“Animals have a much better attitude to life and death than we do. They know when their time has come. We are the ones that suffer when they pass, but it’s a healing kind of grief that enables us to deal with other griefs that are not so easy to grab hold of.”
— Emmylou Harris, American singer/songwriter (1947-)
Few things seem more peaceful than white Pekin ducks gliding across still waters. I watch our two from a window and immediately feel my breath slow down as do the wheels turning in my brain. Both ducks have leg and foot injuries. I imagine those little orange feet swishing back and forth attracting the attention of a large turtle perhaps a fish but most likely a turtle. Their poor feet are mangled and torn and yet they find a way to get where they’re going. It may take longer but remarkably they arrive in time for feeding.
When the ducks were much younger and I did not readily see them, I panicked thinking a predator — and we have many — had taken them. Each time I would call out, and they would answer and appear at my feet clucking for feed. Life expectancy for Pekins ranges from five years to between eight and 12 years. Hilda and Helen are now 8 years old and their feet are torn. Some days I worry about them more than other days.
Rabbits too are prey. When I got the three, I was told I would need to be careful that a shock could cause them to keel over dead. I made great efforts to let them know they were safe. I probably overreacted a bit. Though it is true if they become fearful their body will shut down, their body temperature will drop drastically and soon be unresponsive. If the rabbit is comforted and tended to it may survive. You can imagine how shocking this could be. To prevent any sudden scares at nightfall I would cover their hutches. As they got older, they were less disturbed by a lawnmower, or dogs and coyotes barking and howling in the night, nor did owls or hawks screeching scare them. A pet rabbit’s life expectancy is between eleven and twelve years. Romeo was a gift from a breeder; he had failed the owner’s expectations so Romeo came to live with me. He was a small, sweet, docile rabbit. A few years later Romeo passed away. It’s always sad to lose a pet. As we always do, we had a ceremony, wept and buried Romeo with the other family pets.
Last week the second rabbit, Rex, passed away after a brief illness. I spent two days giving Rex IVs. On the fourth day, Rex waited until I came to him so he could pass away in my arms. We cried; we had a ceremony.
The third rabbit, Hatcher, mourned for several days. She sat on top of her hutch which I call the “penthouse” and refused to eat or drink, or come down. I spent a lot of time wooing her and eventually she joined me. She ate, drank, and became playful. I reminded Hatcher, as Juliet to Romeo, “Parting is a sweet sorrow.” Deep down there is a certain sweetness.
Columns by Shannon Bardwell of Columbus appear in The Dispatch weekly. Email reaches her at [email protected].
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