An end to every beginning

Isn't it sad how sooner or later things have to die? For example, yesterday afternoon, our dear sweet Izzy died. Yes, she was the mama rabbit, and she has left behind eight fuzzy bunnies in her memory.

It all happened so fast. On Saturday she was fine, hopping around, nuzzling us to be petted and being her normal sweet self. But on Sunday morning Emily came careening into the house, frantically telling me to hurry and come outside because for some reason Izzy couldn't breath. I dashed outside, not caring that I was in my church clothes and that I was getting them dirty. Izzy was indeed in a pitiful state. She had her nose pointed in the air and every breath she took was labored and rattle-y. After a more thorough examination I concluded that she had a bad case of pneumonia. Emily brought her (Izzy) inside while I began getting things ready in the kitchen. Obviously I couldn't go to church now, so Emily and I stayed to try and save Izzy. First, to make breathing easier for her I made a Chamomile steam. she was so miserable that she didn't care what I did to her. An hour and a half later she was breathing better but each breath still rattled a lot. Next I mixed up three small garlic cloves with half a cup of a Mullein infusion and gave her a dropper full every hour. The garlic heads straight for the lungs and helps fight bacteria, while the mullein helps bring mucus up and soothes the pain. Both herbs are frequently used when battling pneumonia.
After three doses she had perked up enough to start fighting the dropper rather than taking it and she was breathing quitely now. I took this as a good sign.....

When it was time for her next dose, I went to her cage and looked in, only to find that our dear sweet Izzy was no more. (excuse me while I wipe my tears)

Emily was terribly upset and now all the rest of our rabbits are in danger of contracting the illness as well. We are working on isolating them all and then thoroughly cleaning everything.

I think she was probably our sweetest doe we ever had; and to make things worse, we never got a picture of her. She was a beautiful little thing, her coat was snowy white with a satiny black blanket draped over her. Her face was petite and her eyes were always inquisitive.
To make Emily feel a little bit better, I am giving up the baby bunny that I was going to keep and am letting her choose one.

I think the bunnies will be okay without their mama. They are almost five weeks old and are eating grain on their own now.

~Caitlyn