It’s been a month today since Honey Bunny died. It’s hard to believe it’s been a month already - we still really miss her. I bought some daffodil bulbs to plant on her grave so they’ll come up every spring.

We’ve talked about eventually getting another bunny (or two) at some point, but I think we’re not going to get any more bunnies right now - at least not for a little while. It’s been very sad, but we’re doing ok. I think having two bunnies would be a little bit easier, because when you lose one, you still have another one. That’s how it was when Fluffy died - we still had Honey Bunny. It has been hard, though, with Honey gone, because there aren’t any bunnies there to distract us. Knowing us, though, we’ll always have a bunny or two.

I bought a good book that was written by a woman that lost a pet bunny suddenly to sickness, similar to Honey Bunny. It’s a collection of her poems that she wrote as she was going through those tough times. Anyone that has lost a pet, bunny or otherwise, would benefit from reading this. It’s called When Only the Love Remains by Emily Margaret Stuparyk. It’s a very sweet book, and it’s been good to read. I still miss Honey, but it helps me think about the cute (or naughty) things she’d do, and it reminds me of all the fun times we had with her. I’m just glad that we had a chance to have Honey Bunny with us for 5 1/2 years. She was great. We still miss her, but we’re glad to have the happy memories.

Today was a heartbreaking day for Preston and me. We got a call from Dr. Orr (Honey’s vet) around 10:30am, and he said she had taken a turn for the worse, and we should come there to say hi to her. Preston and I headed out of the office and ran up to the vet hospital. We got there about 11:30, and they brought Honey Bunny into one of the rooms so we could hold her.

She was very weak, and couldn’t hold her head up. She was wrapped up in a towel to keep her warm, and we took turns holding her, petting her, and talking to her. She just snuggled up to us, and seemed to be really happy that we were there holding and kissing her. She rested her head on my hand, and sat there as we scratched her nose, one of her favorite things.

We were able to hold her for about a half hour, and we told her that we loved her, and we were ok if she wanted to go. It was so sad - she died in my arms around noon today. It was peaceful, and even though we miss her terribly, we know she’s in a better place.

The staff at Creekside Animal Hospital told us that she waited for us to get there so she could be with us when she passed away. It was so sweet, and it meant a lot that we were there for her, and that she waited for us.

We miss her terribly, and our house is so lonely without her. It was so hard to say goodbye, but we know she’s in a better place, and she’s not in pain anymore. She’s with her other bunny friends - Bonnie Bunny, Fluffy, BunBun, and all of her babies. I know that we’ll be with her again in the next life, and for that, I’m grateful. I love Honey Bunny so much, and it’s so hard to say goodbye. She was there for us during so many difficult times, and it’s painful not having her here anymore. We’re grateful, however, for the 5 1/2 years we had to spend with her. She brought so much joy and happiness to our lives - I like to hope we did the same for her.

Honey is still hanging on - she spent the weekend at the hospital, and we got to visit her Sat. and Sun. She seemed to perk up a bit yesterday morning, but the vet techs said she couldn’t stand up yesterday evening. Her weight is 4.5 pounds instead of her usual 6.5 pounds, and her temperature is low. They did say she was sitting up this morning, which was a good sign. She’s not eating on her own, yet, though.

They put her in an incubator, and that helped her a bit. They’re still force feeding her, but she’s not putting on weight yet. I’m waiting to hear back from Dr. Orr, but it’s good to know that they’re working really hard to keep her alive.

Honey is still critically ill - we’re praying that she’ll have the energy to get better. It’s been a tough road for her - hopefully she has the will to keep fighting. She’s such a sweet bunny - it’s been hard seeing her go through this. I’ll write more as I know more.

Today I brought Honey back to the vet because she has been very lethargic, and she refuses to eat. (We’ve been force feeding her again for the past couple of days.) She’s just been sleeping a lot, and hasn’t been herself at all. Even her eyes look sad. She just hasn’t been her spunky self. She even refuses her favorite treats.

I brought her in to see Dr. Orr, and he’s very concerned. He said she has a mass the size of a baseball in her belly, and said it seems that her gut has shut down again. Unfortunately, this time, it seems like her body is just overwhelmed, and she’s giving up. He thinks her immune system is shutting down. Her prognosis isn’t good - this whole sickness has taken a toll on her little body, and Dr. Orr says she’s critically ill.

They’re keeping her in the hospital for the afternoon, and they’re going to do some x-rays and give her some painkillers and other medicines to try to get her system going again. I’ll post more as I get more updates from the hospital, but it doesn’t look like things are going to turn out as we’ve prayed they would.

I’m still hopeful - I think any pet owner would be - but it’s been heartbreaking. I feel good, however, knowing that we’ve done everything humanly possible to give her a couple more months - pain free - with us. I want what’s best for her, but it’s so hard trying to prepare for the worst. Honey has been a part of our family for 5 1/2 years, and has been there for me through the worst times in my life. She’s been such a comfort to me, and I pray that now I can be a comfort to her. I’ll post more information as I get it.

I was reading the news today, and the more I read, the more disturbed I became. There were several stories about animal abuse or neglect, and it really made me sad reading about them.

One story was about a Utah animal control officer that picked up someone’s pet cat, and instead of bringing it to animal control, he released it into the wild. He said he didn’t want it to be euthanized, however, the owner is frantically looking for it because it was never brought to the shelter, and she has no idea where it could be. If the officer had brought the cat to the shelter, the owner would have had 3 days to claim it. Instead, she has no idea where it is. All this officer received was a reprimand. Shame on Utah Animal Control.

Any animal lover knows that releasing a domestic animal into the wild to “free it” knows that it is only being given a death sentence. Domestic animals do not have the skills needed to survive on their own - they don’t know how to battle the weather, predators, or anything else.

Another horrific story I read today was about a horse that was found by its owner - dead as a result of 50 gunshot wounds. It suffered horribly and died a terrible death, all because someone used it as target practice. This is a disturbing and disgusting occurrence, and the perpetrators should be punished by the maximum penalty.

One thing that bothers me, however, is the resistance of Utah lawmakers to pass Henry’s Law, which would impose a mandatory minimum sentence for first time animal abusers, and felonies for second time abusers. I don’t understand why this hasn’t gone through. Studies have shown a strong correlation between people that abuse animals and people that abuse other people. We need to put an end to this animal abuse for good. Utah - wake up. It’s time to help the helpless, and stop animal abuse.

So far, the women’s US National is looking good, and hopes to beat Brazil on Thursday in the semifinals to advance to the Finals in China on Sunday.

The United States’ women’s national team is currently ranked #1 in the world, and clinching the “World Cup Champions” title on Sunday will keep them in that place.

The United States has plenty of talent - Ali Wagner is phenomenal to watch (I played against her in Club and High School back in the 90s in San Jose - or I should say, I tried to play against her!)

Hopefully at some point, the US Men’s team can reach the World Cup Finals. In the meantime, we’ll continue to cheer for and support our women - Go USA!

Six years ago, and Oregon man stumbled upon a baby deer that had deformed feet. Instead of ignorning it, he did the humane thing, and took her to the vet and paid thousands of dollars to help get her better. She has become his pet, and he named her Snowball. She also gave birth to a baby, Bucky, and things seemed to be going along just fine until Oregon authorities stepped in.

They seized the animals and threatened to put them down, all because Jim Filipetti didn’t have one of 16 available wild animal rehabilitation licenses.

This story has outraged Oregon residents, as well it should. One man commented that people could get a license to kill deer, but heaven forbid if anyone tried to help one. Due to the pressure from citizens, the Fish & Wildlife division has decided not to euthenize the animals, and Filipetti could perhaps get Snowball back, however, it looks as if Bucky will be on his own - a decision as to his fate hasn’t been made yet.

I think this story is completely outrageous. Filipetti has done no harm in rescuing Snowball. Why punish someone for doing the right thing? Government needs to take a giant step back, admit to making a mistake with this, and give him Snowball and Bucky back. This is a pathetic case of government over-involvement. Why take animals away from the best home/care they’ll ever receive? Come on, Oregon. Do the right thing - let the deer go back to the only home they’ve ever known.

For more information, check out the story here.

I was reading this morning about the different candidates running for president, and I’m pretty open to hear what everyone has to say. For me, the most important thing is someone that is fiscally conservative - either Republican or Democrat. One thing that greatly concerns me is any implications that political decisions will have on my small business, and whether decisions made by politicians will make it difficult for us to keep it running.

I was reading today about Hillary Clinton’s Universal Health Care plan, and I became pretty concerned. She wants to require all businesses (small ones included) to offer health insurance to all employees. I think that it is a noble plan to try to get everyone health insurance (believe me, I’ve been in the boat of having a hard time getting insurance), however, by forcing small businesses to offer this, all this will do is force small businesses to lay off people because they can’t afford to insure all of their employees. I say this from the perspective of a small business owner. Granted, there may be some tax cuts offered, however, any additional expenses will really push some companies over the edge, and either force them to close, or lay off employees.

Requiring all businesses to offer insurance to all employees is not the way to go. Hopefully there will be someone that comes along that has a feasable idea of how to handle this problem. Mitt Romney did a good job in Massachusetts - I’d like to hear what other candidates propose.

Honey just went to the vet on Thursday for a checkup, and she seems to be doing pretty well. Dr. Orr wants to have her totally off of medicine to see how she’s doing. She finally started eating some hay on her own last week, and Thursday we had a major breakthrough. She started drinking a little bit of water from her sipper bottle. We’re really happy about this - we’re not going to be giving her fluid injections this week, so she really needs to drink to be sure she’s getting her needed fluids.

Her feet still have sores - it’s really sad. Those will probably take a while to heal, but hopefully she’ll keep getting better. But we’re excited that she’s eating her hay, and last night she started eating some timothy hay pellets. Fingers crossed - hopefully she’ll keep getting better. It’s amazing how long it takes for bunnies to recover from illnesses like that. She’s doing well, and hopefully she’ll keep doing better. More later!

Alright, so for those of you that read my blog about 20 minutes ago, you may be somewhat confused. No, I didn’t recently have a baby, and no, I’m not taking a weight loss supplement. I just had a blogdesk error, and accidentally posted an article about a client to my personal blog rather than a company blog.

I think Preston can relate to what I’m talking about. I love blogdesk, but sometimes I hate it.

Oops.