This past week was book-ended with loss for our Rescue group.
Philomena, long-time sanctuary bun and notorious feisty lady, made her journey over the Rainbow Bridge on Tuesday. I volunteer time every week at our sanctuary and special needs foster home so teeny tiny Philomena and I had a relationship— not a close one, but that was her choice. Because of medical concerns with her heart, she has never able to be spayed, thus earning her the title of a sanctuary rabbit, one who cannot be adopted out. No matter my approach, fast or slow, quiet or with a verbal warning, Philomena would box her tiny paws at me, then hop away and hide. She never allowed me to connect with her and I respected that. She did have quite the affinity for our volunteer Robert. Robert could handle her better than anyone else. She would let Robert pat and cuddle her.
At the end of January, Philomena’s impairments caught up with her and she quickly fell ill. She got immediate veterinary care but her age (estimated somewhere between 6 and 9 years old) and her physical struggles were just too much for our tiny little fighter to combat. I’ll miss her bug-eyes and her attitude. I’ll remember her fondly as an independent lady who liked her space and who made the tiniest “bunny buttons” in the largest quantities!
And then midweek, adoptable boy Boo fell ill. He recently battled a case of head tilt and infection. We hoped he was recovered… but the illness came back with vengeance. He was “rolling,” which could look more like uncontrollable thrashing– scary for the animal and scary to witness. The outpouring of love from our volunteer team was (as usual) inspiring. While Boo struggled and his condition worsened from mid to end of the week, our team spent extra time at his foster home, making sure Boo could reach his water and food and ensuring he was safe and comfortable. Boo crossed the Rainbow Bridge as we crossed into the weekend. I’m sure Philomena met him there and they binkied off together.
There was a very large and surely very intense abandonment case out in Suffolk county this week and, despite the fact that two other rescue organizations were handling the case, our group received some criticism online for not being actively involved in this situation. On top of the realities of our limited time and money resources… if those critics only knew the truth of what the week was like for our team…
Boundless love to all those who loved Philomena and Boo.