CAPE FEAR HOUSE RABBIT SOCIETY   SID'S PLACE

Sid's Place is our page for friends to place memorials to their companion rabbits who have passed over the Rainbow Bridge. This special site just had to be named for Sid, the bunny responsible for the creation of the Cape Fear House Rabbit Society. We invite you to submit a photo along with a memory of your beloved friend, and we will post it here.

Sid began his life with us just like so many other pet store rabbits do - a not-very-well-thought-out purchase intended as a friend for our son's guinea pig. How hard could a rabbit be? Guinea pigs were easy - give them pellets, water, treats, they were very tame and easily held by our son - this little bunny was the same size - how cute! Our first awakening came about 5 minutes after we got Sid home, and he proceeded to jump out of the cardboard box with the 6 inch high sides we had the guinea pig in - okay, next plan - Sid got his very own lavish indoor condo with three levels, complete with pine chips(9) for litter. To our credit, Sid did get quite a bit of "out time", although much of that was spent hiding under chairs and tables so we would not catch him and hold him. He did come running for candy treats, and we thought that was cute, so we fed him lots of candy, in addition to his rabbit pellets. His favorite person in the family was our college student daughter, who would lie on the living room floor and do her homework. Sid found this fascinating, and was all over her, jumping on her back, chewing up her papers, and having far more interaction with her than the rest of us who kept trying to hold him. After we had him nearly a year, we noticed he seemed to be drooling, but he wasn't acting any differently, so it wasn't until his food consumption was down considerably that we took him to the vet. Probably the smartest thing I did up to that point was take him to the vet school at The Ohio State University where they had a vet experienced in rabbits who examined him, and to my complete shock, told me he had a very serious abscess in his mouth and could not be saved. I was totally unprepared for this news - he had not seemed that sick! So the decision was made to put Sid to sleep, and my feelings of sadness and guilt were so overwhelming I could barely make it out of the waiting room, let alone drive home. The vet kindly gave me a card for someone to call if I wanted to learn more about rabbits - which at that very moment I did not, but within a few days I found myself calling the chapter manager of the Columbus House Rabbit Society. It may have been guilt that led me to make that first call, but all it took was one visit to her house to see how to 'really' live with a rabbit and I was hooked. It was probably lack of proper diet(specifically hay) that killed Sid, and I can't help but believe that each time I tell a potential adopter or a caller on the phone how important proper diet is to the health of their rabbit, Sid is somewhere over that famous Bridge doing a binky of approval. Though his time on earth was short, he left a large legacy behind - just over 100 rabbits rescued, spayed or neutered and placed in loving homes have him to thank. We love you and miss you, Sid.

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Dottie,  2001 - 2008

Dottie arrived into the Watkins family in January of 2002 to be a friend to our bunny, Otis, who had just lost his beloved Thumper, and what a friend she was to him! From the minute she met him she was smitten, and her love never wavered. She did not care much for anyone else, human or rabbit - granting us who fed her daily only the rarest of pets and even then she acted as if she was doing us a huge favor. She became a valuable teaching tool - as an educator for the House Rabbit Society I often hear from people that they want to adopt a lop-eared rabbit because they are friendly - all I had to do was point to Dottie to dispel that myth. She also took it as her mission to run off any stray foster rabbits to dared set foot into "her" room that she shared with Otis, as if to say that Otis was hers and that room was off limits! We were content to keep our distance from Dottie because she took such good care of Otis - grooming him, laying beside him, sharing her life with him. Otis developed a pituitary tumor several years ago which has caused him to act as if he is no longer neutered - this put a strain on their relationship because he became relentless in chasing and trying to mount her. We were able to control him somewhat with medication, but their last few years together were stressful for Dottie. In spite of it all, Dottie never rejected him, or wanted to be apart from him - when we tried to separate them she dug at the bars of the separation until we put them back together. We loved you Dottie, for the spirited girl you were, and the great love you showed to Otis, who surely misses you most of all. Save a place for him over the Rainbow Bridge.

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Thumper,  1993 - 2001 Thumper was our first rescue rabbit, adopted from the Columbus House Rabbit Society. She was older when we adopted her - between six and seven years old - her hearing and sight weren't so good, but what a loverbun she was! She was mostly a couch potato, enjoying "her spot" under the dining room table, and was always happy to provide lots of de-stressing to us after a hard day's work by presenting herself for head rubs and ear rubs. The last year she was with us, she was bonded with Otis, who provided her with the happiest time of her life, until she never recovered from an infected foot. I don't know much about the first years of her life, but for the last few she was pampered and spoiled and loved very much. We miss her

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Rosey was such a sweet girl that we instantly fell in love with when we saw her picture on Cape Fear Rabbit Rescue. We currently shared our home with Razzy a cute, loveable, Mama's boy and we thought he should have a friend. We also felt it was important to rescue a rabbit instead of make a pet store purchase as we have always been fond of "unwanted" pets.
    Rosey came home with us and we went through the learning process (with help from Paula) of bonding bunnies. Razzy and Rosey quickly became best friends and played together and acted silly and crazy running around my studio.

Rosey

She didn't like to be petted in the beginning, but soon came to trust and love us as we showered her with affection. She brought us so much joy and many smiles and blessed our lives every day with her bratty and spunky attitude.         We never knew how old she was or what her previous life entailed. She became sick with GI tract issues and we tried for months to make her well. We are thankful for all that the Dr.'s at Avian and Exotic Animal Care in Raleigh did for her, but in the end, only 7 months after we adopted her, she died in my arms. Even though this time with her was very short, it was a time that we will remember and carry in our hearts forever. We love you and miss you, our little "Rosebud", Mama, Daddy and Razzy

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Website and Contents Copyright Paula Watkins 2003 - 2007  Page Updated June 28, 2007