Thank You Nappy

Nappy passed away this morning at 6:35 AM. He was four years old. The first thing that I ask is you don't judge him since he was a bunny rather than a cat or a dog. He was just as full of emotion, and those that have met him know just how awesome he is. I am at somewhat of a loss as to what to say in this space.

We named him Nappy on the drive back from the pet store, because while all the other bunnies played, Nappy just continued to nap. But the second we took him home, he become a bundle of energy. His misnomer was a joke, and his rambunctious attitude was his defining characteristic. But now, you can finally take a nice long nap, Nappy.

While my wife and I were living apart, I never really saw that much of Nappy. I was there for the first couple of days after we bought him and then returned to school. Later that year, I took care of Nappy for about a month or so, while my wife was away, and while we grew a little closer, it was more like two dudes sharing a bachelorpad.

It was when my wife and I moved to Chicago that we really became a family, and Nappy was there from the very beginning. When we moved into our condo, you could immediately tell how natural the new place was for him. We laid out our furniture in a Nappy proof fashion, so that he could roam where he wished.

Without his little footsteps, the house is so empty. I've already stopped waiting for him to appear when I walk out the door and looking to see where he might be hiding when I wake up in the morning; but, I don't think I will ever truly forget. I will look at the fireplace where he would chill after a petting session. I will walk through the foyer where he so often was waiting for us to return. I will look at our tables, where he liked to reside under the tree of chair legs. I will look at our couch armrest, his resident petting location.

Nappy loved being clean. He would groom himself nonstop and licked me and my wife whenever he felt like we were too dirty. At the vet, he was unable to groom properly, and last night, he stayed perfectly still as I picked the deposits from his oral medications off his face.

I am still at a loss as to how to deal with my pain. All of my research suggests that for whatever reason, kidney failure at a young age is rare. I have a million regrets, but continually try to convince myself that we gave him the best life he could have had and he is at peace. He was so young and always healthy. Was it really just his time?

My wife and I agree that we never expected Nappy to affect our lives in this way. We never expected him to display so much emotion day in and day out. Nappy couldn't talk and that made his actions so meaningful. He expressed his joy by binkying all over the place. When he was mad, he would turn his back to you, stomp loudly, and then peek back out of the corner of his eye. Rarely, he would flop onto his side and lie completely relaxed.

Nappy was the most creative sitter in the world. He had a multitude of sitting poses, most of which we named. The "duck" was when he tucked his feet and head in becoming a ball-like shape similar to a duck. The "chill" was when he sat and then stuck his rear legs out to the side. Often he would lay his head completely on the ground in a lazy manner. He would always put his head on the ground as you squatted and approached in preparation for a petting.

Nappy really influenced us in an unpredictable way. Neither my wife nor I had really ever had a pet, and we were truly blessed to have Nappy. I had been considering using this post to discuss his condition medically, but now all I want is to write about how much we loved Nappy. I want this here, so I never forget how awesome he was. There are still a million more things I can say about Nappy.

But most importantly I want to say, "Thank you Nappy for loving us. Thank you for making our family whole. Without you, we are so empty, but we'd like to think that part of you will be with us forever. There's an irreplaceable hole in our family, but when we finally move on, it will be because of how much you mean to us and how you'll always be with us. Thank you for four amazing years. We love you."

P.S. Nappy was soo soft, it's no wonder he was vain.