My Sweet Bunny Girl!

 

In August of 2000, just a few months after Aaron and I married, we moved into a new home. I guess I was really starting to feel like a grown up and decided I wanted a pet of my own. I convinced Aaron to stop one afternoon at the Euless Animal Shelter thinking I could convince him to get me a cat. Once inside, he expressed his disdain for cats (not that I didn’t already know that) and we decided to cruise through the dog kennel. After walking through the aisles of barking dogs we came to a huge kennel filled with a tiny, scared puppy.

Aaron and I instantly wanted to hold the puppy. She was so nervous she shook with fear and she warmed up to me instantly. She had the face of a lab but her coat was mostly gray with a few black spots. I looked at Aaron and said, “I want this dog.” The shelter had just picked her up and had a policy that they did not allow adoptions until the animal had been in possession for three days. Each day thereafter I went and visited the puppy. I knew the potential for someone else to get her was high but I prayed that if she was in God’s plan to be mine, it would happen. As luck would have it, the morning she was available for adoption, both Aaron and I had a work conflict. I was unable to get to the shelter until after lunch but as I entered the building the staff all grinned when they informed me she was waiting for me.

Totally unprepared to receive her, I drove home with her on my lap. Aaron and I observed her for several days before she was given a name. It was finally decided she would be “Bunny” because she hopped when she ran like a rabbit, and because I love bunnies. In the early puppy stages Bunny was a sweet baby. She would lie on a blanket with Aaron and I and watch TV. She loved to play with her hedgehog named spike. We tried to figure out how to contain her in our open concept house and we ended up borrowing a shopping cart to keep her in.

 

Bunny grew in warp speed and quickly got into the naughty puppy stage, a stage she stayed in for a good five years. I’d be lying if I said there weren’t times when Aaron and I didn’t want to kill her. Bunny dug up our yard more times than I can count. She chewed EVERYTHING, even rocks. Once she attempted to chew up our back door. Someone suggested to Aaron he paste jalapeno juice on the door but it didn’t deter Bunny, she licked it off! Bunny was the first experience Aaron and I had in parenting. We took her along everywhere we could including holidays with family.

When we moved into our new house in 2006, Bunny adjusted to the transition beautifully. She loved her new yard and her gated driveway where she could guard our home. Bunny was a happy dog, she carried a smile on her face and never posed any harm to any human being. Sadly I have to admit that once Aaron and I started a family, Bunny took a backseat to my children. Bunny didn’t seem to mind though; she still greeted me and the kids with the enthusiasm of a puppy. My most recent fond memories of Bunny were on lazy weekend mornings when the kids would I would play on the driveway. She would lay beside me with her tail wagging and just enjoy being with us.

  

 

Sadly on Saturday we were forced to make the difficult decision to let Bunny go to doggie heaven. She had intestinal issues and the vet did not feel that at the age of 12, she would recover fully from exploratory surgery. Aaron made the heart griping decision and stayed with her until she was gone.

The days since have been difficult. Aaron and I choke back tears and we see the reminders of Bunny. Her dog house, leash, food bowls, all reminders of what we lost. There seems to be Bunny hair in places we least expect it and it’s hard to get rid of it knowing it is gone forever. Several times when washing dishes at the kitchen sink I think I see her when gazing out the window. When walking to my car, I swear I hear the clang of her tags on her collar. I know with time Bunny’s loss will get easier but it’s just that, loss. Like anything in life, nothing is forever and life is really on a lease. Bunny’s death reminds me to cherish the ones I love and to not take anything for granted.

Thanks to all of you who expressed your kind words and sympathy about Bunny. You will be missed Bunny Girl!