We miss you Nancy

[Rip Nancy]

I'm sure most of you here already understand how fragile our bunnies are and already have your bases covered. The reason I'm telling this story here is so that you can share it with those you think need to hear it. It is with great sadness that I write this. I'm a stay at home father of 2 small children. My youngest (daughter) is 6 and my oldest (son) is 10. My son is developmentally delayed so socially he's similar to my 6 year old daughter. As a child I raised rabbits with the help of my father and siblings. I wanted to share the experience with my children and after much discussion, my wife and I surprised our children with a bunny. My daughter had many names for our new family member but George is the name that finally stuck. He's the nicest bunny I have ever seen. He spends most of his time in the house underfoot. He's rarely in his cage and when he's not in his cage he has open access to the backyard. He keeps me company while the kids are at school. There isn't a moment in the day that he's not trying to get somebody's attention. We even take him when we go on road trips so he's never alone for long. He's part of the family and we all love him very much. He recently turned three years old. My daughter wanted to get him a friend and was very specific. It had to be a black female bunny with white eyeliner. We spent months trying to find one without any luck. Finally I decided to surprise her by taking her to look at bunnies. I told the kids that somebody needed to borrow George's cage and that we needed to take the cage to them. When we got to the bunny farm the kids went crazy. They had many cages with many rabbits and even more bunnies. All kept very clean and happy. We were lucky and were able to spend quite a bit of time there. I told the kids they could choose one or we could wait and look around at some other places. Of course they were ready to take one right away. My son isn't picky and he let my daughter choose. She chose an all black bunny. It seems like such a long time ago but it was only about a month ago when we got her. Like George,the new black bunny had many names before finally being named Nancy. It didn't take long for us to teach Nancy all of Georgie's tricks. She was walking on two legs in no time. George loved Nancy right from the start. I could tell right away they were going to be best friends. My daughter became very close to Nancy. They did everything together including rolling in the dirt and sharing a cage. 2 days in a row I found my daughter asleep outside with Nancy firmly held in her arms. My daughter even took Nancy shopping at old navy in my wife's purse. She loved that bunny so much. My son also became quickly attached to Nancy. He doesn't communicate perfectly but he is very loving. He is extremely gentle and kind. Nancy meant the world to him. I can't believe I was so irresponsible. One evening my friend came over with his German Shepard. We usually lock up the bunnies in the master bathroom and lock the master bedroom door. The dog was somehow able to get into the bedroom and through the bathroom door and rip open the rabbit cage. I take full responsibility for not taking better care for our bunnies safety. We were all out in the backyard when the dog came out carrying Nancy in his mouth wet and limp. My daughter saw this and immediately broke into tears and although I was able to get Nancy away from the dog right away, she was already gone. My daughter and son are devastated. I have never herd my daughter cry like that. That was 3 or 4 days ago. George was in a different cage but he just got lucky. Given enough time the Shepard would have got him as well. My wife brought another bunny home which did help but it didn't fix anything. For the most part I can be strong for the kids but once they start crying is sets me off crying. Nobody is blaming anybody and nobody hates the dog. It's just really sad that something as simple as a no dog policy could have saved the life of a family member. Thats what our bunnies are to us, family members. I'm writing this so that Nancy didn't die for nothing. Please don't let this happen to your bunnies. Bunnies are truly helpless against dogs and other predators. Its up to us to protect them. I failed to protect Nancy. Please don't fail to protect your loved ones.

 

[LoriAZ]

I'm sorry for your loss, that is a devastating story.

 

[PaGal]

I am so sorry for your loss and I know how hard it is to see a loved animal die from an attack from another animal. As with any loss it will take time for each of you to heal but one day you will be able to look back on your memories with a smile. There is nothing wrong with allowing a child to see a parent upset over the loss of a loved one. Although, most times we try to be strong for our children because they need us to be these are the times that they get to know that we are caring, loving individuals hurt by a loss just as they are.

 

[Ilovemyrabbit]

I'm so sorry for you loss. Its never easy. What a devastating story. I'm so sorry for your loss. Binky free little Nancy.

 

[whitelop]

What a sad story. I'm so sorry you lost your beloved Nancy like that. I hope George will be okay without her.
Binky free Nancy. :hearts :rainbow:

 

[Pipsqueak]

I'm so sorry for your loss.

 

[HEM]

We are so sorry for your loss.
Hopefully your children will be able to get over the loss and heal quickly with the memories and thoughts they have of Nancy
Again, so sorry to hear this story.
Bunky free Nancy

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We're sorry you lost Nancy in such a horrific manor. We have a Great Dane and a Bull Mastiff and they never meet up with our bunnies--I especially don't trust the Mastiff as she almost got one of our bunnies years ago. A "no strange dogs" policy would go a long way in keeping it from happening in the future, as you not the first with a post of this nature.

 

[Sophie's Humble Servant]

I'm so sorry for your loss. Your story made me cry and I can't even imagine how devastated you must feel. Blessings to you and your family.

 

[sakyabuni]

Thanks for posting this. I'm not surprised it was far from your mind before it happened. I once had a friend over with her dog. The dog almost got my cat. Fortunately I was between them. I'm not sure we think of these things before they happen so your post is of HUGE value.

Lately, I've been worrying about my bunny and my dogs. They've always gotten along but the bunny is very old now, 12 years. I worry that they may respond to him differently.

 

[Tauntz]

I'm so sorry for the loss of your beloved Nancy. I hope George & your entire family can get over Nancy's loss. It is a heartwrenching accident but that is what it was. We all at some point in time do things that if we took the time to think would see the danger. My Quaker parrot had his beak injured due to my not feeling well & being in a hurry. Fortunately, he can still use his beak but it was my fault & he was the one in pain. Thank you for sharing Nancy's story & once again I am so very sorry for your loss. Hopefully Nancy's story will help others to prevent it happening to their beloved bunny.

 

[Azerane]

I'm sorry for your loss, it's sad that your young daughter had to have such an experience. We can look back and say so many "if only's" but use your experience from this situation to care for your bunnies into the future. No one can predict what our pets will do, even when we think we know them so well, instinct can just take over, no matter how well trained. So sorry, such a sad story.

 

[Lynslee]

I am so sorry for your lost "o(

We have trained our bunnies to stay on your property when they are out with supervision. I am constantly scanning the perimeter of dog walkers and other animals, but one day a stray dog ran up and scooped up one of our bunnies an a matter of seconds out of nowhere. Little Beanie didn't have a chance and I think died of a heart attack.

I have even grabbed a hold of a dog walker's leash as their dog was running towards my bunnies. The dog weighed more than the little boy and he did NOT have control of his animal. The mother that was following a block behind was NOT concerned about what almost happened. The boy told his mom that it was "JUST a RABBIT"!!!???

YOU are doing the right thing by EDUCATING dog owners that Bunnies are NOT play TOYS!!!