Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Peter Rabbit

With a sad heart I write this.Peter Rabbit died on Easter Sun.We only had him almost 2 months.Our friends from church had asked us to take him as caring for him was getting too much for them,they are older than us.Our friends phoned us alot about how he was doing,& even came out to visit him.For the short time we had him{we are his 3rd owner}he became a pet I looked forward to taking care of every morning & evenning.The kids loved him.The last time our friends called they told us that Peter Rabbit`s bottom may need washed from time to time.
On Sun.I thought I`d wash his butt,it was a little dirty.I brought him inside & just washed his bottom,quickly wrapping him in a towel when I was done.He hated it.He fought me.I carried him to the deck outside & unwrapped him & placed him down.He started having a seizure,laying on his side.I quickly picked him back up & wrapped him & held him,talking to him,petting his head.I sat there for the longest time till I realized that maybe he wasn`t breathing. I carried him to the garage where the dh was working & asked him if Peter was dead.We really didn`t know at first.I held him for the longest time ,took the towel off & we watched him.He wasn`t moving,he had died.We were devestated.I have not told our friends yet.My dh buried him in my flower garden.Now his hutch stands empty,a painful reminder & the question,what happenned?
The coopers hawks have been flying very close to the house.Could he have been stressed about that?The funny thing was I was about to get him an inside cage because Tractor Supply had them for $39.99 on sale.His outside hutch our friends made was really nice though,it had all kinds of features,a ramp.But since they were on sale & it gets really hot sometimes here in the summer,I could bring him in if I needed to.But,it was not to be.He was one of the best pets we ever had.I wish I had never washed his butt.It was a little dirty though.

7 comments:

God's Little People said...

Aw Phyllis, I really feel for you. Sometimes you just don't know what's gone wrong. We recently took in a rabbit with a very bad ear infection. His head was tilted and he couldn't keep his balance - kept falling to the side. I thought the most humane thing was to have him put down but the vet thought he might make it with a 14 day antibiotic treatment. I actually left him in the care of the vet as I couldn't stand to see his pain and wasn't surprised when the vet declared (14 days later!) that there was nothing else to do. I felt so sad the little guy had to go through that added stress. At least you were able to care properly for the rabbit whilst you had him in your loving care.

Julie said...

Phyllis, My heart goes out to you. Bunnies really are a delicate little creature. I will be thinking of you and may God wrap you in his loving arms and comfort you.
Julie

Julie said...

Hi Phyllis, I am back . I just want to comment on Gods little people post. I hope I don't make anyone feel bad by you this,because it is not my intention. I just want to give you a little knowledge about critters and ear infections.
I have dealt with many. When an animal gets an ear infection, they do become very dizzy and become off balanced. Some times it may require an antiboc for more than fourteen days. Even after the infection is cleared up they can still be a little unbalance and thier head most often than not will be cocked to one side. The unbalanceness will eventually go away, but it can take up to a year or more for the cocked or tilted head to go away. They are not in pain, it is just the nature of the beast. And I also think with the tilt head it can still throw them off balance a little sometimes. Just want to be helpful
Julie

tiptoethruphylsgarden.blogspot.com said...

Thank-you for your comments.
I have been so depressed over losing him,he was such a great creature,we had the perfect place for him to hop around to exersise safely.Each day I feel worse instead of healing.phyllis

Julie said...

Hi Phyllis, I feel bad for you. I know deep down inside you blame your self. You shouldn't,and i know this is easier said than done. But I know one thing about that bunny and that he was loved by you. How blessed that bunny was to have you. I wish i could say some thing to help heal the hurt. Only time and Gods love can easy that pain.
Thinking of you!!!
Julie

Tammy said...

Phyllis,
I'm very sorry to hear about Peter Rabbit. Sometimes we are unexpectedly touched deeply by creatures that come into our lives. It sounds like Peter was an especial joy to you while he was with you. I know it's so hard. Peter was blessed to spend his last days in your care. I used to have rabbits years ago, --mostly Rex and Lops. My oldest lived to be about ten, and she got very frail and feeble. Do you know how old Peter was? I doubt that bathing him caused his seizure and death, more likely he had an underlying heart condition or something. Take care of yourself.
Tammy

tiptoethruphylsgarden.blogspot.com said...

I don`t know how old Peter was,Tammy.Thanks again for all of your comments.I haven`t had an animal die since my Max,so it has been hard.Peter would come to the door,wanting just to be loved before he even got his carrot & a leaf of lettuce.He got pellets once a day too.But it always amazed me he wanted loved & petted before he ate,most animals want the food ASAP.He was special.phyllis