Bunnies Help With Depression

It's been a hard year, in some regards, dealing with the loss of my father.last year.  It's been difficult. In some some ways I wondered why I wasn't feeling the intensity of it like I did with the loss of my mother. There are a host of reasons of differences, but truly I felt a numbness. It wasn't acute.

The pain was a dull ache that was always there. I wondered why I didn't feel or enjoy things that I usually did. The depression from the loss was more of just a lack of feeling for many things. It was if there was and still is somewhat, a black hole that eats up the energy of those feelings. It's hard to explain.

My bunnies have brought distraction- sometimes it's just with their care, sometimes it's with their antics. Rabbits though, unlike TV or other forms of escape, interact with us. They kept me going. They provided love, friendship and gentle caring. Also, they nudge me to keep going, to remind me I still am needed and still have reasons to go on with my life.

Also, they have been non judgmental, and aren't telling me to "snap out of it" like some humans might. People do need to grieve on their own level at their own pace.  People do need those nudges but in ways that just remind us to connect with the physical world too. They don't tell us to "snap out of it", but to "stay connected" to those that are around us and with our world, but in a way that lets us do it at our own pace.

Do You Measure Time in Rabbits?

Silly as it seems, but I measure the passing of time in rabbits! Yes rabbits. It starts out in the Pre-Rabbit Era and the Rabbit Era.

The Pre-Rabbit Era had rabbits in it, but they weren't my own.  There were rabbits perhaps nudging me to start a rabbit era in my life, but that didn't happen right away.  Of course, as a little girl, I liked bunnies- stuffed ones, photos, etc. They were cute. I didn't like them in the way I do now. Rabbits lived in hutches and were outdoor animals. Never had them. I think I pested my parents for rabbits from time to time, but it never happened.

Then a roommate I had took over ownership of someone else's rabbit that had a cold. I didn't mind the rabbit. It hopped around and hid away most of the time. It did leave a trail of poops all over which I didn't care for, but they were dry.  I hated when she didn't clean the litter box, when we had to hide the bunny from the landlord and all her relatives kept calling it "the rodent". Still, it was Pre-Rabbit Era. I wasn't interested.

Then there was the Schwarz Krolick at the Eden Alternative nursing home I worked at.  I don't remember it's real name, but it was the Schwarz Krolick- an fellow employee (who was from Poland) and I (whose ancestry is part German) named the rabbit. It means black rabbit in part German and part Polish. We complained about the rabbit because we could never reach into the cage to give it care. It would bite and attack. I was pretty ignorant. Then one day we found it in it's cage with a fecal impaction. I brought it to the vet. I volunteered to do, but was terrified. I never actually had been to the vet before. The vet took the rabbit out and handled it with care and explained it needed exercise, lots of hay and water available all the time. I was terrified at having to remove that rabbit from the cage. It was my first insight though in to seeing rabbits as living, feeling creatures and the insight was helpful. I don't like admitting I was that ignorant, but I'm so glad I had that experience. Still Pre-Rabbit Era.

There were rabbits at other nursing homes that slowly brought me around to seeing what wonderful pets they were for nursing homes-with the right education about them. They still weren't my rabbits, but I found out they weren't like Schwarz Krolick, who really just needed to be neutered.

The Rabbit Era started with a super huge white bunny named Snowflake, who was donated to our nursing home as a pet. He immediately attracted the attention of the residents like at other places. I did his care in his cage, etc. I let him out for periods of time each day, then he started biting me and only me. Turned out, after much, much research, that he decided he liked me and chose me as his mate. He needed to go for the big snip. The other side of him was how he followed me all over the place in the huge nursing home. He would sit on my lap as I sent out fax after fax for public relations announcements, etc.  I fell in love with him also.  Sad thing was that my mother started dying of an aggressive cancer and I took a lot of time from working to spend with her.  There were people at the nursing home who thought all the rabbit did was stay in his cage all day. There was also the previous owner, an employee at the nursing home, who didn't like the fact that I brought him in from the outdoor hutch he came in (I immediately brought him in from there when I found cake with frosting, half loaves of Italian bread and the like thrown in his cage for him to eat) and thought I was was being cruel bringing him inside. No matter what I said or what book I showed them, they said I was cruel. The day I arrived to the nursing home when my mother came to spend her last days where I worked for hospice care, the rabbit was gone. Someone stole him overnight. It hit me, but I was also numb and helpless because of my mother's condition. I was so angry at everything.

The thing that brought the Rabbit Era to full essence, was Grumble Bunny. Someone brought in another rabbit, a baby, as a donation.  This was while we still had Snowflake. Grumble Bunny came home with me and continued the growth of the seed that Snowflake instilled in me. I think all the Pre-Rabbit bunnies slowly trained me. I have been hooked ever since. I have actually prayed for forgiveness from the bunnies I was ignorant to. They have totally changed my life and the way I looked at it.

I will break down the Eras more for you on another day.

Thanks for joining me here today. I do hope you will visit again soon.

Please stop by the Bunny Burrow Boutique on Etsy or Bunny Burrow Boutique on Artfire. There are rabbit-themed jewelry items, but it's not limited to that! There are nature and animal themed items and just some nice pieces that would appeal to anyone. Please also "like" us on Facebook. By the way, there is free shipping for USA and Canadian purchases  also.  Thanks for stopping by today.

Rabbit Slippers has a new e-mail address rabbitslippersblog@gmail.com if you want to e-mail any ideas, suggestions, comments, concerns or share anything. 

Please follow Rabbit Slippers Blog on Twitter, too, @RabbitSlipprs . 

Please "like" Rabbit Slippers Blog on Face Book to keep up with the latest postings & events.

You can also sign up by e-mail notices at the top right of the page. (Your privacy is important to Rabbit Slippers).

You can also follow through Google Friend Connect or Networked Blogs, both located in the right side bar.

Check out the new Etsy shop "Bunny Burrow Boutique" with handmade rabbit-themed and other jewelry, art and the occasional vintage item! Here are the links: Etsy Bunny Burrow Boutique  Please also "like" the Bunny Burrow Boutique Facebook page too! Some of the Bunny Burrow Boutiquemoney also goes to rabbit rescues and non-profit organizations! Thanks for checking us out. Also, just for reading Rabbit Slippers Blog,  you can use the coupon code: "RABBITSLIPPERS1" (on Etsy Shop) at checkout to get a 20% discount off your purchase  until the end of day October 31st, 2012.                                                        

Please visit the Rabbit Hop Shop at the following link (Rabbit Hop Shoppe link) for rabbit themed items and gifts!  Please also "like" the Rabbit Hop Shoppe Facebook page. Thanks!

Little White Bunny

Little White Bunny certainly didn't have a creative name, but it was different.  It was difficult to come up with a name for the little guy. We just couldn't think of one. Funny because there are so many good names out there, such as Caspar, Snowflake, and I'm sure many more. Little White Bunny just chose his own name because he got sick of us trying to pick one. He let us know he decided by responding to it every time we started talking about "the little white bunny".

Little White Bunny, affectionately known also as LWB (due to our embarrassment at such an uncreative sounding name) was a ruby-eyed white dwarf bunny with the softest prettiest coat, until the day he passed on at 11 years old.  He had a sweetness about him that was very special, but also was very mischievous. He loved to chew on things and dig at towels, sheets and rugs like crazy. He charmed everyone he met.

A rabbit rescue tried to get me to trade LWB for a big white rabbit they named Chucky, because of his behavior. They didn't consider him adoptable.  At the time, I had a full house in the bunny department and couldn't take Chucky in. I also wasn't going to give away a member of my family. I am so glad that I didn't because of all the bunderful things in my life I shared and the bunderful things in his life I got to witness. I wouldn't have traded him for the world!

He did bunny visits at nursing homes I worked at & volunteered at also through the years.  On different occasions at different places, employees and co-workers would try to get me to give him to them or sell him to them because of his antics, lovableness, cuteness and sweetness.  Some people actually hounded me! I decided to not bring him in anymore to one place I worked because I was nervous someone would take him from me they were so interested. It was like he had a stalker!

LWB, survived several wives (some tried to dominate him and he outlived others).  He was with Lorelei (a big white Angora),   Zakarina, Bun Bun, Trixie and Dust Bunny.  He was picked on and bullied to a point of losing weight by two and Zakarina was the love of his life. 

One time he was attacked by two bunnies (before being partnered with wives) he got a long with before and had big gouges taken out of his rear end. I was terrified he would die. It was early on and I didn't know that much about bunnies then. He did wonderfully though with help of a vet. There were some things the books didn't prepare me for.

 Little White Bunny lived through most of my marriage and was there in the early days. He was the last bunny I had that moved over to our house from the apartment my husband and I had in the early days of our life together.  Little White Bunny responded to each of us differently and seemed to choose one of us to be his favorite for a while then would switch.  Sometimes my husband seemed to compete for his love and attention, but LWB didn't pay attention to things we would do for his attention. He wouldn't fall for the influence of extra treats, attention, privileges, etc. given to him. He decided that he liked who he liked best at any given moment.

Little White Bunny was affectionate til the end. He passed away a couple of weeks ago. He lost the use of his rear legs suddenly and didn't last long after that. He was 11 and a half years old. He never made it to a trip to the vet for his last few hours.  It was and is so hard to let him go. I miss him and look at the empty cage he slept in. It seems to represent the empty place in my heart he so lovingly filled. 

Please stop by the Bunny Burrow Boutique on Etsy or Bunny Burrow Boutique on Artfire. There are rabbit-themed jewelry items, but it's not limited to that! There are nature and animal themed items and just some nice pieces that would appeal to anyone. Please also "like" us on Facebook. By the way, there is free shipping for USA and Canadian purchases  also.  Thanks for stopping by today.

 

 

 

 

Rabbit Slippers has a new e-mail address rabbitslippersblog@gmail.com if you want to e-mail any ideas, suggestions, comments, concerns or share anything. 

Please follow Rabbit Slippers Blog on Twitter, too, @RabbitSlipprs . 

Please "like" Rabbit Slippers Blog on Face Book to keep up with the latest postings & events.

You can also sign up by e-mail notices at the top right of the page. (Your privacy is important to Rabbit Slippers).

You can also follow through Google Friend Connect or Networked Blogs, both located in the right side bar.

Check out the new Etsy shop "Bunny Burrow Boutique" with handmade rabbit-themed and other jewelry, art and the occasional vintage item! Here are the links: Etsy Bunny Burrow Boutique  Please also "like" the Bunny Burrow Boutique Facebook page too! Some of the Bunny Burrow Boutiquemoney also goes to rabbit rescues and non-profit organizations! Thanks for checking us out. Also, just for reading Rabbit Slippers Blog,  you can use the coupon code: "RABBITSLIPPERS1" (on Etsy Shop) at checkout to get a 20% discount off your purchase  until the end of day October 31st, 2012.                                                        

Please visit the Rabbit Hop Shop at the following link (Rabbit Hop Shoppe link) for rabbit themed items and gifts!  Please also "like" the Rabbit Hop Shoppe Facebook page. Thanks!