Dear, Sweet Schmopey,
I’m so sorry it’s taken me nearly a week to be able to write this- you know what my week has been like.
Let’s look back, you were the product of me trying to create a further generation of Flashlets- once again, for the benefit of the forum, I wouldn’t do this now, no, I wouldn’t, but I can’t ever change what I did then, because it gave me seven wonderful bunnies. Sky and Sandy, two gorgeous bunnies, ‘did the deed’ on the 4th May 2007, and you guys were born, half on the 3rd June, and half on the 4th of June. I suspect you were on the fourth, but, for all intents and purposes, you all celebrated your birthdays on the third.
Hope, as a baby, you were the anomaly- shortly after birth, as one of seven, and the smallest, we were sure we would lose you- how could all seven possibly survive? Somehow, you did, you all did!
Then, as you all grew, you were always different. When the other six were sleeping, you’d be running around, when the other six were eating, you’d be sleeping next to your mum, when they were running around, you’d be in the litter tray. We used to joke you were ASD bunny- but you kept that individuality right until the end.
Here’s a typical example, them all sleeping, and you, where were you…?
Your siblings and mum
And you, yours siblings, mum AND dad
As a ‘vulnerable’ one, I moved you, along with some of your siblings, into my room when you were separated from mum. It was all fine until hormones hit- but my God, waking up this morning to find a three way humpfest was not quite what I expected to happen! So you all ended up separated.
You were neutered ASAP and I was quickly able to have a go at bonding you with Dawn, one of your brothers. He was a real live wire, and very in your face. He was also very people friendly. When you first went back together, you kind of followed him around in a disbelieving way, like ‘what is this active furball here?????’. You were the only two brothers who ended up together- probably because you were so different- a month after you guys were bonded, I bonded Sunny in, as your only sister. You guys had been together for seven years by the time you died- that’s the longest bond I’ve had.
You guys were a funny little trio. Your dynamic was very clear. Sunny was the brains of the operation (any operation, be it breaking and entering, escaping, investigating, trying new things, anything at all), Dawn was the over confident, lovable idiot, and you were amiable Hope, in your own little world, doing your own little Hopey thing.
I remember that time that Sunny somehow broke through the barrier and accessed the stairs. She got as far as the top step before going to get Dawn. She nudged him down the stairs and he went, merrily, and she kind of followed but was always two or three steps behind, when they got nearly to the bottom, they both raced back up into my room (where you guys lived) and collected you. You then all went down the stairs, Dawn in the lead, and carried out some kind of exploratory mission. It was so clear and that same process happened time and time again- Sunny would only ever go first when she was confident. Dawn was also a chaser, and so were you sometimes- you were very clearly a group of siblings, rather than loved up partners, but you always snuggled, you guys always, always groomed, and you were all so happy together.
You guys lived in my room for a couple of years and then I moved out outside and had a major swap around- you were never totally happy outside though, any of you, and there were far more frequent dentals, stasis episodes and excess caecotrophs. I didn’t realise at the time it was related to levels of happiness, it was only when you moved back in and all that cleared up that I realised.
When you all moved back into my room you were all so happy, and you, in particular, took great joy is proper dead bunny flops, all over the place- never managed to get a photos though, sadly.
You guys trundled along, very happy, in my room, into old age, together. All six of your siblings developed arthritis in their back right hip within a couple of months of each other- in typical Hope style, you developed it in your left knee, but around the same time.
Your siblings have been ailing and ailing, all with long term chronic conditions (dental abscesses, thymomas, severe arthritis, stuff like that), you just had your arthritis, and then BAM, on the first of November I went upstairs and you couldn’t breathe. Your breathing was irregular and you were like hiccupping- we shot to the vets and didn’t quite get the desired outcome, so we were back there within a couple of hours and you were on oxygen. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get you off it. I pushed and pushed and they put you on Corvental and the steroids and you were all able to come home. Phew.
You had two really brilliant weeks, where you were lively and bright, enjoyed food, did DBFs, ran around, chased sunny, enjoyed strokes, ate Readigrass,
came bounding over for your meds (seriously), and then you started to struggle after eating, after being given meds, and that night, you struggled more and most.
You started to breathe really hard and your nose was in the air and off we rushed, again. We debated, do we let you go straight away, with the suspicion being you had a lump in your chest, or do we try, because you don’t want to die yet. We decided to try and you all went back on oxygen, sadly, it didn’t help you, so we decided enough was enough and I came back to you at the vets.
The vet had taken you out of the oxygen early to get the canula into your ear and you just crashed. I understand why she did that, but it made me sad that happened and you were alone and I wasn’t there. Somehow you were just there when I arrived but, to be honest, to me, you looked dead- I could see it in your eyes. She said that you were nearly gone and you weren’t aware of what was going on. I’ve never seen that agonal breathing in a bunny before, and I didn’t much like it, to be honest. I put my hands either side of you and spoke to you, and then your blood pressure increased, your heart rate stabilised, you were breathing more and your blink reflex returned. Incredible. I do believe you knew I was there- how could you not, with a reaction like that?
Sadly, we had to let you go, because you were just too poorly, but I hope that you did know I was there and that I loved you so much.
I’m so sorry it’s taken me nearly a week to be able to write this- you know what my week has been like.
Let’s look back, you were the product of me trying to create a further generation of Flashlets- once again, for the benefit of the forum, I wouldn’t do this now, no, I wouldn’t, but I can’t ever change what I did then, because it gave me seven wonderful bunnies. Sky and Sandy, two gorgeous bunnies, ‘did the deed’ on the 4th May 2007, and you guys were born, half on the 3rd June, and half on the 4th of June. I suspect you were on the fourth, but, for all intents and purposes, you all celebrated your birthdays on the third.
Hope, as a baby, you were the anomaly- shortly after birth, as one of seven, and the smallest, we were sure we would lose you- how could all seven possibly survive? Somehow, you did, you all did!
Then, as you all grew, you were always different. When the other six were sleeping, you’d be running around, when the other six were eating, you’d be sleeping next to your mum, when they were running around, you’d be in the litter tray. We used to joke you were ASD bunny- but you kept that individuality right until the end.
Here’s a typical example, them all sleeping, and you, where were you…?
Your siblings and mum
And you, yours siblings, mum AND dad
As a ‘vulnerable’ one, I moved you, along with some of your siblings, into my room when you were separated from mum. It was all fine until hormones hit- but my God, waking up this morning to find a three way humpfest was not quite what I expected to happen! So you all ended up separated.
You were neutered ASAP and I was quickly able to have a go at bonding you with Dawn, one of your brothers. He was a real live wire, and very in your face. He was also very people friendly. When you first went back together, you kind of followed him around in a disbelieving way, like ‘what is this active furball here?????’. You were the only two brothers who ended up together- probably because you were so different- a month after you guys were bonded, I bonded Sunny in, as your only sister. You guys had been together for seven years by the time you died- that’s the longest bond I’ve had.
You guys were a funny little trio. Your dynamic was very clear. Sunny was the brains of the operation (any operation, be it breaking and entering, escaping, investigating, trying new things, anything at all), Dawn was the over confident, lovable idiot, and you were amiable Hope, in your own little world, doing your own little Hopey thing.
I remember that time that Sunny somehow broke through the barrier and accessed the stairs. She got as far as the top step before going to get Dawn. She nudged him down the stairs and he went, merrily, and she kind of followed but was always two or three steps behind, when they got nearly to the bottom, they both raced back up into my room (where you guys lived) and collected you. You then all went down the stairs, Dawn in the lead, and carried out some kind of exploratory mission. It was so clear and that same process happened time and time again- Sunny would only ever go first when she was confident. Dawn was also a chaser, and so were you sometimes- you were very clearly a group of siblings, rather than loved up partners, but you always snuggled, you guys always, always groomed, and you were all so happy together.
You guys lived in my room for a couple of years and then I moved out outside and had a major swap around- you were never totally happy outside though, any of you, and there were far more frequent dentals, stasis episodes and excess caecotrophs. I didn’t realise at the time it was related to levels of happiness, it was only when you moved back in and all that cleared up that I realised.
When you all moved back into my room you were all so happy, and you, in particular, took great joy is proper dead bunny flops, all over the place- never managed to get a photos though, sadly.
You guys trundled along, very happy, in my room, into old age, together. All six of your siblings developed arthritis in their back right hip within a couple of months of each other- in typical Hope style, you developed it in your left knee, but around the same time.
Your siblings have been ailing and ailing, all with long term chronic conditions (dental abscesses, thymomas, severe arthritis, stuff like that), you just had your arthritis, and then BAM, on the first of November I went upstairs and you couldn’t breathe. Your breathing was irregular and you were like hiccupping- we shot to the vets and didn’t quite get the desired outcome, so we were back there within a couple of hours and you were on oxygen. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get you off it. I pushed and pushed and they put you on Corvental and the steroids and you were all able to come home. Phew.
You had two really brilliant weeks, where you were lively and bright, enjoyed food, did DBFs, ran around, chased sunny, enjoyed strokes, ate Readigrass,
came bounding over for your meds (seriously), and then you started to struggle after eating, after being given meds, and that night, you struggled more and most.
You started to breathe really hard and your nose was in the air and off we rushed, again. We debated, do we let you go straight away, with the suspicion being you had a lump in your chest, or do we try, because you don’t want to die yet. We decided to try and you all went back on oxygen, sadly, it didn’t help you, so we decided enough was enough and I came back to you at the vets.
The vet had taken you out of the oxygen early to get the canula into your ear and you just crashed. I understand why she did that, but it made me sad that happened and you were alone and I wasn’t there. Somehow you were just there when I arrived but, to be honest, to me, you looked dead- I could see it in your eyes. She said that you were nearly gone and you weren’t aware of what was going on. I’ve never seen that agonal breathing in a bunny before, and I didn’t much like it, to be honest. I put my hands either side of you and spoke to you, and then your blood pressure increased, your heart rate stabilised, you were breathing more and your blink reflex returned. Incredible. I do believe you knew I was there- how could you not, with a reaction like that?
Sadly, we had to let you go, because you were just too poorly, but I hope that you did know I was there and that I loved you so much.
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I'm so sorry you lost him 
