We've finally reached our daughter (she just finished a rough week of college exams) so now I can post about our pet bunny.
I'm sorry to say that Peter Bunny died suddenly on Thursday night. His heart gave out and it was all over very quickly. I don't think he even felt it.
He must have been having a tough day because he spent most of it with me at the computer desk. A little after sunrise he had a huge cardiac-congestion cough, his first in several weeks. Around 9 AM he stopped his usual bunny business to tickle my feet with his whiskers and pester me for petting. After petting him six or seven different ways spread out over 20 minutes I finally picked him up and sat him in my lap. He's not a lap bunny so he was pretty surprised but he sort of settled in and enjoyed more petting. After another 20 minutes he started to get restless so I lowered him back to the ground. He hopped over to the lanai door and crouched down on the rug to watch the birds.
These bad days were starting to happen more often and he's been losing weight, so I called the vet for a checkup appointment when we could talk about deciding how to consider euthanasia. The vet suggested more diuretic so I gave him a dose around noon. After licking the plate clean he went behind the couch to his cardboard-box burrow and took a nap.
The diuretic must have helped him rest, but it wasn't a cure. When he got up he sat in his usual spot by the recliner watching me at the computer desk. He'd come over for petting every once in a while or I'd pet him while I was walking around. I realized that I hadn't seen him eat or drink since early morning. I eventually persuaded him to have a bit of banana. Around 6 PM he crawled under the recliner. Just a few minutes later I heard him make a huge back-foot thump and give a small cough. I looked under the recliner and he wasn't moving. I lifted the recliner up and he was laying on his side. I petted him and realized that he wasn't breathing and had no heartbeat. It happened so quickly.
I think his heart was very weak. The heart attack must've taken his life before he even realized what was happening, let alone felt any prolonged pain or suffering. Maybe he over-exerted himself wriggling around under the recliner. Or maybe he thought his time had come and he was looking for the right place.
Our whole family knew his body was failing and we've all taken the time to say our goodbyes. This shouldn't have surprised us "grownups" but I've never been around a pet's death before and it hit me a lot harder than I expected. It took a few hours to track down spouse at her hotel in Saipan. Then we had to decide when to break the news to our daughter around her exam schedule. I just finished a phone call that no parent wants to make. Our daughter's sharing in her own way (on Facebook, of course) and her friends are gathering.
I buried Peter's body yesterday in a spot my daughter had picked out while she was home last Christmas. I was able to pick up his food & water dishes and take care of his litter box. But the whole house is still filled with all the reminders & habits we've shared over the last nine years, let alone the bunny equipment, and it all keeps sneaking up on me. Spouse will be back home Sunday night, but I think we'll wait to take care of Peter's things until our daughter's home for summer break next month.
I haven't been very functional for the last couple days, and after this post I'm going to take a week or two to get caught up on all the things that have piled up in the last month. I can tackle the blog and the book and taking care of my Dad's affairs, but not much more until I get caught up on those.
I appreciate all the e-mails & PMs you've sent over the past few months, and thanks for everyone's support. This has been a particularly nasty month but I'm pretty sure that the days will begin to suck a little less. I'll get a handle on it, and I'll be back later.
