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| Opal...RIP May 15, 2013 |
Maybe the hardest part of doing rescue is when the loved ones go away and you can't help but think how much more they deserved than we humans allowed them to have. She couldn't live free because we humans made it such that she couldn't have survived...we made her dependent on us and then almost all turned away from her and denied our responsibility. She had a spirit and a heart big enough to fill anyone up...and none wanted her except Heartland.
And she was one of the lucky ones. What I like best about Heartland is that all the bunnies are cared for, they are all loved, they are all special. And they are all, always and forever, at home there.
I don't like this year 2013. I don't like it at all. Recently way too many have gone away. Zoe, Bella, Pippin, Poe, Ariel, Kiera, Benson and on and on. It hurts...it hurts a lot. Their lives are short, their needs are small and they quickly fill up your heart and then leave you devastated when they die. The work isn't the hardest part...it's the having to say goodbye to so many so often. Goodbye Opal.
Do your part to not do harm...go vegan. Do your part to give a home to those who need it...support your local rescue and/or sanctuary.
9 comments:
Aw, I'm sorry to hear the news. And wish I could say something that would make it hurt just a little less. :(
The Queen of the North. She will be missed. I remember them, all of them. These magnificent creatures that carve rivers in our hearts.
Many many condolences. What a lovely picture of Opal. I just love your bunny advocacy. It's wonderful.
Dear, Sweet Opal - What a jewel just like her name. It's a comfort to know that she and others have found some portion of peace at Heartland... You're right though - It's only a fragment of what they were due. Precious lives, rest now, in the arms of Forever. <3
Thank you for commenting HGV, Christina, DEM and Bea.
I appreciate you each taking time to express yourselves. This dying stuff is sad making.
I am so sorry to hear of the death of beautiful Opel. Your moving post brought tears to my eyes. Recently my husband and I lost our sweet little Netherlands dwarf rabbit Sooty after only two short years of being privileged to look after this gentle creature, she had previously been kept in a tiny hutch alone for many years. Sadly so many rabbits are abandoned to live wretched lives in hutches at the bottom of someone's garden when the novelty has worn off, and this was the case with Sooty. It is heartbreaking to think that anyone can go into a pet store and buy a rabbit like you would go and buy a loaf of bread or a bar of chocolate.
I do so understand the pain of losing a much loved animal, at least Opel finally had a happy life and was loved and cared for. It is so refreshing to know that there are people who care for animals and wonderful sanctuaries that provide these much neglected and abused bunnies with the best life that is possible.
What a beautiful and heartfelt tribute to Opal. You're so right (about so much), that the vast majority of our fellow animals deserve so much better from our species than they ever get, and get so much worse than they - or anyone - ever deserve. But thank goodness (literally) for the huge hearts among us at places like Heartland, and people like you. I'm so glad Opal got to spend time among friends who loved and cared for her.
And you're so right that any labor we do on their behalf is never, ever the hard part. Watching them suffer, knowing others we're unable to help are suffering, and having to say goodbye and live with the painfully empty place they leave behind, those are the hard parts. Being vegan and keeping on with our love and care for all the ones we CAN help, though, lessens the grief and speeds the healing and makes it all worthwhile.
Rest in peace, dear Opal - may you be running free in vast fields of clover with all your bunny friends who went before you, and may you always know how loved you were.
I'm glad you're safe, veganelder - that tornado was so awful, and I always think of the animals - fenced and tied up and caged and left behind with no means of escape - when something like that happens.
Thank you for commenting Cinnabar50. My condolences to your both on your loss. I wish words could help...but I know they don't. What a terrific name...Sooty! :-)
Thanks to y'all for giving him a chance to be himself and to be appreciated and admired.
I appreciate your kind words about Opal.
Thank you for commenting Laloofah and thank you for your thoughts and words about Opal.
I too think about the animals who are deprived of their freedom and then blasted by a storm. I shake my head.
Again, thank you Laloofah.
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