Lilly Puddin'

July 8th 2002

Waiting for Robert Bonanno

The brilliant white hopper is eating grass on the other side of the Rainbow
Bridge right about now. I know this because I left her lifeless body at the
vets office, after having helped her cross.
It sure doesn't feel like much, nor do I feel this great sense of
accomplishment for having done the responsible thing. In fact, it doesn't feel
like anything at all. Just hurts a bunch.
She had a mammary cancer that had mushroomed out into both sides of her
chest. She was starting to breathe hard (pant) and it was time for her to go
home.
We're all going to miss our Lilly Puddin a whole bunch.
She's left a big ol hole in my heart, at least. I suspect every bunny else ,as
well. She was the ONLY bunny everyone respected, left alone, and came over
to be friends with. And I mean everyone: humans, animals, stray cats, the
bunch.
She used to come over every single morning when I was fixing pellet
breakfast to steal/beg for her Maria Cookie, an arrowroot like cookie that
babies get in Spain, very wholesome teething cookie. She loved them, and
could have made a meal from them.
She lived with us for 4 and a half years, she was 3 or 4 when we got her and
had been living under a church as a feral rabbit for almost 3 of those years
before us. I discovered Lilly one morning ,when she came out to sun herself 6
months before I took her.

In the meantime I attempted to educate her caregivers about rabbits until
one day I found her under the feet of 20 girl scouts running thru the
churchyard with another 20 or so parents standing around and talking while
Lilly was underneath them just relaxing. Of course anyone who knows about
rabbits knows something is terribly wrong with that picture:
She had endometriosis so bad she was dying and almost did at the hands of a
very competent surgeon, but we got her back, and she came to live with me
right after my ex wife threw us all out of our home and we went to live in
my mothers house for 4 months til we found our own place.
At the time I was so sick, all I could do was work a split shift to support
us, at that time, I would come home at lunch time and lay on the floor with
Lilly and rub her while I napped, Lilly would sit there til I fell asleep, or
she was satisfied that I rubbed her well enough (sometimes hours)
When there was a big scare of mycotoxins, we got a bag of kaytee rainbow
exact, and halfway thru the bag we found fuzzie, and mold and Lilly got
sick. Thanks to PB and all the threads, I knew what to do ,even before she
became symptomatic and she was flushed out ,even before she got symptom
number1.
She's left behind 8 bunnies who loved her 2 human children, especially Gabriel
who would sleep with her on weekends on the floor, just to be with her, and
the only one who could ever trim her nails *was* Gabriel. He was her special
human. She loved me, but She would get excited when she saw Gabriel. The
mention of his name was enough to activate her *hyper*button ;-))
And of course, besides all the humans, the animals, etc.. there was me. I fell
hopelessly in love with that bunny and all her little mannerisms. Even as
sick as she was last night, this morning she ran in the kitchen to get her
Maria cookie.......
That was my Lilly Puddin', my brilliant white hopper. GOD
knows how much I've loved her. I love you and already miss
you Lil'Puddin'
 

Robert Bonanno