This rabbit was about two years old, and she sat in a cage all by herself looking so forlorn it broke my heart. No one was going to buy her, not when there were adorable baby bunnies hopping about in their glass enclosure. So I told my daughter that she was coming home with us. That was the day we got Bunny.
I had never had a house rabbit before - a rabbit you keep inside. When I was younger, we received a bunny one year for Easter. It was the typical white rabbit with pink eyes, and we named her Sniffles. But we kept her in a cage, not realizing that rabbits can be litter trained and kept inside. We never really got to know her. How can you get to know an animal that you only see twice a day to feed them and change their water? So Sniffles was just a blurry memory from my childhood.
As an adult, I knew people who kept their rabbits indoors - who litter trained them and let them be a part of their family. "What a great apartment pet" I thought, and I was right!
It took Bunny a while to get used to me and me to her. I had cats and dogs all my life, but rabbits are different. They are prey animals, not predators - they are easily frightened, and they are also very delicate. I had to learn to get on the floor and let her come to me. But eventually we developed a trusting relationship, and I was rewarded by watching her personality blossom. There is nothing more joyful than a rabbit running full speed down a carpeted hallway, nor more peaceful than one who feels so safe that she will fall deeply asleep in an unguarded spot.
That's what I see in this handsome fellow: Blue is an older rabbit too. He is sweet and adorable and waiting for someone to give him a forever home. To sit and snuggle and enjoy the closeness of just being together. It's a very special place - one I highly recommend.
Note: Bunny Jean Cook crossed the Rainbow Bridge on June 7, 2011.
Hey it's Jet here.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful tribute.
What a touching story. I had a bunny once that lived indoors, but I did not know they could be litter trained. Her name was also Bunny and we found her outside as a tiny ball of fur. She did live in a cage, but I took her out everyday to explore the house (we had 4 dogs that had to be locked up during this time - all our Golden Retreiver could think of 24/7 was eating her). Bunny and my cat, Kit, loved each other and Kit used to sleep in the cage with her sometimes. She also used to snuggle on my lap which was cool!! So glad you adopted your Bunny and gave her such a wonderful rest of her life.
ReplyDeleteWhat a neat story Deb! I adopted Bunny for my daughter when she was about nine years old, and Natalie loved to sit with her and snuggle. Of course, I needed to teach her to get down on the floor at first. But she learned that if she put a blanket in her lap, Bunny would sit with her. Eventually, she "trained" Bunny to sit with her on the couch!
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