# King Kirby's Rabbit Nation 2014



## kirbyultra (Jan 2, 2014)

King Kirby's Rabbit Nation

Welcome to my blog! This is the 2014 edition where I will be writing all about the interesting happenings in the royal court of King Kirby. Here are links to older blogs if you want to read their stories:
2009 Edition
2010 Edition
2011 - 2013 Edition


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## kirbyultra (Jan 3, 2014)

Who is Kirby?

Kirby is a 7 year old black and white satin/dutch mix. He is the gentlest little man I've ever met. Kirby is my first bunny and he set off a chain reaction of bunnies in my household as well as motivated me to get involved in my local rabbit rescue. He's changed my life only for the better and I can't imagine a day without him. Kirby used to be a quiet, shy guy but now he has blossomed into a wise, outspoken king of all buns character in my rabbit house. 

Kirby's bonded friend Penny
Penelope Anne, otherwise known as Penny, is just shy of 6 years old and she's a mix beyond recognition. Weighing in at over 7 lbs, she's the largest bun I have and she loves food. The only thing in the world she loves more than food is Kirby. Penny is a messy girl but she is dedicated and loyal to her king. 

Kirby's not-so-loyal subject Toby
Sir Toby has a love/hate relationship with Kirby. Originally brought home to be a friend for Kirby, this little bombshell never wants to play second fiddle to Kirby. White and brown dwarf/English spot mix Toby is 4.5 years old but was pretty much born a grumpy old man. It's his way or the highway! But oh, he's so cute. Why would we have it any other way?

Guest of the rabbit nation Annie
Annie is my 4th long term foster bunny. Black and white dutch princess Annie was only 2 months old when I got her. Six months later she's still here because I bonded her to Toby for all of about 2 weeks before they broke up. She's an absolute darling and would be a perfect addition to the royal court. Pending rebonding, she's still a guest here and she graces us with her beauty daily.


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## kirbyultra (Jan 3, 2014)

January 3, 2014

We had our first serious blast of snow this year and I took the opportunity to bring Annie out to get her first exposure to snow. 

Why Annie and not the others? Well, Toby is blowing out his coat like mad at the moment and I didn't think he would be warm enough with half his coat. Kirby and Penny are just older bunnies more comfy in the warmth of the indoors. They've seen snow before and they flicked it all off :grumpy: Kirby also used to be an outdoor bunny, sadly, and I don't think he enjoys the old at all from his younger days.

Annie didn't know what to make of the snow. She didn't really like being immobilized in it but she otherwise didn't mind. she hopped about in a funny way because the snow measured up to the top of her legs. She was a good sport though. I picked her up and just rested her on my lap to see if she'd willingly go back in the snow. She did not but she was very interested in the stuff! She's even more gorgeous in the reflected light in the snow.
:dutch


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## kirbyultra (Jan 6, 2014)

Toby's getting to the end (I think) of a pretty big shed. I always worry about him when he sheds because he has a tendency to get flustered with all the grooming that he has to do and he eats less. He is a great hay eater but he starts to neglect his pellets. He has such fluffy cottony fur. I love plucking it off him but he doesn't like me doing so. Oh well, I do it anyway. It's astonishing just how much can come off of such a small bunny. 

Here's Sir Toby all tuckered out after a whole afternoon of napping.


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## Chrisdoc (Jan 7, 2014)

Love the photos of Annie in the snow, she is such a lovely girl, I´m a sucker for black and white dutchies, one of my favourites. You know I love Toby, he is just too handsome, glad to see him getting some well earned rest lol. 

Great collage, hope you get to rebond Toby and Annie, I loved seeing this pair together.


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## kirbyultra (Jan 11, 2014)

Toby is near the end of his shed this season so soon we will be bonding. I'm really quite concerned about his weight. I sat down and really paid attention to his body and his frame, and I realized he had lost a lot of weight. The last time I noticed was when we were bonding him the first time in October. He just stops eating his pellets or greatly reduces his intake of pellets whenever he feels any stress. Bonding, my weeks of being away on and off, and finally his big molt has caused him to eat only a fraction of his normal amount. I felt terribly guilty when I felt his bones. I will try not to stress him out too much with my next attempt at bonding... I've no plans upcoming to be away either. Hopefully he'll gain his fluff back.


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## kirbyultra (Jan 23, 2014)

I've been a bit overwhelmed with bunny things recently. More psychologically, than actually... Toby and Annie aren't getting along. There's immediately tension between them where there used to be none and Annie is very, very aggressive. She stuffs her head under him every chance she gets and she quickly snaps at him if he isn't obedient. Toby is Toby, so of course he won't groom her... I'm very afraid she'll take a bite out of him from underneath, on his belly or genitals. 

I moved Annie down to the floor, out of her cage into a pen. I rearranged my bunny room for the 3rd time this year to make space for her next door to Toby. Hopefully some side by side time will reacquaint them in a peaceful, good neighborly manner. I'm so sad for the two of them. 

Toby seems considerably stressed by her presence and the changes in the room. He's eating very little of his pellets still. He's just so terribly thin these days I try to fatten him up any way I can. Oats sprinkled on his pellets. Coaxing him to eat every few hours. Now I've gone to alfalfa based pellets mixed in with his regular ones. I now give him more treats at night than ever before to make sure he's not feeling sick. He is a spectacular hay eater, thankfully. He eats big full handfuls of hay a few times a day. Hopefully he'll be plump soon. 

Kirby is also skinnier than I would like but slowly gaining weight in a healthy manner. Kirby is living quite a jolly retirement style life and he enjoys his days a lot. I really can't be more pleased with just how happy he is. He remains engaged with his surroundings and you can tell he's still got some teenaged energy in him at times. He's aging gracefully and I am thankful. God has not given me the gift of children but I've done something right to have the gentlest soul in the world that I found in Kirby. There are days I take for granted with him as life sometimes gets away from me. But I make a conscious effort now more than ever to make my time count and spend as much of it with my favorite boy. He's such a perfect bunny, I really couldn't ask for more in a companion.


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## MILU (May 24, 2014)

Keep us updated with more about the Rabbit Nation! 
I'm glad I found this 2014 blog, I love your bunnies, they're really cute! I guess by now Toby and Annie are getting along better?


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## Wabbitdad12 (Nov 15, 2014)

I hope Toby feels better soon!


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## kirbyultra (Feb 10, 2016)

A Sad Update From The Rabbit Nation
Hello, everyone. I apologize for not updating this blog. I had the best of intentions but life sometimes just gets away from you like that. It's been 2 years since I wrote anything. I felt it was only right that given what has happened, I should finish what was started here as King Kirby's Rabbit Nation.



- In 2013 Toby and Annie were bonded for 30 days, then unbonded. They dated on and off all through 2014. We finally decided that it just wasn't going to work out. Annie has grown into a very strong-willed alpha girl and she remains a lovely human companion, but has trouble playing nice with other bunnies.
- At the close of 2015, Kirby was 9 years old, Toby was 6 years old, Penny was 7 years old, and Annie was 2 years old. 
- On December 24, 2015, Kirby was diagnosed with a thymoma in his chest after we noticed he had difficulty eating.
*- On February 5, 2016 (just 5 days ago), King Kirby crossed the Rainbow Bridge peacefully.*





My sweet baby Kirby lived very happily right up to the end. He had some rough days the last 2 years with various health problems, but he was a fighter. In December when we got the diagnosis, we were stunned. We drained a lot of fluid from the thymoma in early January and he bounced back very quickly. He was on medication that also helped his quality of life. He lived comfortably and enjoyed the company of his wifebun Penny and his humans very much in his last month or so, though we didn't know it would be his last days. 







I honestly thought we had much longer with him. His condition worsened in a matter of 36 hours as we noticed he was having increasingly labored breathing. Our vet, who is very well-trained in rabbit medicine and trusted by the HRS chapter in New York, gave us the news on Friday Feb. 5 that it was near the end and that there was not more that we could do. Kirby would not recover from this. Her opinion was that Kirby would not have another week, and that if we waited, he would suffer. It came as a shock to me because other than the rapid breathing and slowed appetite, he seemed to enjoy doing all of his normal things. It didn't seem quite so dire, but my vet assured me that though he seemed ok now, he could deteriorate quickly.

Rather than putting him to sleep right then, we brought him home so we could have at least a day with him while he was still feeling ok. I am glad that I did. That morning that I brought him to the vet, he hadn't even spent much time with Penny. I wasn't ready to say goodbye. I haven't even given him his favorite treats in several days because I was afraid his slowed appetite was a developing stasis episode. My husband was at work and he wouldn't get a chance to say goodbye. He rushed home after I called him from the vet's office so we could spend time with Kirby together as a family.

Kirby seemed tired and sleepy at first, but he snuggled with Penny for a few hours. We got him to eat his favorite things: kale, parsley, banana, Oxbow biscuits, pumpkin mash, rolled oats, willow leaves. He ate them one by one, and slowly over several hours, but whenever he worked up the energy to eat them, he ate them heartily. 












​
I pet him on and off for hours. Whenever I paused, he would get up and slip his head under my hand, asking for more. This was how it always was with Kirby. This was how he told me he loved me. He trusted me. And he didn't want to be away from me. He even followed me around when I got up a few times. It all seemed so normal, like it was just another day of Kirby and I enjoying each other's company as we have for the last 7+ years. He was as beautiful as the day I brought him home from the shelter. His eyes had aged and lost a touch of the luster but none of his warmth. 




The issue that weighed heavily on me was when I should bring him back to be put to sleep. I knew my baby was not well. I knew that he would not get better. But right now at least, he seemed ok and stable. It was killing me to think if I made the wrong decision, he could suffocate overnight and there'd be nothing anyone could do to help. The flip side would be that I'd always wonder if he had more time and we let him go too soon. My vet told me I could bring him back over the weekend. I initially thought that I would give it until Saturday and see how it went, but I was scared that Kirby would take a nosedive. I cried and cried because I didn't know what to do. 

For years, I have said to Kirby, "you would tell me if you were not feeling well, wouldn't you?" I like to think that he silently agreed. On that day, I begged him to tell me what he wanted me to do. I needed to know what he felt. Was he ready or did he want more time with us? Was he hurting a lot, or did we have it all wrong? Suddenly he looked up at me, as if giving me a reply. Something I promised him the day that I adopted him popped into my head. That first night, I held him in my arms at home and whispered in his ears that he'd never hurt again, never be alone again. I'd always give him everything he needed. And that's how I knew that I shouldn't wait overnight. I didn't want to wait until he was hurting to let him go. I had promised that he would not feel pain and helplessness again. So then, at 5:00 pm, we decided that we would bring him back to the vet later that evening. 

We said our final goodbyes at home as a family. I had resisted hugging him in my arms all day because he didn't like to be held. When it was really time to scoop him up to his travel carrier, however, he did not resist the way he usually did. He just sat up in my arms and tucked his head into my neck while I kissed him and whispered, "I'm sorry. I love you." 




Penny came with us because I didn't want him to leave without being with the ones he loved most. We stayed with Kirby while the vet and vet tech administered the anesthesia and barbiturate. Penny gave his ears a lick while I stroked his face and told him we were here with him and that he would be fine soon. Kirby went peacefully in the presence of all those who love him immensely. 

We are all so devastated with the loss of Kirby. The house feels empty. My heart feels empty. Looking at Penny now makes me feel the worst. She was visibly confused for a couple of days, sleeping in all of Kirby's old napping spots. I'm not really certain she knows or understands what happened. She seemed to be waiting for him to return, but as of yesterday she seems to just be sort of bored and lonely. We gave her a bunny doll but she wasn't interested. She licked it and when it didn't do anything, she walked away. We intend to try to bond her with Toby. They're around the same age and they might just be what each other needs right now.

I am filled with grief and I don't know what to do with it. I question everything repeatedly from the last several months wondering if there was anything I could have done to change the outcome, give him more quality time. Give us more time. Something. Anything. All I have left of him are the memories of our time together. We had tons of happy moments. I cherish the thousands and thousands of photos I took of him. I recorded a lot of video of him from when he was a younger, shyer and sillier bunny and I find myself smiling watching the playback. When I snap back to reality, it hurts all over again. My only comfort is knowing that he didn't endure a painful, drawn out death. 

There are rabbits, and then there are _rabbits_. Kirby was an incredible one. He was always there for me and I thank him for every joy he has brought to our lives. He inspired me to volunteer and help bunnies. He taught me that patience is the first ingredient of everlasting love. He showed me that unconditional love not only exists, but can transcend just about anything. 

I hope that the Rainbow Bridge is real. I hope he is playing and binkying around with new bunny friends. I hope that he gets to eat all his favorite things and never have to worry about being sick. I hope he is up there having fun and waiting for his Rabbit Nation subjects. I hope that I get to see him again someday. Until then... goodbye, my little love. I will keep you in my heart always.


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## Wabbitdad12 (Feb 10, 2016)

I am so sorry for your loss, I always enjoyed reading about King Kirby and his adventures. I agree with you, all bunny's are special. However, a special bunny crosses your path and a special bond forms. 

Kirby will always be with you.


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## kirbyultra (Feb 12, 2016)

Thank you so much. The paw prints on my heart will never fade.


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## myheart (Jul 14, 2016)

I have already posted on Kirby's Bridge thread, but felt the need to read more.
Again, I am so sorry I was not on RO to share your grief. My heart aches all over for your loss of Kirby and for my own loss of Patrick and Luna. That type of hurt, I'm afraid, will never go away or diminish over time. The perfection of their being a part of their parent's heart will always remain with the memories (Thank You RO for keeping the memories safe for us), but the hurt... The hurt is more than any heart should have to contend with.

You will always be Kirby's mom, and I will always be Patch and Luna's mom. We shared a great part of our time posting about our kids here on RO. I am so happy I found Kirby Nation. I do hope Toby is able to keep the Nation under the rule of his amazing cuteness. If you ever need to chat, please let me know.

myheart


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