Tried With Fire

Big Bun sporting airplane ears in 2009 Big Bun took a sudden downturn last week-end. Although his appetite was almost back to normal, his back legs became progressively weaker, and he lost the use of his left front paw. Thus he was unable to sit up or walk. I took care of him as best I could by bringing food and water right to his mouth and changing his bedding as often as necessary, but this could not go on. So on Monday, he took his last visit to the vet, and we said goodbye. I had what I thought would be my big cry on Sunday evening as I sat next to him and gave him pets. However, there was another deluge when the vet came to take him away. So after more than a decade, there are no bunnies in the house. Even though they were never noisy, it seems even quieter. I had hoped Big Bun would live a little longer following Lizzy's loss, but it was not to be. Was it grief, old age, or a combination of the two? I will never know. I am in no hurry to adopt another bunny at the mo...

Lizzy 2003-2015 Last week was rough emotionally. One of my beloved bunnies, Lizzy, took a rapid downturn. She was unable to use her back legs and unable to eat or drink. By the time we got to the vet's office, her front paws were even weaker. Diagnostic testing could be done, but to what end? Even if the cause was discovered, what treatment could be done that would make any difference to a rabbit who was as old as the maximum average life span? There was only one viable choice given Lizzy's precarious condition, but it still wasn't easy. The vet reassured me that I had made the right decision given her symptoms and age. The entire staff were very kind and compassionate, but I still bawled like a baby and held her as long as I could until it was time to say goodbye. The next day, my last bunny stopped eating for no apparent reason and began to show the same weakness in his limbs. So it was back to the vet again. I know I shouldn't have favorites, but in my opinion,...

Hooray, it's Friday! ht: The Daily Bunny

Big Bun celebrated International Rabbit Day by eating and napping. (Lizzy was shy as usual and didn't want her picture taken.) He wants to reminds humans everywhere to consider adopting a bunny from a rescue or shelter. Rabbits make wonderful house pets, and far too many are abandoned or in shelters awaiting adoption.  Big Bun was surrendered 4 times to the Virginia Beach SPCA before we brought him home, so he knows what he is talking about. So eat a carrot, and pet a bunny today!

We awoke this morning to find that Rusty, the guinea pig, had died in his sleep. We had taken him to the vet last week because his appetite was steadily decreasing each day and to check for an upper respiratory infection. After a thorough exam and administering subcutaneous fluids, there wasn't much the vet could do except blood work. Even if we did the blood tests and found that one of his organ systems was failing, there are very little treatment options, if any, for small mammals. We knew it was only a matter of time before either Rusty would die, we would have to force feed him, or put him to sleep if he was slowly staving himself to death. I am thankful he died naturally according to God's sovereign timing. Although Rusty was eating less and less, he did not appear to be in any pain. So our pet population is down to the two rabbits. Lizzy is 7, and Big Bun is 5, which is the youngest estimate for their ages. Bunnies live 8-10 years so we may have them for a while....

and had room for more bunnies...

No theology here. Just a video showing some of the joys of house rabbit ownership. ht: Disapproving Rabbits

Where's my parsley? This is a picture of Big Bun waiting expectantly for his evening salad. We think that Big Bun has some lop rabbit in his ancestry. He can do airplane ears like the picture above. He can also move his ears independently in a semaphore fashion. The rabbits don't do very much; however, Big Bun is a very nice companion. I usually sit on the floor next to the bunny and read. He loves attention which is very relaxing for us both. So this evening, I will read about Calvin and pet the bunny.

ht: Animals with light sabers Chipmunks, Star Wars, and Legos . Who could ask for anything more? I've been very near sighted most of my life. These verses come to mind everytime I have my eyes tested: "For we walk by faith, not by sight." 2 Corinthians 5:7 and "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1 (ht: reformation theology )

It's been an intense week for me, so here's a little comic relief courtesy of Maru and Simon.

(Disclaimer: no theology in this post, just a large rabbit) I am trying to have a more productive day, so I will let Big Bun be lazy for me. Mode #1: Compact Relaxation aka Bunny Loaf Mode #2: Stretched Relaxation (If Big Bun was completely stretched out, he would probably measure close to 30 inches.)

I've had a couple of object lessons on sin from the animal kingdom. Lesson #1: We had a recent infestation of sugar ants around the kitchen sink. To get rid of them, I put out an insecticide called, Terro. It is a thick syrupy fluid containing borax. The ants were attracted to the sweet syrup. They eat it, take it back to the colony, and then die. It works very well. For some reason, this reminded me of sin. Sin disquises itself to be a "delight to the eyes and good for food". Those poor ants gorged themselves and even shared it with their family and friends. Everyone was enjoying it, everyone was doing it, so what harm can be in that? From appearances it was good for them but in reality it was poison. They were all dead in two days. Lesson #2: I always thought that our bunny, Lizzy, was relatively smart. However, in some things she is really stupid. She will eat the carpet in her condo as well as chew on plastic. Here are two substances that do not bear any resemblance t...

Bunnies are cute and make great house pets. We've had house rabbits for 7 years. However, they are not the easiest pets to have and have many unique requirements. A lot of pet stores sell baby bunnies around Easter. Sadly, people buy them on a whim and end up surrendering them to shelters when the novelty has worn off or worse, releasing them into the wild thinking they can fend for themselves. That would be like abandoning a chihuahua because its ancestor was a wolf. Don't get a bunny on a whim and consider adopting from a shelter or a rabbit rescue group rather than a pet store. Check it out first and be prepared to be a responsible pet owner and make the committment to take care of it for its lifetime. And now for our non-Easter bunnies: Big Bun is the bunny in my avatar. He came to us from a local SPCA. He is very snuggly and will let you pet him forever. Big Bun can be on the lazy side. His main activities are eating and napping. Lizzy does not approve of me disturbing ...

I was reading Teampyro today and there was Oolong in the middle of Dan's post . It was the last place I expected to see a familiar rabbit. Oolong had a bit of celebrity status on the Internet as the pancake rabbit. He even has his own entry in Wikepedia. Of course, he would appeal to house bunny owners around the globe. After all, who can resist such a cute bunny. Go read the post on Teampyro and not just for the bunny.

Lizzy does a good job camouflaging herself on that rug. I am thankful for the bunnies. They always give me something to smile about.

Big Bun lounging in the classic "bunny baguette" position.