"the b-u-n-n-y is g-o-n-e"

This was exactly the words I said this morning on a message to Mike. Right before heading out the door, I noticed that our Bumper bunny wasn't in her cage. I thought, "oh yeah, Mike must have left her out on her leash." But when I checked she was gone, the stake was on the ground and there was no sign of her or her leash.
So, how was I supposed to handle telling Marshall the news? I waited until he discovered her missing on his own. Then we looked in the alley, the neighbors yard and anywhere we could think. Uncle Dave helped us look. But the bunny was gone, without a trace. And the tears and moans I heard for the following hour and then again before bed were dreadfully painful. As if Marshall's heart was tearing out. He loved that bunny so much!
Mike feels so bad about it. Stewart says, "where's the bunny?" and "awwwww!". My heart aches for Marshall, who feels such pain right now.
He wants to get a new bunny right away. I think though that we'll let him recover and not jump too fast to "fix it". We'll look around for a local farmer or Future Farmer of America who has bunnies for sale.