Angel BunnyOne day my friend Keera and I were talking about our dreams. As a result I showed her some of my art. She fell in love with my style and technique and insisted I do an original for her. I was thrilled. It was my first commission. We started brainstorming about what animal she wanted, and we threw around a few ideas. Then, her face lit up. She had the brilliant idea to have me to do a piece for her daughter, Taime’s 6th birthday. She told me about Taime’s best friend and pet bunny, Jefferson. He passed away a few months prior. She shared with me how devastated Taime was and my heart just broke for her. Loosing a pet is really emotional. She had been drawing pictures of him ever since, Keera said. Every time she drew him, she gave him wings. So one day Keera asked her why. She said, “Because mommy, he’s an angel in heaven now.” I melted. She was right. Then…MY face lit up. “I could give him wings!”

Bunnies are my favorites. I’m obsessed. I have two of my own, pure breed Holland lops named Lolly and Lynx. I recently bred Lolly, and she had three kits in her litter. One was a frosty. She was the runt. They are the hardest to bred, and they usually do not make it. Unfortunately this was the case. It was very emotional for me. There was nothing I could do for her. It was time for her to claim her wings. When I buried her I named her Briar Rose because she was a sleeping beauty. Her eyes never had the chance to open. She was the calmest, sweetest thing I had ever met.

I now understood Taime’s loss on a deeper level. I was honored to create a piece for her to remember him by. Now, when I look at that piece, I not only see Jefferson, I see my own angel, Briar Rose.  I’ll always remember her, along with the endless hugs and “thank you” from the bottom of that little girls enormous heart.