A Tribute To Our BUN

I have been mulling this post in my head for a long while, unsure of where to start or exactly what to write. As I was in the grocery store this afternoon, I passed our BUN's favorite staples - kale, parsley, cilantro, apples. Tearing up, I realized I would never find the exact words to pay tribute to the BUN. There is no happy ending to this story, but plenty of happy and love up to the very end.

I will begin with the tragic end so I can move on to and finish with what is to be remembered about our little guy. Week before last Dana and I headed to New Orleans; I had a work seminar to attend. As is our regular practice, we brought our two dogs and the BUN to my mother for safe keeping while we were away. Shortly after my plane landed on Wednesday morning I called my mother, not to check in, but just to call. She answered the phone in a groggy voice and I assumed I woke her from sleep. Within seconds I realized what I sensed in her voice was not tiredness, but sadness. "The BUN died last night" she said. I was in shock. He wasn't old. He wasn't sick. "What happened?"

A little background....When the BUN visits and stays with my mother he lived cage free in her over-sized bathroom. He was litter trained and absolutely loved the freedom so life was good. Except for the pack of dogs that have longed to get in the bathroom for the past years. The bathroom door is kept closed religiously.

But not that night. My mother was in the bathroom, cleaning the BUN's litter and left a crack in the door. In an instant the lab mix nosed her way into the bathroom and in less than a few seconds had the BUN in her mouth. The little guy died of shock as is common in rabbits when they are severely stressed. Their little hearts already beats 130 to 350 times a minute so it takes very little to send them into a state from which the heart will not recover.

So here is a tribute to our BUN and all the wonderful years we spent with him. While he often chewed our carpet, the baseboards, the laptop charger cord, the sheet rock in the garage, and various other household items, he provided us with much entertainment through his antics and his larger than life personality. He loved us with all of his little bunny heart and we loved him. My fondest memories are burying my face in his soft fur while he let me nuzzle with him for minutes on end. And it will probably be a long, long, long time before I can walk through the produce at the grocery store without thoughts of the BUN hopping through my head.