Saying Goodbye

It's never easy to say goodbye, even harder when you are the one causing the passing.

Yesterday I took my Jewel for her final vet visit, and she was not happy about it. I didn't have the heart to put her in the carrier, she likes riding in the car too much. So she sat in the seat next to me for the ride. I was surprised she managed to climb up there, but then she's a tough old girl.

She was 11 years old, I got her when she was 6. Before I met her she had survived a cat attack, needed to have her front teeth trimmed every 2 weeks because her uppers had shattered long ago, her owners moved to Hawaii and left her with a family member who ended up needing a heart transplant and then she came to the shelter. At 6 they figured she'd never leave the shelter, but she had such a great personality, almost like a puppy. She would follow me around while I worked, tug at my pant leg for attention and pets...how could I not take her home?

For her I learned to trim teeth and pet on demand. As time went on her front leg began to splay, but this didn't seem to slow her down and all tests showed it wasn't hurting her. Eventually both legs went out from under her, but she still moved at a good clip. I started calling her my little swimmer because she always looked like she was doing the butterfly stroke.

Over the past month she lost a lot of weight, needed help to get food and had a series of colds. Her vision began to fail and her attitude rapidly spiraled downward. She stopped eating. For rabbits this means stasis is not far behind, one of the most excruciating ways to die. So I took her to Dr. Liz.

After some Valium to calm her down Dr. Liz shaved her paw and administered the euthanasia. It was over quickly. In moments she went from the spunky little girl who kept the 4 boys in line to a rag doll. I held her until her little heart stopped beating and hoped Arthur was there to meet her when she went over the bridge.

11 years is a long time for a rabbit, but much to short for me. I miss you baby.