Fuzzy Delights

His royal fuzzy cuteness Barnaby Fizz...

This little guy has a huge personality & is one of my best friends.

Don't forget the bunnies of our micro-sanctuary have their own Instagram stream.

(and pssst....I have someone new for you all to meet later in the week).

Bladder Stones

We've been having a really hard week.
My honey's first cancer treatment was absolutely awful
and then on top of the stress & pain & exhaustion from all of that
we found ourselves racing Flynn to an emergency vet appointment last Sunday afternoon.
He fell backwards off of a short bench, not even a foot high
and at first it looked like he hurt his foot but he was using it so we were watching him closely...
but then he started doing this weird shuddering movement and it became
clear pretty fast that he was in pain and
it also looked like it wasn't able to pee so we rushed him in.
Even though these emergency vet visits are crazy expensive, we always appreciate our rabbits
doctor meeting us at a moments notice because we know they don't do it for all their clients/patients.

It was not an easy visit, he needed x-rays, the vet tech
and I had to stretch him out and pin him down on the x-ray table
and it clearly painful for him and I had a hard time to settle him down etc ugh.
The scans showed bladder stones!
(Seriously bladder stones on top of Jonathan's bladder cancer, WTF!)
Ugh.

So what probably happened was that little tumble backwards most likely made some of the
smaller stones go through the urinary tract and it caused him pain and trouble to pee.

So he's currently on a strong pain med
but he's suddenly doing way better which leads us to believe that he passed a stone or two.
BUT there's definitely a couple more in there too big for him to pass which require surgery....
but he's over 9!  So we are trying to decide what to do.
The doctor said if he was two or much younger, he wouldn't hesitate to operate & get the stones out
but because he's nine years old and it's a huge surgery maybe we should just be keeping him "comfortable" for as long as he's happy & eating etc...gawd I hate this part of it all so much.
It doesn't matter how long I've been doing this or how many times we have to decide about
a precious animal baby's path, it doesn't ever get any easier.

So he's peeing like normal again which is awesome.
He's eating like a bear again which is super duper great.
He doesn't seem to be in any pain anymore thank goodness...
His ear infection is all cleared up phew!

But do we go ahead with the surgery? We don't know what to do...
especially now with my honey's cancer treatment underway.

I know one thing for sure...life has never felt so fucken raw or rough then it does right now
(I say that with a superstitious fear that it's all going to keep being raw & rough for quite sometime).

The Carrot Mystery

Another case of...

Big Carrot? or Little Bunny?

Korra's Face

I just thought Korra-Soleil's bright orange face might make you smile today...

You can usually tell how she's feeling or what she's wanting, she has such an expressive face.

My External Heart

No words...

Just perfection.

Filling In Lines With Misa

I have to use a chemical transfer to get my images from the paper to my linoleum

and I do have to do so because of how very detailed my designs are...

Sometimes it works really well, sometimes only parts transfer or they do but very faintly.

But I don't mind when I have to fill bits in because I grab a stack of linos in the pipeline,

I grab my Sharpie, a snack and I sit with my girl Misa downstairs and we re-line everything.

If life is about being in your happy place as much as possible, this is certainly one of them.

Rabbit Distractions

A little closer to the end now...I can not wait to do a test run of this beauty...

Misa thinks she helps to keep me on track but her cuteness is the ultimate distraction!!

Heatwaves & Watermelon

I hope your all surviving this heatwave!

We're eating an awful lot of watermelon!!

Heart Attack For Henrie

So on Monday night around 9pm our handsome Henrie suffered a small heart attack.

We were sitting watching t.v. and heard a ruckus in Henrie & Flynn's room so we went running

to find that Flynn was sitting off by himself perfectly normal but Henrie was all stretched out

unable to stand or get up, breathing super hard with a super rapid heart beat.

He was perfectly fine and active and hungry all the day and evening, it was super sudden.

He refused to eat, he didn't want to open his eyes

and his body language held all the signs of a bunny about to die...

We rushed him to the vet

(thank goodness our vet is always there for us no matter the time of day or night)

and suddenly at the vet's office he perked up, to the point where

all 3 of us clearly could see it was not a situation of having to help him pass.

The doctor said he didn't seem to be in distress or pain but his heart did sound full of liquid

and the most likely answer was that he did indeed suffer a heart episode/mild heart attack!

So he was given a shot of a heart medicine that helps the body pass the liquid away from the heart.

We brought him home, laid with him all night long, not sure what was going to happen...

and suddenly around 5am, he popped up without falling over and started to eat!

Now it's Thursday, 3 days later, and he looks like nothing has happened at all.

The doctor said that the attack clearly happened on the side of the heart where he can survive.

We are still holding our breath...he is 9 years old and for big bunnies that is considered quite old.

He's on the exact same heart meds now, twice a day, 12 hours apart just like our Jelly Bean Jaks.

That's thrown me for a loop I tell ya! 

(It hasn't even been 6 months since we ended that whole routine with our Jaks)

To be on that 12 hour cycle again with heart meds, well I admit I had a good cry about it.

BUT, if it means that it keeps our Henrie comfortable and with us and Flynn awhile longer, so be it.

We will adjust and adapt for him, like we've done for so many other buns

because he deserves the best and longest life that we can possibly give him.

People gave up on him before...

that's why he ended up in the shelter system at 4 years old with his sister Elsie.

We'll never ever give up on him...no matter how exhausting...no matter what...

he's too precious and too awesome and he's our boy.

So right now everything seems to be okay...

we're on eggshells but today he's with us so it's a good day.

and now our Henrie Biggins officially has joined the Tough Nut group!

Happy 1st Year Homecoming Higgy

Last week, February 11th.  marked the day one year ago

that we adopted our Higgins

otherwise known as Higgy-Buttons

(or at the shelter as Buttons).

The Toronto Humane Society reached out to us asking if we were able to take him

and at first we said no, we were full up at the moment but I asked about his story anyhow...

I firmly believe that every single animal has a story and that it's important to tell & hear those stories.

Apparently he was a surrendered as a stray, but the shelter questioned that & wondered if he was just a bunny bought as an Easter gift that the people ended up not being able to handle.

He was somehow also missing a part of his cute little button nose.

He hated the shelter and everyone in it...

he was there awhile and the shelter was out of options for him in regards to foster families to give him a shelter break etc and they were worried he was going to be there for a really long time.

Because of his behavioral issues, they were not able to adopt him out to a family that had children because in that case he very most likely would have been returned or possibly worse.

He was ferociously territorial over his shelter pen, he was biting all of the volunteers

and even some of the potential adopters who stuck their fingers in his area

(that's on the people not him however in my opinion!).

Every time this little guy bite someone,

it had to be reported & a city official had to go all the way to the shelter to put a 'bite quaratine'

on the animal, which meant a big orange sticker was placed on their pen doors

and for 5 days straight no one was allowed to go near him...

(He was not potty trained either & made big messes in his pen)..

Higgins was put on FIVE bite quarantines!!!

We ended up calling him 'The Terror Of The THS"!

BUT thankfully someone there at the shelter believed in Higgins

& saw he had a sweetness under those teeth

and he reached out far and wide when their usual crew in/close to the city wasn't able to take him on

and that's when we were contacted.

The shelter knows we have a lot of experience with behavioral issue bunnies...

After I heard Higgins story, I asked to see his little face...and once I saw the pictures I knew in my heart, looking at his sweet little face that he was meant to join our motley damaged crew.

I talked to my honey, we looked around the house, considering his sex and age etc to see

where and how we could indeed fit him in comfortably with agreement that he had to spend

so many hours upstairs every day and once we had that figured out we said 'Well adopt him".

A week later, with arrangements made, we made the 8+ hour drive to go get our little guy.

Nowadays he's doing soooo much better.

He's sectioned off in his own big area in Misa's big room

and after a year they have finally started to bond and

now almost every night they spend 3-4 hours together.

It's going to be awhile before Misa allows him to be in her set of rooms but we think it'll happen

and than we'll be able to happily converge his area with hers but already they play outside together

and cuddle and play during their time upstairs and it's so so amazing to witness and watch.

I managed to get him potty-trained in less than two weeks too.

I just realized that he wanted to pee on blankets, not on hay or litter,

so I spread hand towels where he was peeing the most and every day moved them a bit closer to potty, than I started putting the hand towels into the potty letting him pee on them in there,

than I slowly started adding just a bit of hay and wood pellets at a time and

eventually I started pulling the towels out and voila he was trained to use the potty...

I admit I was pretty proud of him and myself for getting that done ha ha

because one of this things we were dreading, even in a way more than the biting teeth!

was the mess in a room that we and Misa usually keep very very clean

(but we weren't about to not bring a needy little soul into our home just because he was messy).

We are so so so glad that we took the plunge

& trusted that we could handle him & make him feel loved.
I'll never forget it, when we were leaving the shelter with him,
it spread quickly that it was Buttons who was being adopted
and suddnely a big wave of cheering & applause broke out, everyone was so happy for him, ha ha.

He can still be a little bit naughty when we are in his area cleaning

but you can tell as soon as he nips, he knows he's done a mean thing,

and he doesn't nip as hard as when he first came & even then he wasn't too too bad to handle.

Out of his area, he's a golden nugget, he never bites out of his area

and he loves to be picked up during the day for cuddles,

he closes his eyes and leans into my body, and it's than, every time

I see that comfy dreamy look in his blue eyes and feel the pressure of his precious body

press against mine that I am flooded with pride at how far he's come...

and at us for this life we live with these amazing precious strong animals.

So yes, that was a long story! ha ha,

a very very Happy 1st year homecoming to our Higgins...

we love you baby XO.

Brrrrr, Cozy & Lucky

Brrrrrrr....it sure is nasty out there today.  We're expecting over a foot of snow

and that's just after a week of very slippery and icy conditions....YUCK.

But it makes the house and home so so much cozier & delightful & embracing, don't you think?

Those of us who are so very lucky enough to be able to get and stay inside that is!

Cozy Weekend Wishes

The Buns & I hope you all had a really restful and cozy warm weekend...

We hope that your looking forward to the week & we hope you have time to join us once again XO

Flynn's Carrot Theory

Flynns thinks he has cracked the world's problem to happiness, he thinks it's pretty simple...

A safe warm home where you can be yourself & most importantly of all a giant carrot for everyone!

Suffering With Sweetness

Leisel, otherwise known as our marshmallow wrapped in a razor blade! seems to be my sentient.

Teela, my beloved departed used to be my ever trusty watcher,

before her it was our lovely Ella-Luna who took on the job

....always seems to be a female bun that's my watcher.

When I am laying in the bed Leisel comes and checks on me almost hourly,

sometimes she waits and watches me from the end of the bed...

If I don't move for awhile she keeps nudging me until I do move and say "I am okay baby".

It's really really very very touching and sweet, especially coming from our broken Leisel,

even when my head is feeling like it's going to split open, the utter sweetness of it isn't lost on me.

On these days another sweet lovely thing are lovely large sweet soy lattes with a big hit of

coconut whipping cream! (I know I know 'the sugar' but my sugar intake is otherwise low).

Sometimes the hit of strong caffeine with a dose of codeine helps me out a bit pain wise so I see it

as medicinal in a way ha ha! But they do truly feel needed, well deserved & certainly appreciated too!

Big Books Small Bunny

Is it the big bookshelf's and picture books that make our Higgins look extra small...

or is he so small he makes everything else look bigger, ha ha, either way here he is in a favorite spot.

Happy New Year

From me and my family to you and yours...
Happy Happy New Year

I hope you will all join me for another beautiful year
of sharing, inspiring & aspiring XOXO

An Accident & Reminder

Hi guys....

well Lady Leisel decided to try to take the tip of my dominant finger off a few days ago!!!

so I haven't been able to type much or do much of anything in my studio...

I think I have a few more days of healing before I can start again

because even typing this hurts...argh!

Yes, Leisel has behavioral issues for sure but this was just an accident between us ladies,

she saw me coming with a carrot piece for her...

she apparently was starving and couldn't wait and she jumped up unexpectedly,

chomped down on what she thought was the carrot but was indeed my finger tip

and the weight of her falling back down with my finger in her mouth

just about sheared the whole tip off!  Fun stuff!!!

I can't stress enough...rabbit teeth are incredibly sharp!!!

It took about 4 hours of holding it above my head for the bleeding to stop

but the whole time instead of panicking about the nastiest bite I've ever gotten,
I was panicking about what if I had to get stitches...!

what if the doctors thought I had an evil rabid rabbit & tried to come take her away!!

So I was convinced I couldn't go to the hospital for stitches no matter what...luckily I didn't have to!

But yep, that's where my mind went
than I calmed down a bit and started worrying about infection because it was pretty deep...
no one could know that my Lee Lee did this...
Yep, ha ha maybe I do watch to much Grey's Anatomy!!

My goodness....ugh....
but ya know this is the perfect example with Easter around the corner,

to remind people that rabbits are not good Easter presents unless you've done your research.

Rabbits are very emotional little beings, some more than others and as cute and cuddly
as they look a lot of buns do not like to be held or picked up or are fussy with how they are handled

and for whatever the reason, be it mistreatment, mishandling or a very hungry tummy...
sometimes their nasty pointy teeth make an appearance!
So please think about that & make your Easter gifts chocolate, not living breathing beings
that deserve the world but instead might be dumped outside or in an already crowded shelter,
like Leisel here was, she was clearly abused and clearly neglected before finally
she was dumped at a shelter where she had to wait a long time for experienced adopters!

Meet Higgins

Everyone we want you to meet somebun very special
our brand new shelter baby

Higgins

(known at the Toronto Humane Society as Buttons)

He was this very troubled little city bun in desperate need of a home

(surrendered as a stray, which might have been a cover story based on his nasty pointy teeth!)

The shelter knew he was very troubled...

he was biting & peeing on all of the volunteers & caregivers

(the poor little guy was put on bite quarantine with the city officials FIVE times!)

He was at the shelter for many many long months & his stay was looking endless

because he wasn't going to be released to just any home, let alone one with kids,

he needed a super experienced family loaded with skills, steely nerves & thick skin, ha ha!

He needed behavioral issue/special need adopters &

unfortunately none of the shelters usual group were able to take him on...

so when the shelter reached out for help far & wide on his behalf we were contacted,

we said no at first...

but a week later we were still thinking about him, so we asked more questions & for pictures...

than we talked about it in depth & the more we talked the more it felt right.

My honey reminded me that one way to fight evil in this world is to hold our heads up high

and to keep doing good ourselves, to keep helping animals whenever we can...

Sure it's nerve-racking & there are many parts of behavioral issue/special need adoption animals

that are not fun and are for sure exhausting BUT we somehow are the island of misfit buns

and here was a little guy who wasn't fitting in anywhere else....

So we made the decision, got super excited, prepped a whole big area for him to Misa's dismay

and than we made the 9+ hour drive to our favorite shelter and scooped him up...

He's 3 year old, a dutch mix dwarf with a tiny piece of his poor little nubbin nose missing.

He needs some serious trust work done & potty habits instilled & Miss Misa is not too happy

at all to have him in part of her rooms even though he seems quite interested in her.

We are taking turns sleeping with him & Misa, refereeing at the moment more than sleeping!

(we admit we are pooped and some monster migraines sure are not making this bit easier!)

He's going to be a handful, but everything always settles beautifully over time...he'll be just fine.

he's a handful but now he's our handful and we love the wee blue-eyed soul already.

(follow Higgins on our new Instagram bunny stream @LeporidaeLovely)

9 Little Vegans All In A Row

Leisel is a little foodie, like Flynn, like me, like her Daddy...

With the 7 buns and us two, we make 9...Nine little veg-heads all in a row...

She's happy that her parents after many years of being vegetarian have finally gone vegan...

we're feeling pretty good about it too.  It's not always easy but our love for animals gets us through.

Weaving Again

I put my weaving away for quite awhile, just when I was getting into it...I haven't told anyone why...

It was because I was working on this outside with Teela the week she suddenly got sick and passed....

I haven't been able to look at it since really...

the same way, I haven't been enjoying the yard like normal.

 

But, I figured it was getting time to break out all the weaving stuff again and try again...

every though it makes my heart so heavy...I've been in a fog since I've lost my best friend...

I am trying to emerge from it, I just don't think time will heal this one for me but I am trying...

So I started to teach myself again, I started enjoying the yard again
& Leisel, our awesome & newest shelter adoptee is helping me with that for sure.