on friday i found my lop eared rabbit had passed away. today is easier but, friday was horrible, had to take a valium. many, many pets have come & gone in my life but, i dont get used to it. rudy was a rescue. i got him from our kennel assistant @ the clinic i work at. she found him wandering in the park. her dog loves to eat rabbits so i took him home. that was 3 years ago. he was between 4-5 yrs. when i got him. prey animals dont ever show signs of being ill until its too late. i tucked him in on thursday night & came in after work on friday & he was gone. rabbits only live 8-10 yrs. so he had a long life. it still hurts. his special spot where he loved to lounge is empty & his little face isnt there anymore to greet me when i come in to visit. all thats left is this void, this huge hole. it really sucks. ill miss you always rudy rabbit. love mama.

Rudy,

I am so sorry for your loss. I got an Rx for xanax when my dog passed, then another a few weeks later when my cat went too. I've taken them before when life was particularly stressful, but NOTHING stopped me from crying or the intense pain of loss. You are a lovely person for saving a bunny, and I hope time helps.

Best,
Jennifer (Saki and Freyja's mom)

I know you feel the valium is helping but (in my opinion) all your doing is delaying the hurt and making it last longer.
I too lost my rabbit Ringo a few years ago his back legs went completly so he was dragging them along behind him.
The pain of loosing him was unbearable but we have to go through that in order to come out the other end with our happy memories.
Take one minute at a time and treasure the tears they show how much you loved Rudy.
Love Sue

I am going to disagree with Sue. Sorry, Sue. Taking the xanax (or valium, or whatever) is fine. I think it would be bad if you didn't allow yourself to grieve at all. To totally repress or deny -- it would escape through other ways. But I think the grief can be so intense -- it's just not HEALTHY. I've had to start taking stomach acid reducers as well bc the grief has physiological consequences. I say the xanax didn't seem to help much, and that's true as far as I still cried all day every day for a solid month. But I think without it, the psychological and physiological devastation may have seriously done damage to my body and my mind. You do have to go through the grieving process in order to survive and to heal, but I don't think I personally could've survived or begun to heal WITHOUT chemical assistance.

I bet Ringo and Rudy rabbits are having fun at Rainbow Bridge...

Love to all,
Jennifer

Hi "dolphinangel"
I'm very sorry about the loss of your Rudy Rabbit. I wonder how much sympathy you are getting from friends and family because he was a rabbit not a dog. I know some rabbits of Huge Character, who form a central part of their human familes' lives, but not everyone has met such a rabbit character and so may not realise what they can be like. I hope you are able to tell everyone what a fab bunny he was. He certainly had a good long life, and it seems from what you said that he wasn't ill (rabbits do stop eating when ill don't they?) so perhaps it was that old age finnally caught up with him.

Don't be surprised at how much grief you feel because it's usually in direct proportion to amount of love you feel for your pet. Think of it as the down side of love. If we didn't love it wouldn't hurt. Would it help to put something in the place where he liked to sit, to change things around so the room looks different now? After my last cat died I went round the house like a zoombie, slowly putting away cat related things, giving their beds to my boyfriend to store in his attic etc. I knew that if I had to keep seeing these things the tears would never stop. You must do whatever you think will help you get over this and I understand your need to take valium short term. Wallowing in the misery and crying all day can make you sick so try and keep busy or go away for a weekend's break if possible.

Take care, Helen

I had a thought today and realised, ok you didnt take valium but you drank enough to sink a ship.
Please be careful though they can be addictive and it isn’t easy to come off them if you take them for too long.
Below is the old forums web page - i dont think MD Cohn will appreciate me giving it out but its full of people that have been through what your going through and reading it might help even though it will probably make you cry more.
Let us know how your getting on.
Love Sue

http://lightning-strike.com/forums/

The greatest balm you will ever find for your spirit is here - with the people on this forum. We truly FEEL your pain and will talk you through the worst of it.

Talk to us - share your feelings - and we will help you.

And remember - YOU, out of all the people out there - have found US. You are only as alone as you WANT to be.

I've never had a bunny, but I like them and I can understand how much love you feel for yours. I share your sorrow.