How much time do you need to handle a bunny passing?

[Hermelin]

Hi, I wonder how much time it takes to be back to normal after your bunny passes. It have gone a week and I still feel like I have a heavy clump weighting down in my chest since Lilja passed on.

Odin have been staying next to me and nearly always been in the same room as me the whole week. Even when I pick him up and lay on the couch, he snuggle up on my chest and lay down while giving me kisses. Odin often can only stay still and cuddle for 5 mins max if he dosen’t want to sleep, but know he spends 1-2 hours snuggled up on me.

I haven’t had time really being sad because I had exams last friday, working the whole weekend and handled a group assessment that had the deadline today. So my week have been packed and my weeks forward will be packed with the new course beginning, assessments and work. I need to pick myself up to handle the next exam I’ll have in 4 weeks.

I’ve never been great at handling grief, hell the only time I cried when I lost someone happened when my first bunny died as a kid. Then I had a period I had trouble feeling my own feelings and understanding them. I have always just bottled it up and suppressed my feelings

So I wonder if any of you have any tips to get back on track again.

 

[Apollo’s Slave]

When my rabbit died, it took quite a while for me to start actually stop thinking about him constantly. About three weeks after he died, I adopted Apollo and even though they looked nothing alike, I always called him Hugo. Everyone grieves in their own way, give yourself time. If you have to, give yourself a distraction or spend as much time with Odin as you can. I hope you feel better soon.

 

[Fuz]

Hi Hermelin!
My boy Kung-foo passed away last year in April. I have never gotten over it, I probably never will. I think about him day in and day out, I miss him terribly. I decorate his grave with flowers when I can. It's okay to miss them, they are a big part of our lives. No-one can tell you how long it should take. You will always love them and miss them, but it's important that missing them won't hold you back from your everyday life. Don't bottle up your feelings, what you feel is normal and acceptable and it's okay. Spoil the bunnies you have now, tell them about Lilja. It helps to talk about lost ones so it doesn't feel like they're forgotten.
Lots of love and best wishes!

 

[BunBun71]

I am sorry that you lost your bunny.

 

[Cluckin'Bunny]

Hello @Hermelin,

I have never lost a rabbit, but I have lost a few chickens. I understand how hard it is. I'm very sorry.

 

[Mariam+Theo]

I had typed a super long message, but it got lost in the update! This one is going to be a lot shorter

I think you need a good cry even if you are not the crying type! I lost a kitten that I had raised from birth and it was horrible! I cried and cried, and I still felt like death itself. But, I forced myself to talk about what had happened and to be vulnerable. I had to accept that she was gone. I think you should talk to someone who has also suffered the loss of a friend, pet, or family member. I think you work at a nursing home, right? Well, if so, I would ask a resident there. All of them have lost something or someone that they loved.

 

[DelawareRunner]

I'm so sorry to hear about your bunny . I know, it hurts badly. I'm well into my 40's and my twelve year old bunny, Lily, passed away in August 2017. I loved her so much--she was my baby and I considered her my child given mine had moved out to be on his own years ago. I have lost family members and been through a very rough divorce, but nothing compared to the pain I felt when she died. I saw her die before my eyes and dealt with it alone, and I think that made it worse. I cried all the time. However, I tried to stick to my normal daily routine and that helped. I made myself get out of bed and do what I normally do.

I don't handle grief well either. I finally saw my husband three days after she died and he did not handle it well either. He works a really rough job in law enforcement and he adored her. He looked forward to petting her when he came home because she always made him smile. She was the sweetest bunny! Honestly, it was months before I felt somewhat normal again and I still think about her every day to this very day. I bring lilies to her grave in my backyard on the anniversary of her death and I talk to her a lot still.

However, I adopted another bunny (my avatar) and that really helped. I feel a void in my life without a very sweet bunny to love. I was very picky about which one I adopted and Precious was perfect. She has helped me deal with the emptiness and pain--a lot.

With time, things will get better. However, they leave such an impression in our hearts. Again, so sorry to hear about your bunny passing.

 

[thevanguard6]

It took my brother over a year to get over the loss of his last rabbit. I find that -- for me -- I have to process things for around 8 to 10 months. After that, the irresistible urge to have a rabbit around the house comes back in full force.

 

[Hermelin]

Thanks for the support. I’m starting to look into a new bunny. I’m not going to adopt one because I don’t have a adoption center nearby and I’m not sure they would accept me as an owner. They have quite high standard and a few of the requirements I won’t be able to fill.

So I’m planning to buy from a breeder or maybe a bunny that’s being rehomed. It won’t be a french lop, that will have to wait for another time. Because getting another french lop would just remind me of Lilja. So towards spring/summer a doe might move into the household again. I feel a little bad for planing to get another bunny but it will all depend on how my bucks bond with each other. Because Toste feel quite lonely being outdoors alone, he’s such a social bunbun but he have finally jump back to normal after losing Lilja.

 

[Mariam+Theo]

Thanks for the support. I’m starting to look into a new bunny. I’m not going to adopt one because I don’t have a adoption center nearby and I’m not sure they would accept me as an owner. They have quite high standard and a few of the requirements I won’t be able to fill.

So I’m planning to buy from a breeder or maybe a bunny that’s being rehomed. It won’t be a french lop, that will have to wait for another time. Because getting another french lop would just remind me of Lilja. So towards spring/summer a doe might move into the household again. I feel a little bad for planing to get another bunny but it will all depend on how my bucks bond with each other. Because Toste feel quite lonely being outdoors alone, he’s such a social bunbun but he have finally jump back to normal after losing Lilja.

It sounds like you are doing better! Make sure you send us pictures of your new bunny! I'm sure she will be adorable!