Hello my loves,
Today's post is a very difficult one. This one is for our older rabbit, The Girl, that we unfortunately lost back in mid-December. Our rabbits live outside in our backyard which has always been safe for them. They do have a house that we lock them in if need be for whatever reason. We had only the one rabbit for the last three years or so up until this past early November when we adopted our new bunny, Sissie. We had been leaving The Girl out overnight for this time period also as she loved being out at night and running around the yard eating and doing her rabbit things. We had never once had an issue until the morning of December 13th around 1:30 AM when we were awoken to crying sounds. I knew it was The Girl and that something had gotten her. We got up and saw that a racoon had attacked her and had drug her up the stairs to Sarah's (our neighbor/good friend) landing. Sarah had also gotten up when she was awoken by the crying. We were able to rescue The Girl after scaring the racoon away. The racoon had her by her head and she had bad wounds on the top of her head and her eye was pretty much gone (we think). We brought her inside and cleaned her up as best as we could. We made her as comfortable as could be. For the next two days she fought hard and was eating well but then that Tuesday night it was time. She had no fight left. For those two days myself, Casey and Sarah all spent a lot of time with her cleaning her wounds, feeding her and just loving her. Casey and I pretty much knew from her wounds that she probably would not survive, sigh. But, the three of us sure were hoping she would.
Losing her in this way was so hard and so difficult. She had become one of the best pets we ever had and was also best friends with the cats. She would run right up to us for food and attention. There is no doubt that she knew she was very deeply loved and that she was happy. Casey and I did spend some time beating ourselves up by not making her stay locked in her house overnight. But, I never thought this would happen. In the almost 13 years I've lived at this place in the middle of the city I have never ever seen a raccoon in this area or in our yard. We just continue to comfort ourselves in knowing that she was happy and did have a really good life with us. She was around 8 or 9 years old so she did live a pretty full life for a rabbit.
I am still trying to process the whole thing and how it happened and her dying from this. I knew I was attached to her but I did not know just how much I was until this happened. I spent so much time crying and thinking how unfair it was that she went out in this way. I do comfort myself though that we were able to rescue her and she knew that and that in her last couple of days with us that we made her comfortable and loved her.
I miss her so much every single day. I miss her thumping and hopping coming inside our apartment to check things out when we had the door cracked for the cats to go outside in the warmer weather. I miss her running up to me every morning when I was leaving for work. It became our thing for me to stop and pet her on my way out. I miss her running up to me when I get home from work. I just miss her. She was the first bunny I ever had a deep relationship with and the first one that I truly loved with all my heart. When Casey and I got together he was raising meat rabbits. Well, he stopped doing that since I don't care for rabbit meat and he decided when he was done raising meat rabbits that the male buck and two female momma does would live their lives out with us as they served him well with babies when he was raising them. We lost the male and the other female three years ago to natural causes. The Girl was the surviving one up until this horrible event happened. I did really like the other two and was sad when they passed but was not so attached to them as I was The Girl. After they passed she really came into her own and became a total pet. She was so good and so sweet. There is definitely an empty spot in my heart with her passing.
The one thing that has made it a bit easier getting through this is having our youngster, Sissie, here with us. We still have her to take care of and love. With her being so young we are enjoying seeing her bounce around in her youth, in her first snow a few weeks ago (she loves the snow), becoming friends with the cats and just seeing her own personality emerge which is a very sweet one too! She is coming to enjoy being held and smothered with kisses. She, however, is only allowed out of her house after it is light out so we can see her and is back in her house by dark. She gets locked up like Fort Knox at night.
I don't really have anything else to say on it all so onto the nails I did to remember and honor The Girl. I did a different take on The Rainbow Bridge for her. I like to think that she is now hanging out in purple grass, pink skies and glitter rainbows with the rest of the critters waiting until it's our time to go to the Bridge and all be reunited once again. I think these nails honor her nicely and came out quite cute.
My base is ILNP "Kiss and Tell". I stamped using Clear Jelly Stamper CJS-33 plate with Maniology "Straight Up Black" for the outline and colored the images with Funky Fingers "Gesso" and Candy Laquer "Iced Orchid". I used a white nail striper to write "The Girl". On the bunny stamped nails I sponged on some ILNP "Staying In" for the grass. I used Cupcake Laquer "Garnet", "Emerald", "Amethyst" and "Sapphire" with a nail art brush to draw the rainbows. On my index nails is a coat of Holo Taco "Party Punch".
Kiss and Tell on it's own, such a lovely pink for her to be remembered on.
There are my Rainbow Bridge nails for The Girl. She was such a good bunny and we love her so much. Until we meet again our sweet sweet bunny, we love you.
The Girl
Polish & Purrs,
Melly
Have you loved your cuticles today?
