Yofi, Anna and the Crew, 2010

[Bassetluv]

A very late reply, but thank you Boolette! :hug:

 

[Bassetluv]

Adding a picture here; not a bunny photo...it's one of The Dog. But I wanted to share because it's just so funny! I was tossing her some popcorn and took a picture, and this is what came out on the camera:

:laugh:

 

[kherrmann3]

I finally found your new blog! I'm sorry to hear that the Boy has arthritis. If he's still getting into mischief as usual, that's always "good". I hope that his feets don't hurt him too much!

 

[Wabbitdad12]

I love that picture of your pup! What concentration too!

:rofl:

 

[kherrmann3]

Looks like Cujo to me!

 

[hln917]

kherrmann3 wrote:

Looks like Cujo to me!

LOL! Yep, wouldn't want to get in his way with the popcorn!

 

[Bassetluv]

kherrmann3 wrote:

I finally found your new blog! I'm sorry to hear that the Boy has arthritis. If he's still getting into mischief as usual, that's always "good". I hope that his feets don't hurt him too much!

aaaww, thanks! I was a bit dismayed with Yofi's diagnosis, but so far (crossing those big lopped ears of his) he's not displaying any signs of pain or discomfort. If anything, I think it's propelled his appetite to new and higher heights.

I've been mulling over the thought of adding some glucosamine and chondroitinto his diet, but am not sure if he really needs it. He does have some inflammation (which was what led me to take him to the vet in the first place), though I'd have to research how much he'd need (can't remember how much I used to give Raph). I'd love to be able to stop the arthritis in it's tracks and not have it affect him any more than it is now.

 

[Bassetluv]

Oh noes! Kaya's been turned into a voracious, rabid he-dog!!!

LOL...Kaya's actually a girl, but almost everyone I run into when I'm walking her thinks she's a he. And almost half of those people are afraid of her because they think she looks vicious. I once had one lady actually quaking in her boots in fear as I walked down the street with Kaya...the woman was several yards away and she screamed - whilst clutching her body and literally trying to disappear into herself - "GET THAT DOG AWAY FROM ME!! GET IT AWAY!!!" Yet in reality,Kaya isone of the biggest people-sucks in doggiedom. She wags her tail and puts up with just about anything...she's even been known to kiss babies in strollers (which for a while made me wonder if she was running for some sort of canine political office). However, get her around another dog and that's a whole 'nuther story...then rabid-dog will sometimes emerge with a vengeance.

I do have to agree though, with the Cujo comparison, at least with regard to Kaya and food. And the slobbery goo in the photo kinda accentuates the look, don't you think? She will do just about anything for a morsel of...well...anything. Toss anything up in the air and she will rarely ever miss catching it, her radar for FUD is that good. Even if she doesn't care for the taste of something, all I have todo is say, "Well, I guess I'll give it to Fritz (a.k.a. The Cat)" and Kaya will divebomb for the tidbit just as I go to reach for it. Works great if ever I have to give her something medicated.

And since Yofi shows the same manic/Cujoistic tendencies with all things yummy, I am inclined to think that the two of them are somehow related. Maybe their stomachs were cloned...

 

[Wabbitdad12]

Nothing short of death is going to stop Yofi, arthritis, just a minor inconvenience. In Yofi's mind he's probably saying to himself, just more planning for my quests.

 

[Bassetluv]

In Yofi's mind he's probably saying to himself, just more planning for my quests.

Yep, I think that sums up the Yofster pretty well! (And Miss Daisy too, I'll bet.)

 

[Bassetluv]

I was going through some pictures on my computer (thanks to my son, he scanned hundreds of photos for me and loaded them), and it was so nice to see pics from way back when...many I haven't looked at in years. Thought I'd post a few of them here.


The first two are of a cat I had many years ago, Snooch. You know how so many of us talk about 'heartbunnies' here? The one that, amongst all of the bunnies you've had throughout your lifetime, has a bond with you that is stronger than all the others, or more special in some way? Well, Snooch was my 'heartkitty'. He was with me for 12 years, and he was the most intelligent, and special, cat I've ever met. He loved to go camping with my husband and I, he adored going for rides in the truck, he would stand up to dogs 7 or 8 times his size and not back down, and through some of my toughest moments, he was always there to comfort me.

LOL...I'm tossing this one in because it always makes me smile. The dog in the background is Charlie (Brown), a little beagle mix I grew up with. He and I went on many adventures together, and he was very much like Skip of "My Dog Skip" fame. Charlie never backed down from a challenge. He was fearless, loyal, loving, and tenacious. He used to go for rides with the milkman every morning, joining him on his route when the truck stopped at our house. He wandered the streets of Dartmouth of his own accord, and I swear, half the town knew who he was, but didn't know me. He would sometimes go down to the main bus stop at our local shopping center and wait patiently for the bus that travelled back and forth from Dartmouth to Halifax. When it arrived the driver would let the passengers on and then invite Charlie aboard as well. He'd stand by the driver for the entire trip, watching as they crossed the Angus L. MacDonald bridge, drinking in the sights and sounds. When the bus returned to Dartmouth once again, Charlie would hop out and head on home.
The dog in the foreground is Lester, one of Charlie's illegitamite sons. (All of those forays round and about the city was bound to leave behind some sort of legacy.) Lester was nothing like Charlie; where Charlie was intelligent and a free spirit, Lester was dependent and, well, not quite so smart. But he was one of the most sweet, loving dogs I have owned. After all of the kids in our house grew up and left, Lester became rather despondent, and he began wandering off, sometimes going for days at a time. Searches throughout the area generally would find him making friends with someone's children, romping and playing with them for hours at a time. In the end he wandered off once again, and this time found a family who had several young children. They all fell in love with the moptop little dog who loved to play, and so when they asked if me (and their parents) if they could keep him, how could I say no? Lester finally found *his* family.

This next one is a picture of my son holding one of my litters of Holland lops. This was taken well over 20 years ago, so the names of the little ones he was holding has long since escaped my memory. This was back in the days after I'd given up raising and showing BEW Polish, and decided to take on a couple of other breeds. I never did raise very many, but each litter, and each of those little bundles of ears and legs and nonsense were so wonderful. I still miss them.

This little guy was Fiver. He was the most favorite of all my Blue-eyed Polish. The guy was a true gentleman, a sweetheart with a wonderful temperament and great sense of curiosity. I showed him a few times at the main rabbit/poultry show in Nova Scotia, and he came *this close* (holding fingers together) to winning Best in Show. He was runner-up to a little Dutch boy, and that day he earned himself a huge trophy. Not that he cared; as long as he got scritches behind his ears and lots of attention, he was happy.
Unfortunately, Fiver developed a deep ear infection that just would not heal, despite all of my vet's best efforts. He developed wry neck, and after treating him aggressively for quite some time, there was just nothing more the vet could do, and he was humanely euthanized. That was one of the hardest days for me...holding my sweet little Fiver while the vet administered the injection. When I walked out of the clinic, the vet too had tears running down his face. He'd treated Fiver many times and had come to know him well, and he too developed quite a bond with him. Fiver will forever be one of my 'heartbunnies'.

How's this for an old photo? This is Billy (a.k.a., Billy Jack Rabbit). He was the second rabbit I ever owned in my life (my first rabbit, a lovely little grey Dutch, was a pet store bunny and died only a few weeks after I bought her). Billy followed a few months after I lost my first bunny, and he was quite the tyrant. He was built a bit like a hare, and he was full of spit 'n vinegar, tearing around the house at breakneck speeds, getting into everything, and (to my father's intense dismay) rabbitauging every wire or piece of wood on furniture that he could find. Despite Billy's lack of house etiquette, however, he was a wonderful rabbit.

This next picture is also very old. The white rabbit in the background is Sam, a bunny that someone gave to me when they said they could no longer keep him. Sam too was a sweetheart, a gentle soul who loved nothing more than to graze in the backyard and cuddle up with me on the livingroom sofa. I can't remember now how long I had Sam, but he melted my heart.

The agouti rabbit you see is Thumper. She was my very first heartbunny. I had her for 7 years, during some pretty tough times when I was a teenager. Thumper - when she lived in the house - used to sleep with me at night, hopping onto my bed and stretching her body across my pillow. I'd often wake up to feel her breathing softly near me, or have a hind foot dangling in my face. She, like Sam, had a heart of gold.
One small story about Thumper: When she was around 4 or so (and I was around 16), my dad decided that rabbits could no longer reside in the house, so Thumper had to be moved to new living quarters in the backyard. Back in those days, I lived in an area where no one locked their doors when they left the house, and backyard cages did not need to be protected from anything other than wandering animals or the weather. Times were rapidly changing though, and one day, about a year or so later, I came home to find Thumper's cage door wide open, and she was gone. I was panicked, as I knew someone had to have opened the door, and from the look of it, had walked away with her as well. Thumper was no stranger to the backyard and never wandered far when she was set loose to graze; in fact, her favorite hiding spot was a long deep tunnel she'd dug under the lawn. I searched everywhere for her, but she was gone.
The next morning I summoned the courage to call a local radio talk show and ask for their help. It took a lot for me to do so, as I was painfully shy back then, but I would have done anything to get my beloved bunny back home safely. The radio host, while he did sort of laugh at my request (after all, who kept rabbits as pets back then?), he did announce that there was a big brown rabbit missing, and he asked anyone with information to call the station. To my surprise (shock!), someone called right after the show ended, and they left a message stating that some children who lived in their building had been toting around a big brown rabbit. They'd thought it rather odd, as these children didn't have pets, and their parents were known to neglect the kids and simply not care. So I thanked the man intensely, called my boyfriend, and we went to the address provided. Sure enough, when we knocked on the door and it opened, a gaggle of kids were there, running through the apartment. When we asked if they knew about a rabbit that had been seen in the area, a couple of them quickly responded, "Nope"...but just as they did, Thumper appeared, darting across the floor of the living room. I ran in and scooped her up in my arms, so grateful to that kind person who took the time to respond to my plea on the radio, and Thumper and I went home.
She lived for almost another year after that, until she finally succumbed to ovarian cancer. She was my Thumper.

And finally, I thought I'd add a picture of Raph. Since many here already know his story, I won't add any more. Just a photo of my very special guy, who taught me so much...

 

[aurora369]

Kaya is famous:

http://ihasahotdog.com/2010/02/12/funny-dog-pictures-taik-joke/

-Dawn

 

[katt]

the photo of raph made me tear up a little. gosh i remember reading about him. i was still rather new to the forum when everything was going on with him. and i remember just feeling my heart break when he passed.

it was because he was an english lop, gosh how that breed infects your soul (the only way to put how they get into our lives).

it brought back all the memories of him, and of herman.

your past bunnies were all very lovely. can't wait for more yofi stories

 

[kherrmann3]

I love that picture of Kaya! I'm impressed that you got the toy stuck on her face like that.

Sadly, I wasn't on the forum (or at least actively reading blogs/posts) when Raph was around. I don't know much about him. He looks like a very special bunner, though.

 

[Bassetluv]

LOL! I didn't realize the pic of Kaya had any votes attached. I'd uploaded her pic at icanhascheeseburger, and then submitted it with a caption, but didn't think anyone would really notice it. :biggrin2:

 

[Bassetluv]

Katt, every time I think of Raph I also think of Herman, who I loved hearing about in the forum. I think I told you before that the news of his passing affected me almost as deeply as Raph's; there was just something about Herman that made him feel very special to me. And I totally agree about your interpretation of the English lop; there is just something so special about them, at least to those who have been touched by their presence. :hug:


As for Raph's story, I'll condense it to a smaller-than-reader'sdigest-version:

Raph came to me after a dream I'd had of bringing another rabbit into my life again. I had been searching on the 'net, and had decided to get an English lop, a breed I'd always admired but had actually never even seen, other than in photos. The breed is actually rare as hens' teeth around here, so when I finally found a breeder online who was raising e-lops, and who lived within the same province, I was elated. She didn't have any litters when I inquired, but she did have a juvenile e-lop that had come to her from someone else, and she told me to check out his picture on her website.

The moment I saw his photo, it was as if I'd known him intimately...it was what I call a *soul connection*; a recognition that goes beyond explanation. As soon as I saw his picture I knew that he was who I had been looking for. And yet at the same time I also somehow knew that something was wrong; that along with this little guy would come enormous testing of the spirit. As soon as I had paid for him online, I felt this intensely sick, inner feeling; that something was very wrong. Yet I also felt that no matter what it was, Raph - named Cletus at the time - was supposed to come to me.

Within a day of his arrival Raph displayed a physical problem, and after vetting and consultations, I found out that he had multiple skeletal issues, including luxating patellas to both knees in his hind legs, as well as a compressed spinal column at the back of his neck. For the first year or so he was fine, other than the odd clumsiness and falling over when turning too quickly; but after he turned a year old his problems accelerated, and finally, when he was around a year and a half or so, he became completely disabled.

For many months I took care of him, giving him baths and massages, learning to express his urine when he couldn't, cleaning his ears when he could no longer do so, attempting to give him a quality of life that his physical disabilities threatened on a daily basis. I built him a portable sling so he could continue to be part of the family, even though he could no longer walk; I purchased baby diapers and painstakingly cut holes in them for his tail, put them on his small body (much to Anna's dismay...she kept ripping them off of him); and in the evenings Raph and I sat together to watch tv, him lying beside me on his favorite towel while I massaged his body and stroked his long ears. He was a tenacious little guy, his appetite as huge as a horse's despite his worsening condition.

Finally, not long after Raph's second birthday, I knew I had to make a decision. The pain meds he was on were no longer keeping the discomfort at bay, and Raph, while he still loved his parsley and pellets, persona massages and nose scritches, was showing signs of being tired. So on a late summer afternoon, June 26, 2007, after a morning of special attention, moments shared rocking gently on a backyard swingset, I had my boy humanely euthanized. To say this was difficult to go through would be a vast understatement; and yet at the same time, I knew that Raph had not truly left me. He taught me a lot in the short time he was here, and - not so many months later - his spirit led me to find another rabbit...one whose infectious quirkiness and odd, rabbitine sense of humour helped release me from the sadness and pain I'd been carrying. Raph had led me to find Yofi, and the rest, as they say, is history.

 

[Wabbitdad12]

I just caught up on your blog. You have a gift of story telling, anyone tell you that before?, loved reading about your other rabbits.

What a cute picture of Snooch as a kitten.

I was chuckling to myself about your dog Charlie. We had a beagle named Barney, when I was a kid in Wisconsin. His house habits left a little to be desired, he was a fun dog. Loved kids, infact we had neighbors that came over and didn't want to play with me or my brother or sister, they wanted to take Barney for a walk.

 

[kherrmann3]

I'm so sorry to hear about Raph's issues. He sounds like he was definitely a very special bunner. :hug:

 

[Bassetluv]

kherrmann3 wrote:

I'm so sorry to hear about Raph's issues. He sounds like he was definitely a very special bunner. :hug:

aaaww...thank you...:hug:

 

[Bassetluv]

Wabbitdad12 wrote:

I just caught up on your blog.  You have a gift of story telling, anyone tell you that before?, loved reading about your other rabbits.

What a cute picture of Snooch as a kitten.

I was chuckling to myself about your dog Charlie.  We had a beagle named Barney, when I was a kid in Wisconsin.  His house habits left a little to be desired, he was a fun dog.  Loved kids, infact we had neighbors that came over and didn't want to play with me or my brother or sister, they wanted to take Barney for a walk.

LOL...last week the woman I'm working for on assignment (at work) said to me "Wow...you really have a way with words!" after I'd written a guideline for others on how to give feedback to the company in China that's taking my (and three others') jobs. And I thought, 'It's funny, even when I don't have a clue what I'm writing about, I get compliments!' :biggrin2:

Snooch was a really special cat to me. His story, in brief, is that he was born to a female cat who used to come to our (basement) apartment window when she was THHHHHIIIIISSSS WIIIIIDE with kittens. My (then) husband discovered later that she belonged to one of our tenants in the building behind us, and he also found out that they were planning on drowning the kittens if they didn't find homes for them. So one day as I was sitting in our living room, the door swung open and in walked this tiny little kitten. Bob had rescued him from a very nasty fate, and, knowing how much I loved animals, he gave him to me.
Snooch was taken from his mother a bit young, and for most of his life he never meowed. Only once did I hear him cry out; it was when we had him at my dad's camp in the woods...we were walking through the forest and Snooch was following, only he was quite far away from us. At one point I guess he thought he'd lost us, and he began to cry...this high-pitched, pitiful little mewling. We called to him and waited, and once he found us he was so elated, purring and wrapping himself around me. He was a great cat.

hehe...yep, sounds like you too had a 'Charlie' with your Barney. Kind of puts one's ego into check when the dog's popularity outweighs the owner! However, to be outdone by a dog isn't such a bad thing, especially when the dog is just so loveable.