Anouska

I am very sad to report that my dear Anouska is no longer with us. Following a lifetime of back issues, her pain and immobility became a serious issue these last few weeks, so after exhausting all our options her vet and I decided it was kinder to let her go - at around 10:25 this morning, 11th June 2018, she crossed over to the bridge.

She may not have been a big fan of the camera, but her life with us was still well documented both on this blog and over on Big Ear, Tiny Tales. There is no better way to remember her wonderful personality and signature sun-lit flop-naps than re-visiting those pages, something I will surely be doing many times over the coming weeks and years.

My dearest Anouska. You were a special little soul that I will never forget. It felt such a privilege to be able to give you more than four years in the kind of home you wanted, after who knows what you had endured for the first part of your life. Rest pain-free and in peace, my beautiful old girl.

Access Denied

Apparently, "humans aren't allowed in the VIP area". I thought about putting two carrots on my head to look like bunny ears, but I somehow doubt they'd make it past this bouncer...

It's A Trip

"If you've finished taking your nap on the floor, get me some snacks, I'm feeling a bit peckish. All that dashing under your feet at the last second has given me an appetite. Oh, nice landing, by the way."

Four Year Term

I regularly use Big Ears, Tiny Tales as a substitute for having any decent kind of memory. "When was such-and-such? Oh, it was around the time when that bunny did that thing! I'll go see when that was....".

This month I realised we had hit a significant anniversary in that it is four years since Anouska and MrB moved in. Sure, they were only fosters at the time, but since they turned into permanent residents without ever leaving again, I feel we should celebrate it anyway.

I didn't record the date, they'd moved in by this weekend, so we're just going to go ahead and celebrate it now. Happy anniversary, you grumpy old fluffs. I love you both very much, may we have many more happy days ahead!

"Do anniversaries come with...treats?"

"'nana shaped treats?"

[sigh] Yes, I suppose they do.

Note: Since they don't really do photos, these pics are actually from a couple of weeks back when I caught them unawares in the garden.

Anouska's Back

It's probably about time Anouska had another post. In case you've forgotten why my own bunnies don't generate regular posts...

"If I can't snack on that clickity box, I'm not interested."

Almost B

BHV: Come on MrB, let's have a photo of you, we haven't been able to put your chubby butt on the blog for weeks!
MrB: Nope.
BHV: How about for a treat?
MrB: Oh, OK then...[snatch][scarpering off]...psych!
BHV: Joke's on you MrB, I took one anyway! I bet It came out really clearly too and...

BHV: ...oh. Oh well, there's always tomorrow. [sigh]

Tidying Up 2017

I wanted to tidy up and archive my photo catalogs today, but I forgot I was going to do that so I didn't get round to buying the external hard disk I needed and it didn't get done. I did however find some photos on one of my cameras that I had completely forgotten about from earlier this month, when I offered my two an old pet bed I had lying around.

"Oh, OK..."

"I see, I see..."

"I like what you've done here..."

"So it's a...an...erm..."

"I give up. So do I poop in it or what?"

Mood Selector

Hmmm...

What do you reckon? Sleepy? Grumpy? Deep in thought? I can never quite tell with Anouska. Actually, I am going to go with that last one and the thought is "I wonder how big a hole I need to chomp into his jeans to get him to move out of my way?"...

Meta-Painless, Meta-Yum

We are having another go at giving Anouska Metacam pain relief for a couple of weeks to see if her agility improves. She has always been a bit awkward in her movement and it has gradually gotten worse as she has aged.

Last time she had Metacam was actually to support a stasis recovery, she wasn't keen, but then it was just one of several medicines she had to endure. So while most bunnies think it is a tasty treat, I was concerned that she wouldn't take it. I needn't have worried.

"Can I get a second hit of that?"

Post Sick Post

We had a bit of a scare with Anouska yesterday, she was having really bad discomfort/pain and stopped eating, not sure what caused it. Vet trip, gut motility meds, pain meds... and now this look.

I'm pretty sure that's not her "I'm impressed with your handling of the situation and making sure I stayed healthy" look.

Nanapodge

"Oh, you're here."

"I've heard the word 'diet' a few times recently, yeah, sure, like you, we are a bit podge right now, but you need to remember something pal..."

"BANANAS ARE HEALTHY!"

Yes, but they're also full of sugar, soooo...... Sorry.

Always Snoozing

We've had a sort of a forced break here on this blog recently due to some daily fur-cleaning interventions making humans very unpopular in the MrB/Anouska household. That's died down a little now, but I thought I'd better not risk trying to take a photo of a conscious bun just in case I ended up on the end of some sort of retributions.

Jungle Adventurer

"Drat, lost in the dense foliage again. Nothing for it but to eat my way out..."

Snooze Town

Sorry, terrible photo today, but I so rarely get to take a photo of them napping together!

I've also seen them in a full-on snuggle this week, but I did not dare disturb it with a camera. I know they probably snuggle all the time, but MrB doesn't usually let his guard down if he knows I'm nearby, for fear of being easily grabbed for his regular tummy cleaning.

Benches

BHV: Why is bunnies hiding under their benches?

"No reason!"

"No reason!"

BHV:[Checks bottoms] Uh oh. Didn't like the accidentally sudden switch from greens to sweetheart cabbage, huh?
[Begins long and messy cleanup...]

Irregular Activity

I've pretty much given up on trying to get regular photos of my two for this blog. They're just so not into it, probably less so than ever before, it takes a lot of treats to persuade them to do anything I want them to.

Plus, if we're honest, their fluffy little waistlines could do without more treats...

"Did you just call us fat?"

Erm...well...if the chubby moniker fits... Oh no. I hope Little Miss Foot-Chomper didn't just hear me say that!

[...lick..lick..lick...]

Phew! Distracted! Think I got away with that.

"Don't think that just because my fur is more important than you that your slippers won't be on the receiving end of a very unfortunate accident later. Or that you won't be in them at the time."

Uh oh.

Look But Don't Touch

"So that's the sound you make when you're hovering, shall we find out what sound you make when somebun chomps your feet?"

To be fair Anouska, I'm pretty sure we both already know what that sounds like, thanks to you!

Fair Share

"Quick question - we've done our bit for today, so when are YOU going to chip in and eat YOUR share of this grass?"

Erm...

Taxi For Two

"Bobbit! Stop nomming and shift your butt, our taxi is here!"

The Strawberry-Filled Banana Donut

Anouska is on pain pills this week to see if it helps her move better. The vet suggested syringing them into her mouth mixed with mushy food, but my attempts at that failed dramatically

Now, she loves fruit, especially bananas and strawberries. So for the last few days I have been pushing the pills into a small piece of banana and medicating her by stealth - she thinks she's just getting extra treats. It was all working out well until today when I tried to mix things up and use strawberry - for some reason, "not banana" was worth some thumping and grumping.

After several unsuccessful attempts to persuade her it was something tasty, I resorted to digging the now half-dissolved tablet out of the strawberry, scooping out a piece of the banana and slotting the strawberry/medicine mix in. So she ended up with something resembling a banana donut with strawberry centre. It worked well, she scoffed it immediately, but I'm dreading tomorrow - I fully expect her to reject her morning medicated banana until I put the strawberry filling in it again.