Because Grant studied so well with his tutor on Saturday morning, I let them go to the movies in the afternoon. When I went to pick them up afterwards Grant looked so incredibly happy. "Wow, the movie was just the right thing," I thought.
Not quite.
He was happy because his tutor had bought 2 white rabbits for him. One for him and one for Audrey.
Now before you get all "awwww" on me, let me say he used my money to buy the rabbits.
The kids were thrilled.
I was not.
Because seriously - owning a pet is a big deal. It should be something you enter into after a great deal of thought and preparation. Not an impulse purchase.
Our family is sooooooo not ready to take care of another mammal. I could stretch that word "so" out from here to Ontario and it would still not convey how not ready we are.
I have trouble taking care of the 4 hearts that are already beating in this house. I can not handle any more. I love the way Kristen put it a few days ago - I have to avoid any activities "that would deplete my time, money, and sanity (three dangerously low resources right now)."
But anyway, we were proud pet owners. The kids adored them. I resigned myself to them. Buddy is on a business trip so he didn't care either way. Isn't it amazing sometimes how these things transpire while the partners are out of town?
The pet store gave Grant some strange advice when they sold him the rabbits. They said not to give them water. And make sure that any food we gave them was dried out.
Is that weird? I thought that was weird. I checked several pet care websites and none of them say that.
Last night I decided the rabbits needed some bok choy with a few drops of water on it. I mean, I think rabbits actually need water and even if they don't, surely it wouldn't kill them! Grant begged me not to do it. But I explained to him that all living things need water. It's a law of nature.
Both rabbits died overnight.
Guilt and relief, they are playing tug-of-war with my heartstrings today. Right now guilt is winning, as it always does.
At first I was sad that during our short time with the rabbits I never got to take pictures of the them. But then I realized.
I have kids.
I have an iPhone.
OF COURSE I have pictures of the rabbits!
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8 comments:
Is it bad that I laughed a bit after reading "Both rabbits died overnight"?
I completely understand and agree with you. Goodness, you just don't buy pets for someone else's family on a whim.
When my sister was little (about 5-6 years old), we found an itty bitty bunny in our backyard. For some reason, the poor thing was abandoned (or so we thought). My sister was so elated. She took him into her room, fed him grass and, of course, plenty of water was provided. And then he died very, very soon! Now your story brought some light as to why he died.
that's bizarre. you always want to have a full water bottle for your bunnies, and definitely not dried out food. I give mine fresh veggies plus pellets everyday. It's much more likely that they died from a lack of water.
I believe certain leaf vegetables are poisonous to rabbits. Bok Choy is one of them. So your rabbit did not die of water, but the bok choy.
Ulyana, your story makes me think rabbits are actually very fragile. Especially if we don't know where they came from, how diverse their gene pool was, etc.
Sin-Yaw and Patterns of Yum, you make me realize how un-ready we were to be rabbit-owners.
I think bunnies aren't all that hearty - that's why they have so many babies....and it gives us the funny saying of "doing it like bunny rabbits!" Still, ick, what a bit of drama all the way around - yikes!
bok choy is NOT posionous to rabbits and is actually recommended to be one of the many leafy green veggies to feed them.
A little late to this party, but the first thing you should do when you decide to get/keep a new pet(regardless of whether you wanted it in the first place) is to read a few websites. Literally 2-5 minutes can learn you that bok choy is not only not bad for rabbits, it's a great part of their diet. Also, to always have water available.
Besides that, pet stores are among the worst place to get any pet, let alone a smaller animal that could be vulnerable to disease and mistreatment. By the sounds of it, the rabbits given to you were being treated pretty poorly, if the seller gave you such awful advice.
Seriously, people: Don't support pet stores. If you want a pet, any pet, do a little research and find reputable breeders in your area.
Anon the party never stops around here - welcome!
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