbit. He had come to us full of fears and over the months had grown in confidence, becoming brave enough to be petted and held. However he was to be haunted by back leg and back issues. He slowly became unable to hop normally, adopting a walking type of gait which gradually developed into the need to drag his rear legs. Pain relief and anti-inflammatory medicines became part of his daily routine. The best medical care was unable to offer a solution to his problems and we settled into knowing that one day things would become intolerable for him - but it's not today.
That situation changed quite suddenly when an intense weakness overcame him. Because of his nervous disposition he was frightened by what was happening to him and it was down to us, with love, to make the sad decision for him. Whilst we are convinced that it was absolutely right, there is a greater sadness that at his age there should have been more in life for him. It seems as though he has been robbed of years of experiences and happiness and that is hard to come to terms with.
Losing Sidney has left a great gap in our lives. But the loss of Bluebell had greater repercussions since she was bonded to Charlie our old agouti buck. Within 24 hours of being with us Charlie had moved in with Bluebell and he was just devastated at her passing. He spent time with her after she had passed away so he should understand some of what had happened. But he was just bereft and lost. Even the stand in of the teddy bear was in no way touching his grief since Bluebell had been his rock, and his focal point for every minute of every day.
Once again Gina and Roy came to the rescue on the day we lost Bluebell by bringing up a young doe, Bella, as a new partner. Bella is about 8 months and related to Bluebell. She has Bluebell's looks and amazingly for such a young doe has her temperament and loving ways. She was given time to settle in and then taken to the vet to be spayed. Recovery time has been spent on the lawn in an adjacent pen to Charlie and a bond started to develop. At the time of writing they have spent 2 days together and have had a sleepover - they seem to be like life-long partners and Charlie's life has taken on meaning once more.