Yesterday I had to bury the beloved pet bunnies of our kids.
But let’s start from the beginning. While I had plenty of pets in my childhood, my wive was less lucky in that regard. So she was especially eager to enable that possibility for our kids. Before they went to school, we bought a cat. Even though my wive was as excited as the kids in the beginning, it didn’t turn out so well in the end. After that we evaluated for a while, what pet would be best suitable for our family. I always preferred dogs, but we wouldn’t have enough time for that. And it wouldn’t work when we go to the Wallis at least once a month. So I just play with my parents dog whenever we visit them.
After much consideration we decided to buy two little bunnies, one for each kid. They were happy beyond description. Three years later they still say it was the happiest day in their lives. They spent the entire first day in front of the barn, as they were not allowed to touch them during the first few days. After that, they took them out for petting very often. That’s how they formed a profound connection. Most pet bunnies are very shy and don’t want to be touched at all. The bunnies of our kids were different. They knew our kids. When they were afraid of something, they jumped into the arms of our kids, as they felt safe with them. When our kids had a bad day at school, they took the bunnies out and cuddled for a while. It made them feel a lot better. I remember I did the same with the dog we had when I was a kid. Last week our kids celebrated the third birthday of their bunnies. They bought them presents and sang happy birthday for them.
When we were looking for a bigger apartment, one of the more important considerations was that there was room for the bunny barn, that it was reachable directly from the apartment and that there was grass right in front of the barn. It was quite difficult to find an apartment like that. We didn’t even consider apartments, where our kids would have to give up their bunnies. It would have broken their hearts.
Yesterday their hearts were broken nonetheless. The bunnies were out in the grass as they often are. Then a husky ran into our property and killed one of the bunnies inside the barn, where it escaped into supposed security. Then the husky chased the second bunny back and forth around our patio, before also badly hurting it. Our kids had to witness how their dear friends get killed right where they always played with them.
My wive who also had to watch it, took the bodies of the bunnies and the kids, and drove straight to the nearest veterinarian. But there was nothing he could do. One of the bunnies was already dead when they found him in the barn, the other was badly hurt and died on the way to the vet. The kids witnessed his last struggles.
I returned earlier from work to give them some comfort. And then we had to find a place to bury the bodies. The grass part of our patio would be too close for everybody. So we went to the small forest just in front. We didn’t want it to be directly adjacent to the path where the kids walk every day to school, but also not too far away. The little forest is very steep and rocky, so I had to dig four holes until I found a place where I was able to dig deep enough.
Today the kids didn’t go to school. My wive pained grave stones with the kids. They still cry all the time. I never saw them so devastated. Our neighbor who recently lost a cat, suggested to visit a person who can talk to deceased animals. To me this sounds way too esoteric, but at the moment we consider everything that helps to ease their pain. We might also have to go to some kind of therapy with the kids. They seem to have suffered a trauma.
The owners of the husky are very sorry, followed to the vet and wrote us a letter. While I am a bit more pragmatic, my wive and the kids can not forgive them, or even talk to them just yet. My wive was advised to report the incident to the authorities, as a predator like this could also be dangerous to small children.
Rest in peace Seppel & Hoppel, thanks for being such great companions for our kids. And I am sure you also had a good time with us.
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