Part 2! Yeah, I didn't want to leave a huge wall of text, so here is part 2!
I have a lot of products that need to be talked about. Since my surgery and coming off my birth control pill my hormones have been all loopy which means acne. I know, yuck. I never really had break outs as a teen, so it's really surprising for me. So, I have been a little stressed over that. But I bought some great products that have been clearing it up really well! Which I plan to talk about soon. Adult acne is no fun, since when you are an adult you have to worry about wrinkles too.
Earlier this month a friend asked if we were ready to take in another bunny, because she knew one that needed a new home because the owners didn't have time for it. She would have taken her in, but she has 8 already and is fostering one more. So we met the bunny and she was just a sweetheart. Her and Mitzi got along really well on their first meeting and we said that we would take her. The owners were trying really hard to re-home her I guess and offered her to another person who also had a lot of rabbits, and probably wouldn't have time. Her name was Sophia.
We met with the owners, and they asked us all the questions, and seemed reluctant in there desire to give her up. We didn't know at the time they had been trying to give the rabbit to other people so ambitiously. My friend had been taking care of her for 2 weeks while they were on vacation, and they had taken her to the vet before they left. The vet signed her off in good health, but they declined any blood testing or anything. It's wise to get your rabbits levels checked 1-2 times a year to make sure their kidney levels and everything are good. They said she had a bladder infection, which was treated within the 2 weeks my friend had her. They agreed to let us take her home after deciding we would take good care and keep her healthy. They gave us a huge bag of hay for her, and some vitamins.
We had her home, and she was a little stressed at first about the move, but settled in really well. Her first week went great. She would sit with me on the couch and cuddle and just be adorable. Then that Sunday we brough her to Hoppy Hour, which is a weekly event for people to bring their rabbits to socialize and play with other rabbits, and her former owners came to visit. That day Sophie seemed a little lethargic, and tired. We figured it was because she was playing all morning and now it was her nap time, see rabbits have active times and nonactive times so they tend to just sleep in little windows of a couple hours through out the whole 24 period. After everyone had gone we stayed and she got a nail trim and they noticed she was dehydrated. We syringe fed her some water, and she perked up a little and seemed great. So after we got home I made sure to check on her and get water into her every couple hours.
The next day, was Monday. I woke up in the morning, after my fiance had left for work, to check on her and give her some more water. She seemed tired and out of it again, and when I picked her up she had a really bad case of diarrhea which can be deadly to rabbits. I cleaned her up, gave her some water and texted my fiance. We got her an appointment right after he got home from work. My vet is one of those super vets who can take a look at the animal and know if they are sick. She told us she was dehydrated and anemic, and we did blood tests to make sure. Her red blood cell count was 12%, and the normal is 40%. She also found a tumor and ultra sounded it. Sophie had cancer. We were told she was 2 maybe 3 years old. The vet looked at her teeth and told us she is probably closer to 6. We took her home, and had a lot to think about.
At this point we had to spend some of our rent on getting her checked out, but we felt it was justified. We called our friend and told her. We called the former owners and told them. They wanted to take her back, and would pick her up after they got off work. We explained that she needed to be syringe fed water and food every couple of hours, so they declined taking her. But they wanted to help with the vet bills.
Tuesday came around and she was worse. So much more dehydrated and lethargic. She started to refuse the syringes of water. The original owners called and decided that it was the stress of moving that made her sick, so they wanted to bring her old cage over. We said ok because at that point we knew she didn't have long and we wanted her to just have a peaceful passing. After a few hours of refusing the water she started to have tics, and we made an appointment to put her down. I was just holding her at then, crying because I was so sad that she had a hard life. Mitzi came up to me to say goodbye to Sophie. It was not long after that she passed. Right in my arms. We informed the former owners that they didn't have to come, and that we would take her to be cremated. They were 100% ok with this, but weren't sure if they wanted some of ashes or not. They wanted to help pay the costs of cremation.
It took us a few days before we could call them again. Sophie passing the way she did hit us really hard because it was so close to Hiro's passing. It's still hard, seeing I am typing this post up on the Saturday after she passed. When we did get a hold of them again their whole attitude was changed. They told us that it was our fault she died because we wouldn't bring her back to them. That she "died of a broken heart" and that we had no right to be upset because we only had her a short time. Since we took her and it was our fault they weren't going to help pay anything. I was livid. Not over the money, I don't care about that. We can make it back easy. I was upset because of the woman blaming us, and telling us we can't be upset. It was so hurtful. That call was on Thursday. It's now Saturday.
I drew a portrait of Sophie, remember her by. I am also selling prints of it to help us catch up on our bills that we missed due to her care. I miss her a lot, even if it was a short time. I loved her a lot even though it was a short time. She touched the hearts of many people in our rabbit community as well.
So now, it's just catching up on my life after grieving and while grieving.
This is the portrait I made. It captures her personality so much. She was sweet and happy. She would fluff up her ears when she was excited (she was a lop).
If you would like to purchase a print of her portrait you can do so here: http://seraphimfeathers.storenvy.com/products/7156538-sophia-5x7-print
