[Petbunny] Miss Francesca and such

[Cindy Scheel]

Greetings, all,

I've had ISP problems and during that, as you may know thanks to the  
kindness of a friend posting for me, Miss Francesca died Monday.

It was sudden, and in the "typical" fashion they do - not eating well  
one day, fine the next, go into hiding and then quietly pass. She has  
never been sick, and until Saturday was her usual self. Sunday she  
was back eating treats and while she looked a little, I don't know...  
sleepy, she was fine and I checked her over. She had no signs of  
stasis. She caused some more worry later on, I got up at 4:22 to  
check on her, and she was sitting on her rug in her usual place. At  
around 5:45 or so Q came scratching at my door and running around the  
hall trying to wake me. I got up around 6:15 and she had passed from  
This Level to The Next.

I buried her in the flower garden near Venus, with two lovely new  
plants flanking her grave, she will have color and texture all year  
'round. Her stalwart best friend, Stuffy, went with her. They were  
never apart in life and I just could not part them afterward. Stuffy  
will guard her, and she will no doubt keep a lookout for his welfare,  
too.

Miss Francesca came to me after a large rescue operation in SoCal. A  
friend saw the posting on PB that said "These Rabbits Die Tomorrow"  
and went to look at the pictures on the website. He saw her little  
fuzzy face and could not bear to have her condemned for being "too  
many". He brought her home and introduced her to Stuffy, her quiet,  
stalwart friend. After about three months Francesca came to live with  
me. On the way to Portland, she terrorized a Drunken Raider Fan on  
the airplane and was a First Class Bunny, getting her own bag of  
peanuts. She loves Stuffy very much and was constantly dunking his  
head into the food and water bowls to be sure he was eating and  
drinking enough. After Venus died, she would pull Stuffy around to  
cuddle with if Q was not in the warren. As they say in the Velvetine  
Rabbit, "love makes you real" and Stuffy was very real to her.

She was a tiny little thing, about three or four pounds and most of  
that fluffy fur. She was "paw gifted" and could thump loud enough to  
be heard down the street. She was also afraid of her own shadow but  
loved Justin, Edmund, Vortex, Q and Venus. Now she has joined the  
Harrison Garrison and the Two Vs at the Bridge. Sleep well, Fuzzy  
Princess, there is nothing to fear where you are now.

I keep looking for her and so does Q. Q has not let me out of his  
sight for the entire time since her crossing. I happen to be on  
vacation so am home and he is glued to my side. If I am gone for more  
than ten minutes he starts stressing and goes looking for me. He is  
clearly depressed and in mourning.

I expect there is a trip to the Humane Society in our near future for  
some blind dates for Q. He has never been alone and is not handling  
it well. He imprinted on me as a baby but that isn't the same, a Mom  
isn't a girlfriend and he needs someone to snuggle with. I'm not  
quite up to adding to the warren just yet but perhaps in September.

Well, I hear Q rattling things downstairs summoning me so I must go.  
Thank you all who wrote condolences and called. It is with the  
kindness of our PB friends that we can bear these terribly sad times.  
I hope Miss Francesca enjoyed her life with me, and I hope she is  
happy now. And for now, I must tend to the living, who is threatening  
to eat my toes if I don't pet him. Bunnies. They truly do epitomize  
the Circle of Life.

Cindy