Austin Now Has His Wings...
Well, as some of your probably know my sweet boy Austin passed away on Saturday... he was 4 and a half years old...
Before Austin came to me he had a very hard life, he was heavily used as a breeding buck by several breeders and shown often. He even got to travel on a plane up from the states, where he was born. I first met Austin in September 2003, at a rabbit show where he was runner-up to best in show. I immediatly fell in love with his preciou face, little did I know that in a years time he'd be mine.
My favorite picture of him, didn't he have the sweetest face?
So in August 2003, I happened to be on his owners website and saw that he was for sale. I immediatly e-mailed them and asked if he was still available and amazingly he was. So days later Austin was home. He delt with a lot of health problems in the time I had him and I nearly lost him about a year ago and am so thankful I was able to have him in my life for another year. He was such a fighter. The thing I'll miss the most about him was his "hum"... until I had Austin I'd never met a rabbit who'd "hum". Whenever someone came up to his hutch he'd get so excited he'd start humming, it was the funniest/cutest thing! His daughter Dancer has just started to do it on occasion, she reminds me so much of him.
Handsome boy....
So in early September his health started to go, it first started with his eyes, he got an infection in one which then spread over to the other. We were able to get it under control when suddenly he began to lose his balance and became very wobbly on his feet. We began to treat him for wry neck and he was being such a good boy about taking his medicine and seemed to be improving. Then Saturday morning when I went to check him I found him leaning against his wall, unable to move without falling over. I put him in his bed where he fell over and was able to get him comfy. I knew then that he was suffering... so I called the vet and brought him down. The vet took him in the back and injected him then returned him back out to me. She said that he was going to get very sleepy then after a few minutes he'd just go to sleep. Luckily my Grandma came in and sat with me, since I was such a reck... my Mom couldn't even come inside she was too upset.
So I craddled him in my arms and he slowly started to drift off. He began chattering his teeth which he often did when he was happy which really gave me a sense of relief knowing he was content. Then he passed away....I miss him sooooo much.... but I know he's in a better place and I am lucky to have 2 of his daughters to carry on his legacy.
Love you Austin-Man!!
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