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How was YOUR day?
This is one of those diary blog posts.
I didn’t exactly expect to have a good day, given what it commemorates. It started off worse than I’d expected. I was awakened by a rabbit asking for a ride to the emergency vet. Breathing hard, shaking, refusing to eat, ears cold to the touch, and that was just me. Thistle was even worse. We’d been through this before, so the sock full of rice as a bunny hot water bottle was constructed and microwaved in an efficient hurry and it was off to the vet.
Rabbits drop dead astonishingly quickly from not eating and having low temperatures. Today of all days. I steeled myself to kick Coyote’s ass for perpetrating the Meanest Joke Ever.
But the crisis proved elusive. The vet sent us back with bunny medicine to be placed in a bunny eyedropper and squirted into the bunny mouth. There were, typically, no supplies provided to treat the inevitable bunny lacerations and bunny gougings.
I had exactly enough time to sit out back for a few minutes at noon, and then it was off again to accept an astonishingly generous contribution by the Harrington family toward the completion of the Joshua tree book.* There’s a word for a mixture of humility and elation, but damned if I can remember what it is.
Thistle seems better, having weathered two hours of solitude without permanent results, but I spent the rest of the evening about to jump out of my skin with fretting nonetheless.
You know? I hate pets.
But I’m counting his recovery in the “win” column, so it was a good day.
* (Additional generosity was provided by Becky, who drove 100 miles round trip to deliver me to the donation, despite driving being her least favorite thing to do. Thank you, Becky.)
Posted by: Chris Clarke
Note: A database glitch in 2008 ate a bunch of archived comments. Don't be offended if yours isn't here, or confused if the conversation seems disjointed. Thanks!
>“There were, typically, no supplies provided to treat the inevitable bunny lacerations and bunny gougings.”
Heh, I remember those from my bunny… Looked like I’d been in a fight with a wildcat. Glad to hear that Thistle is on the mend.
By: By thegirlfrommarz on 2008 02 04
“You know? I hate pets.”
: )
By: By Joan Kelly on 2008 02 04
Have you tried swaddling Thistle in a towel before administering meds? It might reduce both the number of pints of blood you shed and the trauma to Thistle.
By: By Nan on 2008 02 04
I clearly have a number of significant Bunny Misconceptions. I am quite familiar with the logistical problems involved in administering medications to kitties but had no idea that bunnies would pose similar problems. Very glad to know Thistle is on the mend.
By: By Charles on 2008 02 04
I do hope you read him my letter, very sternly, while patting. And that he’s eating more dandy lions. With parsley.
By: By Theriomorph on 2008 02 04
I had a rabbit as a kid who not only kicked brutally with her claws, but was prone to biting if you touched her in the wrong way (and most ways were wrong). Rabbit teeth and claws are a lot sharper than one might think!
The donation? Amazing. Not only practical, but with a story and pictures attached. :)
By: By Rachel Shaw on 2008 02 04
poor thistle! glad he is on the mend. those bunny back legs are nothing to mess with, not to mention the teeth.
great news about the donation.
By: By kathy a on 2008 02 04
Think you’ll like your Cherokee…my ‘96 has always taken whatever I choose to dish out. I do occasionally suffer white liberal guilt about the name though…
By: By Sven DiMilo on 2008 02 04
“This is one of those diary blog posts.”
So, um, where are the cows?
Oh, wait. Never mind.
By: By miguel alondra on 2008 02 04
A day of highs and lows… glad it was ending on a up note. Good wishes to Thistle, and to you.
By: By sam on 2008 02 04
it sure is good to have friends. and people who believe in you, eh? yeah…
By: By nezua on 2008 02 05
My pet bunny died (I was seven years old) after only one weekend of little-or-no water. :( (My aunt ‘forgot’ to give him water.) I’m still amazed by how FAST that happened. It’s the main reason I never had another bunny-pet; they have always seemed so very delicate to me. And that just broke my little heart, as a child.
I’m glad Thistle is better now!
By: By Daisy on 2008 02 06
