Rabbit Story

It's time to write about our rabbits. Or I guess I should say Madi's rabbits because really, this is Madi's story.

Back in October, Madi's rabbit, Luna, had her first litter. Two baby bunnies. Madi named them Boomer (1) and Crash (2). They were named for their lively and rambunctious attitudes. They jumped from her hands and wiggled out of the cage before their eyes were opened. There were problems from the beginning. Luna, as a first-time mommy, didn't make a nest. We created one for her with shredded newspaper and cotton balls. We also realized, early on, that she was not feeding the babies well. We started manually feeding the bunnies by holding Luna and bringing the babies to her. It seemed to work...at least for the first week.

When the bunnies were 10 days old, (on a day when my husband was out of town, traveling for work) we found them in the evening cold and barely moving. It was clear that Luna had not fed them all day, and they were dying.

We did everything we could. We called a vet. We called the breeder who had sold us our original rabbits. We did everything they told us to do. We tried to warm the bunnies up with a blow dryer. We raced to the pet store to buy a tiny bottle and kitten formula. We tried to feed them.

But it was too late. Boomer died in Madi's hands soon after we attempted the bottle feeding. And then, in the middle of the night, Madi and I awoke at the same time and went to check on Crash. Madi held Crash in her hands until, he too, died moments later.

I've never seen Madi cry harder. I cried with her. Neither of us could sleep that night. Madi felt a weight of responsibility for their birth, and as much as I tried to convince her otherwise, she also felt guilt for their death. It was one of the longest nights of my life.

Fast forward to this spring. Madi decided to try again. Luna had her second litter. SIX bunnies. And this time, she was a stellar mommy. She made a picture-perfect nest with hay and her own fur. She protected, she hovered, she coddled those babies. And she fed them each day until their bellies were round and full. All six survived.

Madi chose the best of the litter--a beautiful buck. She named him Apollo. Meya got the second pick. She chose another beautiful buck and named him Blaze.

We will sell the remaining four in a couple weeks. And until then, we play with them, look at that full cage, those six balls of fur, the proud mommy, and know that this story has a happy ending in spite of the sad beginning.

I watch Madi as she holds the babies close and whispers in their long ears. And I know that part of the joy shining in her face is connected to the sad. Life is like that, isn't? The opposition. The bitter and the sweet. And though I wish we could have saved Boomer and Crash, I'm grateful for this experience of life and death. Of second chances. Of lessons learned. Of joy, understood and appreciated that much more, because of the sorrow.