Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Bunny Heaven

Jesse was my rabbit. He was originally my daughter's rabbit. In the summer of 1995 Caila wanted to get an animal. She wanted a dog but I didn't want the responsibility. She wanted a cat but I loved the songbirds in the yard outside the carriage house. I had a friend that worked with me at the Fogarty Center who had a dwarf rabbit. It seemed like the perfect pet. He lived inside, went to the bathroom in a litter box, could be left alone during the day, didn't need to go for a walk, and didn't kill birds. We went to the pet store and found Jesse. He was a dwarf Norwegian rabbit with Siamese colors.

Nobody told me that rabbits like to eat wires, wood, and basically anything they could chew on. He loved my guitar cords and wooden furniture. He also loved Trix, not the cereal but the little vegetable pellets that came in his rabbit food. He would root through the food looking for them while ignoring the alfalfa pellets. He didn't really like carrots but did like the leaves on top. His favorite vegetable was celery leaves.

When I moved to Florida at the end of 2001 Jesse took the road trip with me. He lived out on the lanai, which is a screened in room attached to the back of the house. It was the best of both worlds for him. He was outdoors but was protected from the neighbor's cats. It was bunny heaven. Jesse became ill last spring and again this summer. The vet said that he was very old (for a rabbit) gave him some antibiotics and he bounced back although he never made it back to his hopping young self. This weekend he lost his ability to get up. I brushed his hair, gave him water and celery tops but his appetite was not what it used to be. When rabbits are in pain they make noises like little piglets. Jesse was silent. When I came home from work yesterday I could see that his time was near. Early this morning he passed away without a sound. He was the fuzziest bunny in the whole wild world. I will miss him dearly.

Be good...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I too will miss Jesse Bunny.
Hopping in Animal Heaven and romping with all of our pets that have gone before us, waiting for us to get there.
Hop Along, Jesse! We love you.