Rabbits Eat Quilts: September 2012

As you can guess from the title, our beloved Weasley has crossed the Rainbow Bridge. It had been obvious on Sunday morning that he had taken a turn for the worse, and we decided it was time to let him go. We took turns holding him all day. He slipped away from us very early Monday morning, after spending all night sleeping in my arms. Very sad, but the last couple years haven't been easy on him. He handled all the adversity so valiantly, hopefully he is restored to his youthful self on the other side.

I thought I would share some pictures with you of earlier, happier, times. Weasley came to us in the Summer of 2003 when he was a year old, from a farm called The Fuchsia Fleece. It was Sarah, the former Pittsburgher, now the Southerner, who picked him out. She always said that if he had been a person, she would have married him.These two pictures show him in the hotel room, the first night he was ours. He had been named Matthew, and we always joked that it should have been "Matt". He matted up faster than any of our other buns. All you had to do was look at him, and think the word, and he would be matted!

Look how bright and shiny his eyes were!

We found him a friend in Molly. Weasley is on the left, and Molly on the right.

I had just decided that I didn't want to breed rabbits after all, and someone left the cage door open. Ooops! Our sweet Ginny was the result. For awhile they were all happy together. Eventually Molly decided she wanted to be elsewhere, so it became just Ginny and Weasley.

Weasley was a prodigious eater, as you may have noticed.

But his favorite thing was couch cuddling, especially after Ginny crossed the Bridge. He loved to be held, for as long as you would hold him. We've never had another rabbit like him.

With the Curly One

He liked to sleep, and would flop out so completely that we would have to check if he was breathing. He also liked to be inside things, like tuba coils.

And dust pans. How's this for a dust bunny?

He loved to be in the sun, no matter how hot it was. But you know that already. You've seen plenty of pictures of him sleeping in the sun. Here's one more.

He also liked to sleep inside vacuum cleaner coils, especially with Ginny along side.

Actually, stretching out next to Ginny may have been his favorite thing of all.

Weasley is in back.

Ginny had a way of leading him into trouble. She would go someplace she shouldn't be, and he would follow. Here he is getting ready to jump up on the trunk.

She was amazingly curious, and he would go along for the ride. It cost him a toenail one day, when he followed her down the basement stairs. He fell, and in trying to hold on, he pulled out a toenail. It never grew back.

The hay bin in the kitchen was a frequent target, whether someone had left it open,

Ginny on the left, Weasley on the right

or even if the bin was closed. Here Ginny has already jumped down, and is acting innocent.

One of their favorite cuddle places was this old brown chair, which is next to our computer.

Weasley in front

Ginny liked to chew the chair., but Weasley had a licking habit. At first, I thought he had done something naughty, but after watching him, I realized that the large wet spots were from him licking the chair, for a very long time. He licked other things, too. Actually, he licked almost anything his face came in contact with.

The last couple years have been hard on the Old Man, and I know he has missed Ginny. I imagine they are together now, both healed, sleeping in the sun, eating tasty greens, and cuddling. Ginny is probably leading Weasley into trouble, and he is loving it.