RIP Beloved Tiny aka "The BunFather"

[Bramblerose]

So sad for you and your other buns, its so hard to lose a beloved little friend. Really enjoying your stories.

 

[Luvmyzoocrew]

:sad:I am so upset and so sorry for your loss. He will be missed by alot of people.



I am so sorry

 

[JimD]

:bigtears:

 

[HoneyPot]

He is such a big bunny, with such big personality. I've always loved his diary and his stories. This is a great tribute, I will keep reading as you keep adding.

Tiny is a mascot bunny in my head. He's one of the first bunnies I think of if I have to start a list of all the bunnies on RO. I'm sad to come here knowing he is not here.

My favorite picture is of course the one with him sitting between the two fluffy bedroom slippers.

Tiny is in my heart.

__________
Nadia

 

[tonyshuman]

I'm so sorry. Tiny had such personality. Binky free~~

edit: I went back and looked at the Infirmary thread and the pictures of Miss Bea with him made me cry. What a special rabbit. We will all miss him, and maybe you can take some comfort in knowing that this special rabbit has touched so many. Thank you for sharing his stories with us.

 

[Brandy456]

ink iris:Oh gosh,

I havent met tiny and I'm sad too, He was well known and well loved around here.

R.I.P:tears2:

 

[Bunnys_rule63]

Omg...I just logged on and saw Tiny's name here and my heart dropped to my feet. Not Tiny!:bigtears:

Peg - I'm so so very sorry. Thinking of you at this difficult time.ink iris:

 

[jordiwes]

Oh no, Peg. My heart is with you. I'll never forget Tiny.

:sad:

 

[stargazerLily]

I am so sorry to hear about Tiny's passing. I loved reading about his antics, and loved to see his pictures, thinking that was how my little Neb would be when he was bigger. We are all going to miss Tiny on here.

 

[TinysMom]

Flashy wrote:

Just imagine what the Bunfather is now doing up in Rainbow Bridge. I bet, as well as whatever you know he is doing with your crew up there, he is also organising everyone else and sorting them out. I wish him good luck with my Moon *nods*.

I have already started "Tiny's First Day in Heaven". It needs a bit of tweaking but it will be the final chapter...

Yesterday when I was holding him and screaming at God and asking "Why" (I still have no answers) - I had a picture come to me - a picture of Tiny binkying in heaven - and it hit me ... he's pain free. He'd hurt so much those last 48 hours...but now he was pain free. He also wasn't limited by his size anymore...he could binky even as fast as a small rabbit. I also had a picture of him w/ Ginger and others (in my mind)....and the story was born.

I hope to have it finished later today...

Peg

 

[Ivory]

Tiny?!

I'm so sorry...

:rip:

 

[Thumpers_Mom]

:tears2eg, I'm so very sorry for your loss. :hug:

I just did a double take when I read the title to this thread. Tiny was such a beautiful and sweet bun. I am truly enjoying reading about this special rabbit. Thank you.

Binky Free sweet Tiny. :rainbow:

 

[tundrakatiebean]

I woke up and started crying today....I've only been on the forum for a few month and I haven't heard most of the Tiny/bunfather stories, but I still miss him...

 

[SOOOSKA]

Oh Peg, I don't even know what to say except I am so sorry. I'm sitting here the tears are flowing. I can't even get through your stories, i will go back later to read them.

He was the most precious bunny, he brought you and you family so much joy. As a matter of fact her brought all of us on here so much joy.

Dear Dear Tiny, we will all miss you.

Binky Free at the Bridge:rainbow:. I'm sure you have met up with Buck already and he is showing you the ropes.

Please take care of yourself Peg.

All my love to you and you family.

Susan:angelandbunny:

 

[seniorcats]

My heart is breaking for you Peg. I am so sorry for this enormous loss.

Ann

 

[TinysMom]

Chapter Five
Favorite Photos - Just some more about Tiny

[align=left]Its so hard this morning to think of what to share next.....Miss Bea is a big part of it - but there is so much more to share about Tiny.

First of all - his final resting place - it is right outside my office window in the backyard...here are a couple of photos...

He loved this area of the yard


His hole is right behind/beneath the big bush in this photo...


I think Tiny knew he was special....I think he knew he had a special role in our family.

One morning I got up during the middle of the night to check on rabbits and this is what I found...





He was so good with the younger bunnies too when they would have playtime...









The thing about Tiny was....as gentle as he was - he had no problems assuming that anything of mine - was his.

Like last Friday night when we pulled the dog bed in here so I could sleep beside him...





Oh - and of course I HAD to keep petting him - as soon as I stopped he'd nudge me and then almost nip at me....kept me awake half the night....but that was ok. After all - he needed me.

One thing Tiny hated - was costumes. I bought him a Santa costume on a whim and showed it to the forum....but then I never could bring myself to put it on him. He just hated to be messed with....and when he got ill Friday night - I promised him that if he made it through - I would NEVER EVER make him wear a costume again. Not even the Santa one.

But he did have one thing he wore once....his Easter hat. (Thanks Susan - these pictures are priceless to me now - and Lisa sent them back to me in email last night to remember happier times).





Of course...Miss Bea had a hat too...







One of my favorite videos was taken around that time...



He was in a molt then too....and he certainly could be stubborn...but I loved him.


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[stephiemarie78]

 

[TinysMom]

Chapter Six
His Final Love: Miss Bea

When I think about it - it amazes me how much Tiny and Miss Bea would have an on again/off again relationship.

I have pictures going back about 2 years where they're snuggling in our bedroom....

Miss Bea and Ginger were friends early on...



Miss Bea would set her up to get into trouble and then wander away and look innocent..





At one point in time, Ginger and Miss Bea shared Tiny when the threesome lived in our bedroom...I wish I'd gotten a picture of the three of them side by side.

Now for those who don't know - Miss Bea is a bit of a "diva". She has a temper problem sometimes....well....take a look and you'll understand...










But with Tiny's easygoing personality (for female rabbits) .... he put up with her and they were a great match. I moved her in with him a few months ago and that was the best thing I ever did - I'm not sure if she ever left my office once she moved in here (except to go lay by Tiny in the hallway yesterday).

Here are a number of photos of them together - sorry for so many - but it is so hard to pick and choose...


































On January 28th, they went outside to play for a while. Someone commented later how bad Tiny looked - but he'd been going through a horrid molt....we thought that was all it was...










A day or so later...we did a photo shoot for the Valentine's contest...what y'all saw was this....



What you didn't see (unless you read my blog) was this....as Miss Diva bunny was NOT in the mood to cooperate...



















I'm so glad that in his last days - Tiny had Miss Bea by his side....

 

[TinysMom]

Chapter Seven:
His Final 48 hours

On Friday night I got off work around 7 pm and did a couple of things here to destress. Then I sat down to write a note to the artist who is going to do Tiny & Miss Bea's painting. You see - Susan had written a post about having a painting done of her rabbit and after looking at the artist's work - I contacted him. We were in the midst of discussing some paintings I want him to do for me....(I was about to start paying him towards the deposit).

The first painting was going to be of Dusty, Drew & Bun Bun binkying at Rainbow Bridge - as a gift for Rosie. That one will still be done - but that might be the second one done.....because I know I'm going to need Tiny's first in order to help me heal.

The next painting was going to be of Tiny at first - then we decided to make it Tiny & Miss Bea. It was decided that since they lived and loved each other so well - they should be painted that way also.

Another one will be of Tiny & Sugar & Ginger eating their salad - but Tiny will be in the middle...

I think the last one (which was not originally going to have Tiny in it because it was Bridge bunnies) is going to be of Tiny and Puck and Ginger and Sugar....not sure how to have it done yet...I'm leaning towards a collage maybe with Tiny in the middle.

Anyway - enough about the paintings - I was emailing the artist about Tiny....when I happened to look over at him and saw he was sick....very sick. He was having problems holding his head up....and it was almost like he was seizing because his head would drop down - then he'd bring it up - then it would go down again.

You can read the rest of the thread here...

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=32619&forum_id=16

Here are some photos during those last 48 hours...

Tiny grabbing the dog bed we were going to make up for me....we slept together on Friday night...





Tiny's "carrier" for the 3+ hour drive to the emergency vet...




Tiny & Miss Bea once he got home:





[line]Ok - time to be honest here - I think I knew when I got up on Sunday morning and looked at Tiny that we were going to lose him. He'd failed a lot - he spent most of the day in almost a coma....hard to explain. He didn't appear to be in pain and was sleeping - but he felt so cool to the touch and he just felt "different". I spent time petting him and loving on him - and then went out to the living room to talk to Robin and Art and eat and try to destress.

Tiny could barely move. I could see it with my own eyes....and honestly, I didn't want to face it - I couldn't face it. If I had it to do over again - I would have sat and put him in my lap....and stayed there all day. But hindsight is always 20/20.

Around 2:00 pm - Robin & I were heading to the store to buy Tiny some fruits and stuff to try and get him eating - and as we walked to the front door - we thought Tiny was dead. He was laying in front of the front door - barely breathing.

I kept telling myself, "He can pull out of this - he can do it. He's a strong bunny. Randy thinks he's going to get well - the vet did not seem to think he was going to die...this is just a stage while we wait for the meds to kick in..."

I just went and walked the tiles and counted them. They're 12 X 12. Unable to use his hind legs to stand well - he dragged himself 13 feet to be closer to me - closer to my voice.

And what did I do? I picked him up - loved on him - put him back in the office....and headed out the door.

In my defense - I was going to get him what I thought would make him stronger....help him get better.

All the time we were in the store - I kept thinking, "I've got to get back to Tiny...I've got to hurry...".

We got home and my first action was to check on him....

When I gave him his pain meds around 5 pm - he started to feel better - he started lifting his head and looking around. He didn't want to eat or drink anything - and he didn't fight Art when he got his sub-q fluids....I started to have hope.

I stayed with him for an hour or so - just petting him - he loved it when I rubbed his nose and his forehead and he loved it when I petted his cheeks. We had a special time together and I told him over and over again how much I loved him - how proud I was of him for fighting this infection - and how pleased I was to see he was doing better....

About 7 pm I told him that I needed to get up and eat something quickly and that I'd be right back. I came in and ate and talked to him - and at about 7:30 I told him I had to leave him again to go feed the other bunnies - that I was needed. I told him I'd be right back.....

It was about 10 minutes later when I heard a noise in here - the "music" I was playing had switched from Babbling Brook sounds to the Rainforest track. The birds were annoying - so I came in to turn it down.

I turned away from the computer - and that was when I saw it. He was on his side - opening his mouth and gasping for breath and giving off little cries. I was holding him and crying out, "No Tiny....No..You can't do this. NO!!!" and Art came running in. He held his head and shoulders in his arms and I rushed to the computer to post we were losing him. I rushed back and petted him twice more....and he was gone. It was that quick.

If you read the other thread about his illness - you can see how I kept going back to it to find out what to do about Miss Bea.....she spent the next four hours around his body most of the time. She groomed him a LOT...she took food from her food bowl and carried it over by his head and then ate beside him and kept nudging him. Finally - after four hours.....we took him away.

About 20 minutes ago, she left this room for the first time in months to go exploring. For now - I'm going to give her the option of leaving the room and trying to watch to see what she wants.

My only other "safe" option is to let her have my other neutered buck "Tio" as a bondmate (he's a Netherland dwarf - not sure they'd get along) - let her pick a doe as a friend....or let her be alone ... for now. I will watch her and try to decide what to do.

Here are the pictures of her grieving for Tiny.....I also took a short video - but I don't think I can bring myself to post it here - I haven't even looked at it yet myself...















I'm finishing up my "Tiny's First Day in Heaven" post and that will be the final chapter....for now. I will post it later today.

Peg

 

[Flashy]

:hug2:I hope you don't mind me posting again.

I wanted to say, that you don't need to defend your actions (RE moving Tiny back into the office when he had crawled to the door). You were going out to get him what he needed at that time, that's how much you loved him.

You did what you thought was best, and that never needs to be defended. I dida similar thing with Moon, and also with Floppy (my very first bun). I thought I was doing them a favour by putting them back, they needed quiet. With hinsight, I think they already knew they were dying, and they wanted company. That's what Tiny got from you, he got your company and love in his last hours, and I think that's what he wanted, the same as any child. You were there for him when he needed you, but you also did all he needed, and more so please don't defend an act of love, you have no need to.

x