Pinky’s been really lonely since Horlicks & Coffee passed away. Since he was young, Pinky has always been accompanied by another, for the lack of a better term, living thing. When he was baby, he used to stay with us on the 2nd floor of my patents’ house. When he got bigger, he stayed in the garden with his mom, separated by a fence from Coffee & Peanut. When Peanut & Horlicks died, Pinky still had Coffee around (even if they didn’t hang out together) for company. Now that even Coffee has passed on, poor Pinky’s been really lonely. Once he hears noises in the living room, he’ll press his paws against the side door asking to be let in.

Even if it’s just to sleep while we watch TV or chat, he’s satisfied. I spent almost the entire evening keeping Pinky company just now & boy was he happy. He scurried around the hall, sniffed toes & refused to go home after spending more than 2 hours with us. I had to push his backside bit by bit to get him to go back out into the garden.

I am going to try to visit Pinky as many times a week as possible. He’s an old boy now – at 5 years, 10.5 months. I hope he’ll be as happy as he possibly can for the remaining period of his life.

Really not sure how long more we’ll have with the darling of the family. He’s been having soft stools off & on for about 2 months now but he’s still active & has a good appetite.

I hope Pinky has many more years with us. He’s such a loveable bunny.

Coffee passed away on 31 Oct 2011. My dad said he seemed very tired on Sun night. When my dad patted his head, he didn’t move much. Coffee was about 6 years 4 months when he died. Don’t have much photos of Coffee on the iPad. Will try to post a proper blog about him over the weekend. Goodbye Coffee. Hope u’re well in bunny heaven. Pinky’s the only surviving bunny. Hope he won’t get too lonely… Sigh.

Pinky wasn’t aware that something was not right with Horlicks at first.  But once he realised it, be became very upset.  He guarded her from a short distance away & stomped his foot non-stop.  Didn’t want to let us near Horlicks.

During Horlicks’ final moments, she made a few dashes to her favourite spots – near her toilet, the corner of the yard near the side entrance to the house, the backyard and her water container.  Pinky ran after her but he didn’t dare approach her.  I think she must’ve mustered up a lot of strength to visit those few spots.  Then she made a final dash towards the fence and collapsed onto her side.

Pinky stared at her for a few minutes when Horlicks collapsed.  I don’t know if he knew that she had left us… or if he thought maybe she was asleep.  My dad & I then chased Pinky into the house while we put Horlicks into a box and my dad washed the side yard.  Pinky was very anxious and nearly leapt over the barrier to come back into the side yard.  So we let him out… he then proceeded to sniff everywhere, as though was looking for something.  Maybe he was trying to pick up Horlicks’ scent.  I’m not sure.

Anyway, my dad & I buried Horlicks at the park near the house.  While I’m sad that Horlicks has left us, I’m grateful for the happy memories she has given all of us, and I’m glad I got to say goodbye and accompany her during her final moments.  Here’s a photo tribute to Horlicks.

Horlicks & Peanut when they first came to the house.

Horlicks was always the curious one.

Muah Chee & Horlicks “pak tor-ing”.  Wonder if they’re together in rabbit heaven now?

Mischievous Horlicks.

Horlicks & Muah Chee hanging out.

Horlicks & Peanut sharing food.  Both have left us. 

Horlicks used to like sitting on my lap too.

Horlicks & her son Pinky.

Pinky (left) & Horlicks were really close.

She loved carrots.

Agile Horlicks.

Yeap.  That’s Horlicks on our living room coffee table.

Always finding ways to get more food.

Horlicks planting a kiss on Pinky’s cheek.

Took this over the weekend only.

Horlicks – taken this morning.  She just stood like that for ages as her breathing got more laborious.

As usual, Pinky wanted his mommy to lick him but she was too weak too.

This is the last clear photo of them together.

Horlicks made her last dash, then collapsed.  Pinky just stared.  Not sure if he was in shock.

Bye bye Horlicks.  You will be missed.

My dad told me that last night, Horlicks seemed pretty normal still.  She was playing inside the house and even put her paws on my dad’s lap to get more treats. 

I think Horlicks had a very strong will to live.  She hasn’t been well since Nov 2010 but she held on.  She’s the most daring and feisty I’ve ever had.  I hope Pinky will get over the loss of his mommy and stay healthy.  Really hope he’ll be able to spend more years with us.  They’re such joy to behold.

God bless Coffee & Pinky.

In the end, I felt sorry for her so I gave her a tiny tiny portion of pellets, which she took really long to eat… about 3x longer than her speed prior to her eating problems. 

Sigh.  Someone told me that the lifespan of lops are about 6 – 8 years.  Horlicks is roughly 5 years 8 months… is this a sign of old age?  The beginning of the end? 

Horlicks was also less energetic last night and preferred to be alone than to fuss over Pinky as usual.  Pinky, was walloping the hay.  During the 30min I spent with Horlicks, Pinky helped himself to 4 servings of hay. 

My dad asked the pet shop to send some samples of this more expensive and supposedly more fragrant hay (1 bag costs $40 compared to the normal variety of hay at $16 per bag).  We really don’t mind spending the money. As my dad says, bunnies don’t have very long life spans… if they’re happy, why not right?  Who doesn’t want to be cared for and pampered in their old age?

I visited the bunnies at my parents’ place before dinner this evening but spent most of the time brushing Horlicks’ fur.  I noticed she had quite a bit of dead fur that needed brushing out so I spent at least 15min brushing her fur, including the tangled fur surrounding her bald bottom.  Think I got half of the tangled fur out?

Pinky was a little jealous that the attention wasn’t on him.  The guy’s been so used to being fussed over since he was a baby.  He tried to get attention by stuffing himself next to Horlicks but I still gave most of my attention to his mommy.

Sigh.  Poor boy.  Thinking of buying him an apple as a birthday treat.  Hehe.  Definitely a more healthful option than buying those sweet treats from pet shops!

Here’re some photos of Pinky from when he was a baby till now.  I think he’s the handsomest bunny ever!

Pinky & his sibling Fatty who died at a week old.  Pinky’s the one on top.  Fatty was much bigger in size at birth.. but somehow he just couldn’t absorb the nutrients from Horlicks’ milk and suffered a fit on day 7 & died.  There was a 3rd baby – but it didn’t survive the first night.  *Sniff.

Fatty’s on the left.  Looking at his skin, I suspect Fatty would’ve looked like Muah Chee – single colour (beige/brown).  Pinky was named thus ‘cos he was soooo pink!  The brown spots on his body is now where the brown fur is.  The pink parts, the white fur.

This was a pic of Pinky taken on 24 Jan 2011.  It was quite a struggle for him to grow.  He was soooo tiny!

Here’s a pic of Pinky stretching subconsciously when he was asleep.  See how tiny he was – smaller than my hand!

Pinky crawling on me.  Started opening his eyes a little more after 3 weeks.

Pinky after a bath.

He slowly got to be more than a handful!

Pinky used to sleep on my lap.  Hehe.

He really hated this t-shirt…

And then the ears started to droop…

Horlicks & Pinky – like mother like son!!

Pinky feeding.

Patting Pinky to sleep.

Pinky see…

Pinky do!

Pinky was a pretty alert bunny too.

He was a keen reader.

Pinky loves hanging out with Horlicks.

Follows everything she does – including jumping on top of cages.

Pinky meeting his dad, Muah Chee.  We had to separate them ‘cos Horlicks was very protective of Pinky when he was born and would attack any rabbits that went near him, including Muah Chee!  Muah Chee, however, always doted on Pinky.  Never once did Muah Chee bully Pinky.

Greedy Pinky trying to reach the food pellets!

Pinky snuggling up to his daddy in Jan 2008.

Quite sad.  Don’t have many photos of Pinky and his daddy ‘cos MC passed away in Mar 2008.

MC was quite overweight then but he nonetheless tried to keep up with Pinky.

Pinky’s last family photo.  I took this before I went Australia for a holiday.  MC died when I was in Melbourne.

Though Pinky’s fur colours are the same as Horlicks, I always felt his features were more like MC’s – rounder face, longer ears.

Fast forward a little.  Here’s Pinky in 2010.  He & Horlicks pushed over a container of pellets to that they could enjoy it straight off the floor.  Tsk tsk.

Pinky – on the living room table!

Pinky in 2011… stuffing his face.  Haha.

Horlicks was given antibiotics which my dad fed faithfully.  The antibiotics were sweetened so Horlicks loved to eat it.  Phew! 

Anyway, I’ve been checking on Horlicks on a weekly basis but the fur on her hind still hasn’t grown back fully (though the fur on her legs have).  We decided to take her to the vet again to ensure that the UTI wasn’t something more serious like bladder stones (which would require an operation to remove).

Ooh.. Horlicks hated the visit to the vet – she wasn’t bothered by the other cats & dogs in the clinic.  What she hated was when the vet cradled her tightly (like a baby) and did a physical examination of her bladder (to check for stones). 

In the end, the vet said he still doesn’t feel any stones and the good thing is, the skin on her backside isn’t reddish anymore.  It looked normal, except that there was no fur.  The vet said that there was a possibility that the prolonged loss of fur caused the hair follicles to go “silent” and the fur may only grow back during her next molt. 

I told the vet that the furless butt doesn’t really matter.  What’s most important is that Horlicks is healthy.  She’s about 5 years 6 or 7 months old now (can only estimate her age ‘cos pet shops seldom give you the right age) which is kind of like middle age for bunnies. 

I’ve been praying for Horlicks and my other bunnies – that the Lord will bless them with good health.  They’re such a delight to have at home.  Pinky turns 5 years old on 16 Jan 2011.  Wonder if I should buy some treats to celebrate his birthday.  Heh.

Pinky attempting to charge into the house the minute I opened the sliding door.  Sorry for the blur spot on top – that’s my finger.  Was attempting to stop Pinky from rushing in and take the pic at the same time.

Pinky (right) & Horlicks (left) eat hay.

Horlicks – yanked all the hay out of the bowl.

Oops.. realised she was caught in the act.

A bit difficult to get a pic of Coffee ‘cos he’s all black!  And it’s not that bright at the sideyard.

Coffee, docile from being patted.

Pinky, just finished doing his business in his home.  Haha.

Pinky (left & Horlicks (right).

Pinky, a little blinded by the N8’s focus light.  Sorry Pinky!

Pinky, eating.  Nothing new.

Finishing up their supper.

There.  Food’s almost all gone!!

Pinky’s in front and Horlicks is lying behind him.  Weather’s just too hot in Singapore for them to get up to do anything. 

This odd structure was put together by my dad.  Funny looking it may be, but it’s Pinky and Horlicks’ playhouse.  They really enjoying exploring all levels.

Here’s a pic of the stealth, “ninja assassin” Coffee hiding in the shadows.  I had to use the flash on my hp camera in order to take a pic of him!

I have some really cute videos of Pinky and Horlicks creating havoc inside the house but I’m too tired to retrieve and upload them to youtube.  Will do it another night.  Sleepy…

Anyway, here’re some pics I took of the bunnies in Jan.  They’re so darlings!

Pinky with his ear held high.  Think he raised his ear when he heard me coming down the stairs and walking into the dining room.  He obediently listened to my instruction to “Keep your ear up!” while i whipped out my hp camera to snap some photos.  Heh.

Left: Pinky asking Horlicks to sayang him by licking his head.

Right:  Horlicks lazing around.

Left: Coffee just recently started coming into the house.  He’s still quite timid and will usually dash out if he hears someone come down the stairs into the dining area where he usually takes cover under some chairs.

Right: Coffee – much more comfortable outside.

Left: Pinky and Horlicks partying in the living room.  Iceman and I were on our way out one day when we found both of them on the coffee table!  Horlicks jumped off before I had the chance to take the photo.  Heh.  Iceman took some flip videos of them… need to download & post. 

Right: That’s Horlicks on our side table… she likes to jump on the sofa, hop onto the side table then make her way to the next sofa.

Pinky checking out my dad’s massage chair.

Pinky & Horlicks – thirsty after all the acrobatics.

It’s this longish box that my dad used bricks to prop up against the wall so it looks like a tunnel to the bunnies.  My dad told me that Coffee loves to crawl through it even morning – part of his daily exercise routine.  Horlicks likes to run on top of the box… and Pinky… the lazy bunny just snoozes in it all day…