On Oct 9, 1999 a beautiful little bunny came into my life and she became a light for everyone who knew her until she breathed her last breath beside her adopted daddy on July 21, 2006. Cookie was her name and she was a beautiful little tan and silver Netherland Dwarf rabbit with big soft dark eyes. I am thankful for the gift that Cookie was in my life and I will always hold her memory dear in my heart.

In the fall of 1999 I heard that the SPCA had too many rabbits. I wondered if I should get a companion rabbit for my existing rabbit, Bob, who was a wonderful rabbit but not very sociable and a bit of a rebel. So, on a dreary Sunday afternoon I set out for the SPCA to see the rabbits and seek out a little friend for Bob. I was confronted by cage after cage of abandoned rabbits of all sizes, colors and ages. They all called to me in their own way.

After talking to the staff for a while, a small cage was pulled out from under a shelf of some sort and I was presented with the rabbit in “cage 8”. The person helping me said that everyone really liked this rabbit. I looked at her big loving eyes and felt a twinge in my heart. I said, “She’s awfully cute but I really don’t want a baby.” This was responded to with, “oh, she’s not a baby, she’s over a year old and bunnies can live a long time.”

At the thought of her being close in age to Bob my heart melted and I knew that the rabbit in cage 8 was the one for me. The staff asked me if I wanted to hold her and play with her but that was not necessary. Cookie was the girl for me and she needed someone to look after her.

The people at the desk had me fill out the forms and all seemed very happy that the rabbit in cage 8 was going to be adopted. I felt very honored to be considered a good person to take such a popular little rabbit home. The staff said that I could return Cookie in a week if she did not get along with the other rabbit. I knew in my heart that from that point on I belonged to Cookie just as much as she belonged to me.

So, as the days and weeks passed it came to be evident that, despite all of the helpful advice of the House Rabbit Society, I could not get my two rabbits to bond. So much for them being company for each other. Both being very sweet and loveable in their own way, a workable compromise had to be made. The floor was the domain of Bob and she seldom saw the inside of her cage. Cookie, on the other hand, seemed to feel safe and comfortable in her cage. So, she stayed in her cage while I was at work and had lots of “hop around” time in the morning and evening.

Cookie was a rather unusual pet in that she was trained to stay on the furniture (the bed, the sofa, etc) where she would be safe from Bob who ruled the floor. Cookie became a master at doing a binky in he gaps between living room furniture and impressed many people in her younger days with her speed and agility.

Over the years Cookie’s little likes, dislikes and special talents showed themselves. She had a particular love of bananas and breakfast cereals – even though she wasn’t allowed much of the latter. If she heard the stem of a banana being cracked or the rattle of a cereal box, she’d do a little dance with her nose up in the air until she was given a little delicious morsel. And, when it came to any sort of food she loved (including garden foods like carrot tops or fresh dill), there was just never enough. For such a tiny little bunny she had a very ravenous approach to her food. Feeding time was the one time our sweet Cookie could turn into a little demon!

Cookie was a lover of music and stretching out beside her favorite humans to be stroked and spoken to gently. When she passed away she was listening to “Stairway to Heaven”. She also loved a good hockey game on the TV and any other shows that had lots of noise and action.

Cookie loved to hop on the bed while I sorted clothes and sometimes she’d scratch at the piles and rearrange them. Other times she was content to stretch out along a pile of towels to oversee the quality of my work.

When I got married in 2004, Cookie was featured in our engagement and wedding pictures. Everyone who sees them is amazed at how sweet and photogenic she was. It also is a sign of how important she had become in our life as a couple.

Cookie very quickly took to my husband and made him her favorite human. She would often seek out his hand and push her head under it in order to be petted. She’d often sit beside him for hours while he was reading and lick him and relax on his lap. When Cookie got very sick at the end, it was to her daddy that she would hop to and to seek out for help and comfort.

Cookie was a very social bunny and loved to visit friends and family. Over the years she spent considerable time at her grandma and grandpa’s home – sometimes being spoiled and loving it but also getting poopy bum as a result of all the yummy food. It was at times like that I would say to Cookie, “it’s a good thing that you’re so cute.”

Cookie went on many adventurous car rides and learned to be a very good traveler. She visited the lake many times, her other grandma and even went to visit my husband’s grandmother on her 93rd birthday. Grandma was so taken with Cookie that she wanted to hold Cookie and have a picture of the two of them taken.

When visiting friends and relatives, Cookie sometimes jumped off her little blanket that was usually stretched out on a couch and would try to hop around the house. All I would have to do is say, “up, Cookie, up, up” and Cookie would look up at where her blanket was and hop back onto it. This was an impressive little trick that Cookie could do.

Cookie touched many lives and warmed many hearts. The news of her passing has brought tears but also very fond memories to mind. It is said that bunnies who pass on go to a place called the Rainbow Bridge. Both of my dear rabbits are now at this place.

I imagine it as a place where Cookie can eat all the treats she wants, watch her favorite TV shows and get constant attention from people who love her….. and Cookie and Bob will finally be friends. From this side of the Rainbow Bridge my husband and I carry her memory in our minds and our hearts like a precious jewel. We feel very blessed to have had her in our lives and could never have understood until she came into our lives what a difference she could make.

We hope that Cookie enjoyed her life and that she can forgive us if she suffered too much at the end. We did the best that we could and it was very hard to see her fade away. I am also very grateful to the SPCA for taking Cookie when someone was unable to care for her and passing her safely into our care.

Goodbye Cookie. We loved you and will always remember you.

Donna Frederick