Bernie Is Home

Last Monday morning, November 19, 2012, I gave Bernie his favorite veggies for breakfast which he was interested in, giving me hope. But watching him struggle to eat them made me realize it was indeed time. So I cuddled him and told him Daddy and I loved him dearly (Daddy was away on a business trip).

The vet was very busy that morning so we went to the back and cuddled. I had him in my arms as the vet helped Bernie hop off to the Rainbow Bridge, whole and well once again. His physical passing was very peaceful.

I brought him home and called the guy who does the cremations. He was cremated that very night and his ashes returned the next day.

Bernie is home

From L to R : Looppy, Manny, Mr Brown and Bernie (all bunnies)
When Looppy passed away in 2002, pet cremation was not yet available so her "urn" is filled with her fur  :)

We would like to thank all our furriends who left their comments on our previous post about Bernie. We appreciate your thoughts and prayers very much. We miss Bernie, especially when we see his favorite veggies and bananas...but we know he's now having a grand time at the Rainbow Bridge along with his pals. We love you, Bernie!

Time To Say Goodbye

Bernie joined our family on April 29, 2008 to be Mr Brown's new companion. Mr Brown was unconsolable after his companion, Manny passed away just a week before. He barely ate and would have died of a broken heart. He was overjoyed when he saw Bernie but Bernie was terrified and hid under the cage and Curly kept him company

The next day, Mr Brown convinced Bernie that he wasn't about to eat him and that he would take good care of him. And they ended up good friends. Sadly, Mr Brown passed away on November 20, 2011

Bernie : HEY! Why did you wake me up from my nap?

Bernie : OHHHHHHH. Banana! Me likey!

Bernie : I can smell you, Tutu!

Bernie : Pffffffttttt. You're NOT getting any of MY banana!
Tutu really eats bananas

Bernie : It's time for me to join my pal, Mr Brown. Until we all meet again on the Rainbow Bridge, enjoy a banana on my behalf!

Bernie has been through one health issue after another but he has never let it get him down. He lost his sight to cataracts at just 3 years young, then he had to have his left foot amputated on May 25, 2012. In October, he started dragging his remaining hind foot and chewed off his nails (just like with his amputated foot). About a week ago, I discovered a huge hard lump next to his right eye. But we kept going because he never stopped loving his food, even on the same night his foot was amputated. He's an amazing, brave boy!

Bernie, hubby and I had a little chat and Bernie told us that when he stopped eating, that would be the sign he was ready. Meanwhile, we were to spoil him rotten and give him his favorite bananas and veggies. He stopped eating his pellets on Saturday. Sunday afternoon I gave him a veggie leaf and he only managed a bite or two. His drooling had also increased. It was time.

Monday morning (we are around 12 hours ahead of most of our friends in America), I will bring him to the vet to help him cross the Rainbow Bridge...unless a miracle happens tonight and he starts eating again! Do keep him in your thoughts and prayers for a smooth transition.

Tutu and Bernie Thursday Vet Visit Update

Tutu here : First of all, we would like to thank Oui Oui and her Mommy for teaching us how to cartoonize ourselves. Oui Oui's Mommy cartoonized Bernie and MommyCat did me!

The vet visit on Thursday went very well. The vet tech whisked me to get an x-ray done and my fracture has healed and my bones are looking great! Yeay!! Now I get to run around all day and follow MommyCat everywhere.

Tutu : How do I look?

A funny feeling has come over me.....
Tutu's first experience with a silvervine leaf

I can't stop rolling around 

Help! My world has turned upside down!

Bernie here : My stitches were finally removed on Thursday and everything looks great! I'm adapting very well as a tripod bunny and I'm so happy the awful collar is finally off.....at last!

Bernie : Didn't Oui Oui's Mommy do a good job?
My Mommy added the beach balls

The stitches are OUT, OUT OUT! Yeahhhhhh!

Itchy ears...itchy ears...dang it, I'm scratching and scratching but why isn't the itch going away?
This is where I come in and help....

Thank you for everyone's good wishes. I'm doing very well!

Tutu and Bernie are now back in good health and we are so grateful for all the good wishes, purrs, woofs and prayers from everyone. Thank you so much!

Tutu The Brat

Tutu : You have 2 seconds to move because I'm BIG and I'm TALL and I  HAVE CLAWS!

Run, little doggy, RUN!

Boomer : Hey little kiddo, what you did to Whisky was just plain RUDE

Boomer : Now, you listen to me carefully. We treat Whisky with love and respect. Got it?
Tutu : Oh, quit your nagging. Pfffftttttt!

Boomer : Why, you...insolent little brat! Take that!
Tutu : Aiyeeeeeeee!

Boomer : Now go say sorry to Whisky
Tutu : NO! NEVER!!!

Boomer : I mean it. Go apologize
Tutu : Go on....MAKE ME. I *dare* you

Mommy here :
Bernie and Tutu will go for their follow up with the vet on Thursday (just ONE more day!). Bernie, to get the stitches off and Tutu to get an x-ray done to make sure her bones are fine.
Bernie is doing very well, and his incision site is healing fine.  His attitude remains positive and he hops around easily.  :)
Tutu is also doing extremely well and is allowed out more often to run and burn off all those excess kitten energy (LOTS of it!). She now plays with Boomer and he is more than happy to oblige.
Whisky is used to the cats and their ways, and wasn't harmed by Tutu in anyway.  :)

Sunday Fun With Ling

What are you doing, Ling?

What does it look like I'm doing?

I've having FUN! Yaaaaarrrrrrr!!!!

What am I playing with? Boy, aren't you full of questions today

Isn't it obvious? It's a ping pong ball, silly Mommy!

Bernie : I love me veggies! Yummy! 

Silly Meow-Me and Naughty Bernie

Meow-Me thinks she's a koala-cat

See how clean my towel is? Yeah, that's right, Mommy. It's because I'm not wearing that ridiculous cone!

As most of you know, Bernie had his left foot amputated on Friday. We went back to the vet on Sunday to get the bandage changed and his incision was healing very nicely.  When we got home, we removed the e-collar so he could eat and groom himself. A little later, we went out to get some groceries and when we got home, the collar was off, his bandage was almost off and he had pulled out a stitch, leaving a little gaping hole. We bandaged him back as well as we could and brought him to the vet on Monday. And it was then that the vet declared he had not only ripped out one stitch, but he had also loosen a few other stitches which meant the stitches had to be removed and the site stitched up again.  Bernie, Bernie. Now when we put the collar back on, we have to do the "tug-test" to make sure it's very secure. My heart thumps harder and louder every time I check on Bernie for fear of what I may find...

Bernie has also been throwing tantrums every time he has his collar on. He would pee and scatter poop all over the towels instead of his litter box (he's litter box trained) which means there's that many towels I have to wash. Today, I put bed pads on top of the towels, so hopefully it helps to make cleaning easier.

I really hope there will be no more "excitements" until 7 June when he goes back to the vet to have the stitches removed. We'll try to visit everyone soon...till then, don't forget us!

Tutu Has A Friend and Bernie Update

Tutu is doing very very well, and is now allowed to run around for a few minutes, several times a day. But she isn't allowed to climb until she gets the go ahead from the vet (her next vet visit is around the first week of June).

Maddie is the same age as Tutu (4+ months) and was rescued off a busy street as a very very young kitten by her pawrents. Her pawrents want her to socialize with her own kind and while Maddie was a little wary of the adult cats, she has found a playmate in Tutu (and vice versa) when she comes for boarding!

As they are still warming up to each other, their "play" consist of some chasing (usually Tutu does the chasing - she's like a little gangster!) and lots of Halloween Cat hops. There's no physical contact...yet.  :)

Tutu : Well, well....who do we have here?

Maddie : Eeeeek! Don't sneak up like that!

Tutu : Okay, okay...let's start over. Is this better?
Maddie : Definitely! Now, ready, steady.....GO!

Tutu : AND OFF I GO!
This picture of Tutu just makes me laugh and laugh

Kittens testing the boundaries

Bernie update : The abcess on Bernie's toe just won't clear up with the antibiotics (it was also very painful) so to prevent it from spreading and getting worst, the decision was made to amputate his foot at the mid-femur yesterday (Friday). While this might seem drastic, his foot also had nerve damage and he was dragging it around so it made a lot of sense to have it removed. He came home right after the surgery and is doing very well as a tripod bunny. We have placed carpet on the ground so he has better traction and also soft towels to prevent sores from developing on his good foot. Oh, and we help scratch his left side and left ear (and keep it clean).  He is eating, drinking, pooping and peeing so all is well. Some prayers that the incision heals without a hitch would be appreciated!  :) 

Bernie : I can't see, but something seem to be missing....yup, the PAIN!
Mommy : In this photo, he isn't wearing his e-collar because I wanted to give him an opportunity to groom himself. He'll be in the collar until the wound has healed (when I'm not around to keep an eye on him)

Bernie And His Toe

Last Tuesday (just before Tutu's troubles), I brought Bernie (the rabbit) to the other vet at Dr Doom's (didn't want to stress Bernie in a car ride). He had chewed off his nails on his back paw which then got infected (2 toes). With rabbits, an abcess is baaaaad news. Long story short, the vet removed the nail bed of one of the nails but couldn't get the other one out. He was prescribed antibiotics.

Today, I was supposed to bring him back for a follow up but after the bad experience with them and Tutu, I decided to bring him to my regular vet who proceeded to remove the other nail bed (it was still infected and pus filled) and cleaned out the wound. Since he also has some nerve damage to that foot, causing the foot to buckle and him to drag his wound on the ground, I asked if he could device something to help prevent that (the other vet couldn't think of anything).

After some thought, he proceeded to make something like a "cast" which allows the wound to breathe and for me to spray antiseptic on it while keeping it protected from being scrapped along the floor or being chewed by Bernie.

Hopefully we have filled the quota for vet visits for a long time to come! And most important lesson learnt from these 2 experiences, stay away from Dr Doom!

I can't see what the heck was done to my foot but boy, does it feel a whole lot better

Doesn't Bernie's foot look like it is wearing a rugby player's helmet? The cast has hardened and I plan to leave it on, even after the wound has healed, at least until the fur grows back...that is if Bernie leaves it alone.  :)

Happy Gotcha Day, Boomer and Bernie!

April 28, 2011 was the day I gotcha'd my new home....but the humans didn't know it then. They thought they were just going to neuter and release me but I had other plans! Heh heh. Granted, I had to sacrifice my, uh, you know what, but it was worth it!

2 days after my ultimate sacrifice...how can anyone say no to me?
I think he was probably around 8 months old then. What do you think?

Here I am with my continued efforts at wooing my Mommy. Serenading her as she cleaned the boarding room

The lady released me on May 1 but I just kept coming back which was how I got my name, Boomerang, which then became Boomer. I kept rubbing against her legs and sang to her several times a day. I would sit on the ledge as she cleaned the boarding room and sing as I watch Meow-Me, Coco and Felix play. Long story short, my plan worked and that, folks, was how I gotcha'd my Mommy!

Happy Gotcha Day, Boomer!

April 29, 2012 was Bernie's 4th Gotcha Day! He joined the family back in 2008, after Manny, Mr Brown's buddy passed away. Mr Brown was devastated and Bernie brought meaning back to Mr Brown's life and they lived happily as best buds until Mr Brown passed away on Nov 20, 2011. Today, despite being blind from cataracts, Bernie enjoys the company of his guinea pig pals, Curly and Pok.

Happy Gotcha Day, Bernie!

Everyone is invited to our dual Gotcha Day celebrations and there'll be a silvervine feast, with lots of home made treats, niptinis and banana treats as well! And LOTS and LOTS of toys to play with! Effuryone is invited!  See you at the pawty!

Meow-Me's Conversation With Bernie

Meow-Me : Hi, Bernie! Looking good in that corner...uh, may I take my mousie back?
Bernie : My eyesight isn't like what it used to be. What mousie?

Meow-Me : THIS mousie. See?

Bernie : *snort* No, you may not!

Meow-Me : Jeez. Mommy said to ask Bernie nicely. Look what asking nicely got me
Bernie : *looking smug* Heh heh heh. I'm TOP BUNNY!

Bernie stays with the cats and despite the fact that the cats are supposed to be the "predator", no cat has dared to mess with Bernie, including the boarding cats. All he needs to do is *snort* and they'll back off. He is partially blind from cataracts but is still very feisty and moves around quite comfortably.

Somefurry Has Been VERY Naughty!

As I was on the computer, I noticed Ling playing with what I thought was a litter pellet and I smiled to myself, thinking, "how cute". A while later, I went in to clean up the place and realized it was NOT...I'll let the pictures tell the story.

This was what Ling was playing with...a piece of severed cord

A search around the house revealed where the cord came from....the speakers of our recently purchased home theatre

Victim 1

Victim 2 and 3

Did you do this, Cosmo?
Nope, never seen them before

Did you, Ling?
That doesn't look like my handiwork...too messy

Closer look at some of the severed cords

After doing some CSI work on the cords and how they they were severed and the location of some of the severed cords, we realised that the culprit was actually Bernie.  He severed the cords to all 4 standing speakers AND the sub woofer AND the radio antenna.  His punishment? NO BANANAS till next year.  Naughty Bernie!

It was really funny when I told Daddy about the cords.  I think the cats could sense his fury and Cosmo ran to hide in the storeroom while Ling stayed upstairs. They only came out when we told them we know who the REAL culprit was.

We got everything fixed and the speakers are working again so all is well.  Bernie is now no longer allowed outside of the boarding room without supervision until we get proper cord protectors.