My heart bunny:
Raph is actually the 3rd 'heart bunny' I've had. When I was a teenager,I had a nondescript agouti rabbit named Thumper. She lived in mybedroom for the first two or three years that I had her (before finallygraduating to a cage of her own in the backyard), and she would sleepwith me in bed at night. She was actually stolen from her cage one daywhen she was 7 years old, so after a week of searching for her, Ifinally called the local radio station out of desperation and askedthem to announce it. Believe it or not, as soon as the show was over Ireceived a call from a man who said some boys in his apt building hadbeen running around with a large rabbit. I got the address,and my (then) boyfriend and I paid them a visit. We knocked on thedoor, and when it opened, there she was, running around in their livingroom. I called to her and Thumper came bounding over to me.Unfortunately a year later I lost her to uterine cancer. She was one ofmy first rabbits, and was extremely special.
And one other rabbit...a little blue-eyed Polish named Fiver...was mysecond 'heart bunny'. I raised him from birth, and that little guy wasone of the sweetest rabbits I've ever known. He would run to greet mein his cage, do flips and twirls whenever he was out for exercise, andjust had something *special* about him. I took him to a rabbit show inPEI when he was a couple of years old and he won Reserve GrandChampion. I was so proud of him that day! But tragedy struck when Fiverwas just three years old...he came down with wry neck, and though thevet tried, nothing could be done for him, and he finally had to behumanely destroyed. The memory of that day, and the pain in having tosay goodbye to my friend, has always stayed with me.
I haven't had a chance to read all of the entries ('tis way past mybedtime and I haven't even been able to catch up on anything in theforum yet!), but in viewing the pics and reading some of the stories, Ireally can feel the love that comes from each one. It is so strong, aninvisible energy that is transferred from animal to owner, and backagain. You can almost feel the power from it, coming from this onethread.
Right now Raph is lying stretched across my lap, sound asleep as I typethis. His Royal Highness has made himself comfortable and doesn't wantto move. And you know...I really don't want to disturb him. There'sjust something about a heart bunny that is so comforting to the soul...
(And even though he is the third heart bunny I listed, Raph is by far my Number One Heart Bunny.)