August 15, 2000
Last week Eve collapsed and had to be rushed to the emergency veterinary hospital. Less than two days earlier she'd been playing, scarfing down her favorite foods, and chasing Lilith around the room as usual, but when the summer heat came back with a vengence on Monday, she laid low for most of the day. The vets gave put her on intravenous fluids and antibiotics, and she was beginning to recover when she had a sudden seizure and died around 2 a.m. Wednesday morning.
Hardly over 3 years old, Eve left this world much too soon. In our brief time together I felt I'd barely gotten to know her. Like most bunnies, she had a complicated personality. I remember the first week she and Lilith moved in. Lilith, the runt, was the first to hop out of the pet carrier and start exploring their new room. Eve, obviously the dominant sibling, was suspicious of everything and ready to take cover at the first sign of danger. After a couple of days to get comfortable in their new home, I opened the door to their room. And, surprisingly, it was Eve who took the first steps into the hall, then kept me awake all night pounding on the door in outrage at being shut in again. The door hasn't been shut since that night.
With three separate food dishes to choose from, naturally both buns just HAD to eat from the same one at the same time, which meant Eve ate and Lilith tried to sneak off with a pellet or two. It was no wonder, after a couple of years, Eve had blossomed into a very full-figured bunny while Lilith kept her girlish shape. The daily chases, often instigated by Lilith, were pretty intense but never angry. For all her bullying and "bad temper," though, Eve never inflicted any injuries on anyone with tooth or claw. And when the sisters snuggled, as they often did despite their frequent disagreements, it was always Eve who did the grooming.
Eve was bold and brassy. When I painted the hall, she'd lunge playfully at the base of the ladder as I balanced precariously on the top step just for fun, and if I tried to feed her plain pellets without her favorite banana chips and dried carrots mixed in she'd stare me down until I gave in. But for a couple of weeks she was so terrified of new carpeting in the hall and stairs I had to constantly rescue her when she stranded herself in the 3rd floor office or the guestroom and couldn't get back to her food supply without setting paw on the deadly rugs.
Eve was a bad girl, independent and unsociable. When she wasn't busy eating or chasing Lilith, she sometimes spent the entire day hiding under the guestroom bed or in her big computer box in the office. Then, unexpectedly, she'd toss her paper towel cardboard tubes around the room and hop about on her back legs begging for attention. She'd run away one minute when I tried to pet her, then purr with contentment while I brushed her thick coat or gave her a good face massage. Sometimes she'd even let me rub her chin for a few seconds, but then she'd have to hide in her box for a few hours to decontaminate herself from all that social contact.
I have to admit, I favored Lilith at the beginning of our relationship. I'm always partial to the runts, and Lilith was friendlier and more active. But over the months and years we've shared, Eve bullied her way into my heart and insisted on her fair share of love and affection, which, of course, she got.
Lilith has never known life without her big bully sister and bosom buddy, and hardly knew what to do with herself with nobunny to chase her away from the food or off her favorite perch on top of the playroom tunnel. Without Eve to swipe her cardboard tubes, a game of toss just wasn't as exciting. But by the weekend, Lilith was finally taking a few quick laps around the office. I think I even saw a small, joyful leap before she reversed course then settled into her favorite sunny spot for a nap. By the end of that day, she'd eaten all her carrots for the first time.
I'm sure she'll always carry a little bit of Eve in her heart, just as I will. Her next companion may be friendlier and more willing to share than Eve ever was, but I suspect some small part of her will always be looking for Eve to come barreling into the room to commandeer the food dish. And Eve, no doubt, is biding her time bullying her heavenly bunny companions and stealing their food and toys as she patiently waits for her little sister to join her at the Rainbow Bridge.