Remembering Giol

Giol, #1 daughter's pet rabbit, died this week.

My wife came in Tuesday evening, worried, and told me that Giol was lying on his side and not breathing. She wanted me to make a closer inspection, and I can't say I blame her for doing so. We all liked that little furball.

He was in his pen, lying on the grass, on his right side, eye open, and definitely not breathing. His death probably came some time during the afternoon or early evening: and was, from all indications, quite peaceful.

My daughter had found him, years ago, at a animal clinic/pound in Alexandria. He was one of a number of rabbits recovered from a botched breeding operation, and was nervous: even for a rabbit. I gather that he had not been treated well by the humans or his fellow-rabbits.

#1 daughter thought he was cute: nothing unusual there. There are very few critters she doesn't think are cute. She named him Giol, and took him home with her. Giol was something in the neighborhood of a lop rabbit, with ears drooping and a lovely fur coat. A grayish fuzzy patch on the back of his neck gave him 'character,' and was a legacy of his less-than-happy experiences at the breeding operation.

Giol calmed down rather quickly, under the circumstances, and lived at various times with #1 daughter, in our house, and in a portable rabbit run we built for him. My daughter was moving back to Sauk Centre, having found a place where she could keep pets. We liked the little fellow, but several members of the household are very sensitive to pet dander: which made life a bit more complicated.

I wish that Giol could have lived long enough for #1 daughter to take him back to live with her. But he had a long (for a rabbit) and rather good life. At least, I hope so. We made a point of moving his rabbit run periodically, giving him several square yards of fresh grass to supplement his rabbit kibble. Then there were the occasional apple cores and other treats. He was particularly fond of mint.

I picked up #1 daughter around 10:00 p.m. Tuesday, driving her back to Sauk Centre. We picked up a styrofoam cooler and several pounds of ice on the way, which we used to preserve Giol's body until the next day. #1 daughter and I stayed up rather late, distracting ourselves by watching a few episodes of an anime series we like.

By early Wednesday afternoon, #1 daughter had picked a spot under some lilacs in the back yard and dug a rabbit-size grave. It had been Giol's favorite spot on those occasions when she had him out of the rabbit run. She and I laid him there, still looking as I'd seem him Tuesday evening. She set an apple core by his head, and plans to plant mint there.

Sentimental man that I am, I'm weeping while writing this. I miss that little fuzzball.

These photos, taken a few years ago, are from earlier posts.

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(September 28, 2009)

Giol, #1 daughter's rabbit, under the back stoop: his new favorite place outside.


Giol has this "cute" thing down cold.


As #1 daughter observed: from this angle, Giol looks like a fuzzy eggplant. With ears.


Caught in the act! The infamous "chips" incident.

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(June 23, 2009)
My wife came up with an excellent idea for keeping Giol out of the way.


Simplicity itself: Place laundry basket on floor; place rabbit in laundry basket. Result: instant rabbit playpen.


Then, the rabbit realizes how easy it will be to jump out.


Putting another laundry basket, upside down, on top of the first worked quite well: until Giol learned that he could push the top one off. #1 daughter eventually used duct tape to fasten the top on.

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(April 10, 2008)

#1 daughter brought her rabbit, Giol, along with her. That was a treat, for me anyway. Our son likes the rabbit too. Giol likes to nap behind the couch, and under the chair I use in the living room. It's a bit of a treat, feeling his whiskers when he sniffs my feet.

Related posts:

• "A Rabbit This Time"
  (June 17, 2013)
• "Big Hail, a Rabbit's Fox Hole, and Sunday"
  (May 20, 2012)
• "A Mouse? A Really Big Mouse?"
  (April 3, 2010)
• "A Rabbit, a Vest, and My Family"
  (January 29, 2010)
• "Another Day, More Posts; Some Research; and a Rabbit"
  (January 12, 2010)
• "Giol, #1 Daughter's Rabbit; and 'Just Your Average Small Town America Household' "
  (September 28, 2009)
• "Tuesday: A Rabbit's Playpen, and Sunset"
  (June 23, 2009)
• "And Now for Something Completely Different: Cat and Rabbit Meet"
  (February 3, 2009)
• "Wednesday: Back to School, and a Little Spring"
  (April 10, 2008)

Almost Spring: Soo Bahk Do, and Pets

My wife and #3 daughter were at a Soo Bahk Do clinic most of yesterday: leaving about 6:00 a.m. and getting home late in the evening. The clinic/learning session didn't take that long - but it was in Minnesota's Twin Cities area, which involves about two hours on the road, each way.

I gather that it was quite an active day, mentally and physically. (Soo Bahk Do is sort of like Karate.)

Spring, Minnesota style, is here: it rained last night, and the snow drifts are lower than they were a few days ago. They're also starting to show the dust and dirt that's been hidden inside. This isn't the most 'picture postcard' season here.

Friday night #1 daughter noticed that Eek the mouse died. She'd collected the little critter in her apartment - and made a pet of it. We've no idea how old Eek was. He'd made a daring escape several days earlier, and been recaptured in one of a number of 'live' traps #1 daughter had set up.

Twitches, #1 daughter's cat, on the other hand, is doing fine: and at this moment scampering around the house.

Which isn't all that's happened lately - but that would make a very long post.

Another Weekend

I'd have liked to have been out grilling burgers this noon, but between a light fever, a mild winter storm, and a sensible wife - I've deferred the experience.

Here's what the grill looked like a week ago, after my son shoveled it out:



Last weekend, and this, #1 daughter is here visiting. With her cat, Twitches. Kitten, actually. Cute little thing. Lively, too.



Twitches did a very thorough job of cleaning out that bowl last Saturday.

That 'vest' she's wearing is an Ace bandage. Twitches has a patch of very tender skin on her shoulder - which the bandage and gauze underneath protects. She does not - emphatically not - like the bandage. Or, rather, does not like the process of changing the dressing once or twice a day.

Searching for Scamp

I think it was Sunday when someone came to the door, asking us if we'd seen a black dog named Scamp. We hadn't.

I went out to grill burgers not long after that, and kept closer watch on my surroundings that I usually do. No dog, black or otherwise, showed up.

Sure hope Scamp finds his (her?) way home.

Thursday: Walking the Dog

My wife, son, and #3 daughter got back from Soo Bahk Do about a half hour ago, and I'm wrapping up my tasks here at the computer.

Coborn's grocery, a few blocks south, is having a 'kid's week' promotion - today's events included a sort of parade at 10:00 a.m. I got down there with a camera and may have gotten some decent photos. The parade consisted of a couple dozen children - some with a wagon or something similar - following someone in a purple cow costume around the parking lot.

It looked like they were having fun.

#1 daughter picked a bucket-full of cherries today. This year we're getting to them before the birds do. I had one: delicious. They're rather tart, but that's fine with me.

This evening, while the others were at Soo Bahk Do, I decided to try going on a walk with Sprocket, my son-in-law-to-be's dog. #1 daughter knew where the leash was, so she got it connected.

The walk went quite well. Sprocket definitely wanted to walk faster than I could - but he apparently figured out that I was at top speed, and adjusted his pace accordingly.

Walking a dog is not like walking a cat. Sprocket was quite willing to go left, right, straight ahead, or stop, in response to light pressure on the leash.

He would have been very willing to keep heading south when we reached the Lake Wobegon Trail, but willingly turned around after we stood there a few minutes. He wasn't straining at the leash so much on the way back, though.

And, now, it's time to read Garfield with my son.

Wednesday: #2 Daughter's Wedding is Now at One Month and Counting

#2 daughter will, if all goes as planned, be married one month from today. Even though I'm safely out of the loop when it comes to preparations, I'm still feeling the urgency.

My wife has the dress made, almost: The next steps require #2 daughter's presence, and she's headed to Louisiana with my son-in-law-to-be. Why, I'm not exactly sure: but I'm sure it's a good reason.

Meanwhile, we have his dog, Sprocket, to take care of. He's a big, over-bred, friendly sheepdog. My wife and #3 daughter worked out a method by which he can be staked out in the back yard without one of us being attached to the other end of a leash. It's a mutually satisfactory arrangement. He seems to like just being outside, without needing to move around all that much.

The kids have been taking turns, giving him walks - so he should be getting enough exercise.

#1 daughter's rabbit, Giol, is taking the presence of Sprocket pretty well, all things considered. Fur on Giol's back stood up for a few minutes this evening, when my son and Sprocket were playing - Sprocket made some growling sounds in the course of the play.

Giol relaxed soon after that, though.

Last night was the first night Sprocket stayed here. He gave voice at intervals throughout the late evening. I'd hardly call it a howl: the sound is quite musical.

The charm of Sprocket's voice started wearing a bit thin around midnight, though. He did eventually settle down, happily.

It'll be interesting to see how tonight goes.

Found: One Affectionate, Rather Hungry, Cat

Update: 3:53 p.m. July 24, 2009

That didn't take long: Those are photos of Max, who was lost three months ago, up in Alexandria. That's 20 miles away, but Max's family lived near the Lake Wobegon Trail's rail line - and so do we. It's not hard to imagine a cat making his way down that trail.

Max will be returning to a household of three dogs and two (now three) cats: and a lot of attention. They'll have quite a lot of catching up to do.

We connected with Max's owners through a poster in Pets Galore, on Nokomis, in Alexandra: a new-since-last-year (I think) pet store.

- - - - -

Here's what this post said, before we contacted Max's owners:

A cat showed up in our yard today: quite obviously someone's pet, and quite unfamiliar to us. He's a neutered male, quite affectionate - and/or realized that we'd provide a meal and attention, if properly approached.

He's in good shape: if he's lost he's either very good at finding food on his own, or hasn't been gone for very long. At this moment, he's sharing the garage with my oldest daughter's rabbit, Giol. Giol has been trying to sniff the cat, through the chicken wire of his enclosure. I'm not sure how the cat's been reacting to Giol.

We're hoping that we can re-connect this fellow with his family. There's someone in Alexandria, who lost a cat that looks a great deal like this one: but that's 20 miles away, a rather long walk for a cat.

If you recognize our foundling, please leave a comment on this post. We'll work out a way of making contact.