A Little Less Softness

Leopold reached the end of his strength the week before Christmas, and after two days of neither eating nor drinking (he even had food left in his mouth that the vet said he was too weak to chew), he was put to sleep on Friday, December 18. By this time, he was completely lame from arthritis and on Friday morning, expended the entirety of his energy in trying to lift his head whenever Robert would stop petting him for a moment. He died quickly, without pain, and with his Boy Human at his side. According to Robert, the depiction of Hazel dying at the end of the 1978 Watership Down movie (which we watched over the break in honor of Leo) is a pretty good representation of what Leo looked like when he peacefully went to sleep forever.

I am broken-hearted. I knew when I left Austin that I would probably never see him again, but the truth of this has hit me hard the last couple weeks, and I got a lot out of hearing Robert's frequent reports (even though these reports sketched out a steep decline in Leo's functioning over the 4 month period).

But I also know that if Leo were here, he would look at me as if to say, "Silly human! Life is good!" And so to pay tribute to the great Leopold, who knew so well how to be happy, I wrote this song to the tune of "Jingle Bell Rock":

Leopold Rex

Leopold, Leopold, Leopold Rex
Leopold thump and Leopold jump
Stopping, then flopping, he rests for a while
In the Leopold style

Leopold, Leopold, Leopold Rex
Leopold wakes and Leopold shakes
Feeding then pleading for one extra pap*
He climbs up into your lap

(* pap = papaya digestive tablet)

The night-time is the right time
To put him in his cage
But when dawn comes, you lazy human,
Let him out before he goes in a rage

Look at that Leopold licking his feet
After his carrot snack
He's someone special, it's a fabulous treat
To pet his black-zippered back

I'm not over-praising, it's amazing
How he sleeps with an open eye
And it's a wonder how that Rex fur
Creates a softness field six inches high

We love you, Leopold, you are the top
Through dark clouds you are our ray of sun
But when the Black Rabbit calls, you gotta get up and hop
That's the Leopold,
Our sweet Leopold,
Good-bye Leopold Bun!