The Rainbow Bridge

The Rainbow Bridge

by SDB, inspired by a Norse legend

By the edge of a woods, at the foot of a hill,

Is a lush, green meadow where time stands still.

Where the friends of man and woman do run,

When their time on earth is over and done.

For here, between this world and the next,

Is a place where each beloved creature finds rest.

On this golden land, they wait and they play,

Till the Rainbow Bridge they cross over one day.

No more do they suffer, in pain or in sadness,

For here they are whole, their lives filled with gladness.

Their limbs are restored, their health renewed,

Their bodies have healed, with strength imbued.

They romp through the grass, without even a care,

Until one day they start, and sniff at the air.

All ears prick forward, eyes dart front and back,

Then all of a sudden, one breaks from the pack.

For just at that instant, their eyes have met;

Together again, both person and pet.

So they run to each other, these friends from long past,

The time of their parting is over at last.

The sadness they felt while they were apart,

Has turned into joy once more in each heart.

They embrace with a love that will last forever,

And then, side-by-side, they cross over… together.

Penny passed away two days ago.

She was going to turn 2 years old this July. We noticed she sustained a hip injury in December. After going to the vet who diagnosed it was hip subluxation, and was prescribed cage rest. Later we noticed her limping, and then a week ago she stopped walking completely. We took her to the vet and received these x-rays The prognosis was not good: she had diffuse debilitating arthritis in all of her joints: hips, knees, spine. The vet warned me she may not do well and to prepare.



Depsite this my brother and I really tried to do everything to make her comfortable and happy. She was more or less herself - eating, being chipper, licking us for treats. However, we noticed her appetite steeply decline, and she was grinding her teeth in pain. She passed before we had a chance to take her to get euthanized.

A lot of things we loved about her:

• While I was sleeping, Penny found a way to wriggle herself out of the cage. She jumped form the floor onto the bed and headbutted me awake (square in the face). She almost fell off the side of the bed during this so in my sleepy state quickly move my hands to scoop her form the side. We proceeded to cuddle for a little bit while I woke up. Strangest wakeup call, ever.
• Whenever she saw us, she'd come running expecting a treat like a little dog - her lop ears flapping behind her as she ran.
• She'd headbutt our hands whenever we stopped petting her to indicate she wanted to be pet more.
• She'd follow us around like a little sister
• She was OBSESSED with her treats, as soon as she heard the bag shaking she'd come running (very predictably)
• She was very well littered train before the arthritis started to set in, and would often wait until patiently while my dad changed the litter box for her to jump in.

Some Penny pics to remember her by:

• She was featured on cuteoverload for their Easter edition using the pics I had originally posted to reddit
• Penny at 3 months old
• Penny before and after a plane flew by
• Penny turning 1
• Penny when we introduced her to her future bunnymate, Charlie
• Penny, the one with the copter ears
• Penny eats a Pellet - video
• Dat rabbit mouf, featuring Penny
• Penny and Charlie Christmas Card

I put together an album of some of my favourite pictures and moments with her to share with you.

My brother and I are reminiscing about our favourite memories with her. I hope this inspires you to spend more time and give more TLC to your bunny.

We miss her tremendously but we're happy with what she brought to me and my family.

x