RIP Heidi

Our bunny died in the night last night. It wasn't a huge surprise. She had been acting sickly for a month or so, and last night she took an obvious turn for the worse. Don and I loved on her and prayed over her, that if it was her time to go, that she would die peacefully, so it was kind of a relief that she didn't linger on.

Do animals go to heaven? I like to believe that all of the pets I have loved in my lifetime will be at the gate to greet me when I get there, but the Bible isn't really clear on the issue. Heidi had some sort of little spirit that was her life, her personality, that inhabited her body only yesterday but has now left it. Where did it go?

Animals aren't made in the image of God as people are, and they obviously don't have the capacity to understand their sin and accept Jesus, but Isaiah 65:17-25 does refer to them being there in the new heaven and new earth.

It's one of those things I will probably never know for sure in this life, so I just have to let God handle it.

I am sad, though certainly not as sad as I would be if I lost one of my dogs. A bunny just doesn't have the bond with humans that dogs do. Nonetheless, she was a part of our lives for 3 1/2 years, and we will miss her.

You Say Potato, I Say . . .

Wow! I have never grown potatoes before, so I am learning as I go. I didn't think they would be ready for a while, so I haven't bothered to check, but I read the other day that you can begin harvesting them as soon as blooms appear on the plants. Well, that happened a couple of weeks ago, so I decided to take a peek.Wow!

Of course, the longer you let them grow, up until fall, the bigger they'll get, so I'm not harvesting them all yet. But we did have a couple for dinner the other night, along with a handful of green beans that were ready.

I've been thinning my carrots. Our bunny, Heidi, is happy to help me dispose of the ones I pull up. In fact, it's one of her favorite treats.

My cucumbers are getting blooms too. All the rain we've had has made for new surprises every day!

From the Hand and Heart of a Child

Children, for the most part, love to draw, and they love to share their artwork. Usually without an income, their gifts must come from their heart. If a child gives you a piece of artwork, you can generally consider yourself to have found your way into their good graces.

Our nieces and nephews have given me quite a bit of artwork through the years, much of which I have kept and treasured, especially those that I know they put time and effort into, creating them just for me, choosing subject matter that they perceive to be dear to my heart. I know this will mean even more to me in the years to come, when they may not be so sweet and innocent anymore, but I will, hopefully, still be in their good graces.

Below are some of their renditions of our pets:

Dasha and Nash, by Gracie, at age 6 (now 8)

Heidi, by Hannah, age 6

Dasha, by Daniel, at age 6 (now 7) (son of Don’s brother David)

Heidi, by Gracie, at age 7

Bunnies as Pets

As I blogged earlier, we got our bunny, Heidi, when what I really wanted was another dog. I had known several friends who had bunnies and enjoyed them, so we decided to try it. I read a book about bunnies and got her a cage, and then we got her at the Tennessee State Fair. She is a mini-lop, which means that her ears hang down instead of standing up. She was probably about 6 months old when we got her. She didn’t like us.
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I thought I could win her over. After all, I have a "way" with animals.
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I picked her up. She bit me. I tried to pat her. She attacked me, snarling and clawing.
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I learned that bunnies don’t like for you to stick your hands in their cage. I learned that it is better to adopt them when they are very young and haven’t developed a fear of humans. I learned that they chew things up, such as carpet and electrical cords. I learned that just because you have a way with dogs, cats and hamsters, doesn’t mean you have a way with bunnies. And I learned that a bunny won’t do when what you really want is a puppy.
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They do have a few good qualities. They are low-maintenance. Ours began using a litter box without being taught. Because they are vegetarians, their litter box doesn’t smell too much. They are fun to watch too. We gave her a phone book which she loves tearing to shreds. This is not so bad when the shreds stay in her cage, but our dogs have developed a fondness for pulling them out through the wires and dragging them all over the room (see picture). We let her hop around downstairs when we are there to watch her. She is fine around Dasha or my brother’s dog, Lexie, who often visits, but Nash still tries to hunt her down so has to be kept away from her when she’s out.
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Other things to know about bunnies: they need to be given straw and fresh fruits and vegetables regularly. Their teeth grow constantly, so they need to chew on wood or rabbit toys to wear them down. They thump with their back foot when they are afraid, not a soft little bunny thump like you might think; it shakes the rafters. They usually live 5-10 years.
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She has gotten a little sweeter as she has gotten older and will let me stick my finger in her cage and rub her head (for hours if I’m willing). She has actually taken to Don better than she has to me (even though I am the one who feeds her and cleans her litter box) and will come up to him when she’s out of the cage and let him pet her. She will still scratch and bite if I try to pick her up, so I have basically learned not to do that unless necessary.
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If you are considering getting a bunny for a pet, I would only recommend that you be sure you know what you’re getting into before you do it.