Why a Bunny?

[Little Lion Head]

I’m really curious as to why everyone choose to get a bunny for a pet. I feel like I’m getting to know a lot of you, but this is one thing that hasn’t come up lately. So a couple questions:

1) Why did you choose a bunny?

2) How did you pick the bunny/bunnies that you have?

3) What other pets do you have?

I got my first bunny, Boston back when hubby was working 80 hours per week and I was lonely. We got a bunny because we thought it would be “easy.” We weren’t allowed to have pets and we figured the landlord wouldn’t notice a bunny kept in a cage all day. As you can see I had no idea about anything to do with the care of bunnies! 

We got Boston at a PetStore (and now, with the knowledge I have, I will always adopt!) and she was baby running around with her siblings. We picked her b/c she seemed to be the most laid back.

After Boston passed I knew I wanted bunnies again. It took 3 years before we adopted Pumpkin from the Humane Society and then as most of you know, we just got Shamrock from a shelter.

I hope to some day get a dog too!! I want a big dog to go jogging with but that’s a few years off!

[Cottontail]

We didn’t exactly “choose” to be bunny parents. We had our Zoey cat since my older brother rescued her from a dumpster behind his work when she was about a month old. He couldn’t keep her because he was in the messy process of a divorce, but couldn’t stomach leaving her there. After she was spayed she decided that all other cats were either “minions” or “things that had to die,” so she was our only girl for many years.

We rescued Pete when he was about 10-12 days old, and he was the only one from his litter to make it. Zoey immediately fell in love with him and was very concerned for the bunny-kitten. Since he couldn’t make it on his own, and they had formed a fast bond, it seemed cruel to separate them… so Pete became a house-bunny.

Fast-forward 10 months and we introduce Tilly. She belonged to a new neighbor that although meant well, was not at all knowledgeable about bunnies. They also found themselves in the sudden position of having to find homes for their pets or leaving them behind because they could not take them with them. So we took Tilly in and now we’re back to the ladies outnumbering the boys.

Pete will be 1 year old in 2 weeks… and We’ll have been bunny-slaves for a year on Easter!

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Love this topic!

1. I’d wanted a bunny since I was a little kid. I even tried building a trap when I was little to catch one (Consisted of a box, a carrot and a harmonica; I figured the rabbit would run for the carrot, be breathing hard which would sound the harmonica, then I would drop the box and have a bunny!)

2. I chose my first rabbit impulsively while in a pet store getting a toy for our dog who was going to start chemo treatment

3. I have two rabbits, a guinea pig, two dogs and a horse

[Little Lion Head]

CT I just love Pete’s story and I think Zoey is the greatest! Tilly is such a great addition!

K&K I am giggling picturing your rabbit “trap” and thinking about your logic!! I just can’t believe that didn’t work!! haha—-What are your two current buns’ names?

There are three bonded guinea pigs for adoption nearby. I ALMOST just brought them home w/o talking to hubby. Then decided I would like to stay married!! haha

[LBJ10]

After our chinchillas passed, my husband found himself really missing them. He said he wanted a bunny and he wanted to name him Leopold. I said okay. We spent several months looking for a bunny. We went to the humane society several times, they didn’t have any bunnies. The pet stores no longer sell bunnies around here, so that was a no go. So here we were at a feed store of all places and we saw these two adorable Holland lops. We held both of them, but my husband had a boy name picked out so we had to take the boy. And that’s how we ended up with a bunny.

Wooly was sort of a rescue. He came from a coworker and we weren’t prepared to have a second bunny. So Wooly spent the first few months in a hedgehog cage (we had a hedgehog a really long time ago that died of cancer) until we could get him neutered. He came to us the day after my birthday so I always think of him as my birthday bunny.

You all know that I also have a dog. She’s 16 and she’s a dachshund. We used to have a kitty too, but he passed before we got the buns. And, from my story, you can tell we had other miscellaneous pets over the years as well.

[JackRabbit]

Didn’t really choose to be a bunny slave initially. My son’s girlfriend bought a baby bunny at a pet store and her mother wouldn’t let her keep it because she already had a bunny as did her sister. So they showed up at my house at midnight on a Saturday night because my son said “my mom loves bunnies, she won’t say no”. Well, he promised to take care of it and I didn’t say no. (Lesson — never believe anyone under 25 who promises their mother that they will take care of anything living!). So baby Kieko moved into our house. Hubby and I fell in love with the little zoomy and cuddly ball of fur. We built her a condo but she was so tiny she could fit through the 1.5 inch NIC grid openings so she had a store bought rabbit cage until she grew some!

The more attached hubby and I became to Kieko, the more adament my son became that she was “their” rabbit, so I decided to get my own furbaby. I didn’t know about rescues and such at the time, and found a local breeder with baby buns for sale. Hubby and I went to meet a cute little Holland lop tort baby girl, which turned out to be a boy so the breeder had brought a couple of orange tort baby girls along too. When I couldn’t decide between them (one of the girls had a small cut in her lip so the breeder said she wasn’t for sale), the breeder said I could take both and return one if I decided to. Hubby said to get them both if I wanted, and I wanted! So, Marlee and Moshi came home with us.

We went from no bunnies to three bunnies in less than two months!

We had a beautiful black lab “puppy” named Mysti for 12 1/2 years, but we lost her unexpectedly and quickly to cancer last July. We still miss her terribly, but she’s still at home with us except instead of laying in hubby’s lap or watching tv with us from her big cushion, she rests in a lovely wooden and leather mini-chest near her favorite nap spot in our family room.

[JPetrucci84]

I also rescued my rabbit, Cinder. We knew her fate was sealed if a horrible person got to her. I’m just thankful that she was so cooperative to be loved and cared for in a great environment, even if I am a bunny n00b haha.

I don’t have any other pets aside from my step-sisters, haha jk. I wouldn’t mind, but the landlord is against having more pets in the house than there already is. I would definitely do bunnies again given the chance, now that I know more about how to care for them.

[Toni]

What an interesting post! Thanks for starting this! I love reading all the stories.

1) Why did you choose a bunny?

When I was very young, we had rabbits in a backyard hutch. I was too young to take care of them, but thought they were my pets. They kept disappearing, and new ones would show up and replace them. One day, I saw my father carrying one of the rabbits and a bag out back into the woods behind our house. When he came out, he did not have the rabbit – just the bag. I snuck out to where he had gone and discovered that he had been butchering the rabbits for meat. I was so angry at him and laid into him for deceiving me and letting me think they were our pets.

He never laid another hand on a rabbit – in fact, he built several very nice cages for the remaining ones who became my pets. This was over 30 years ago…. I’ve had rabbits ever since. I took my first bunny indoors as a house rabbit 22 years ago. There was quite a learning curve at the time, and I couldn’t find ANY good vets who knew anything about rabbits when I needed them – and so I lost my precious first house bun way too early to stasis. My next dwarf mix – Baxter, lived to 7, Stewie made it to 12…. Radar is inching her way towards 10. I finally feel like I have this all figured out.

2) How did you pick the bunny/bunnies that you have?

While I am dead-set against buying bunnies from pet stores…. we had a heater go on our fish tank one day and we went to the store to get a new one. We spotted Radar in a cage with 3 other baby buns. They were all lounging around, all but her. She was doing speed-runs around the small cage up and over the other bunnies and doing massive binkies and showing off for us. When we laughed, she would binky straight up. She had STRIPES! We had never seen a Harlequin coat before and were just mesmerized by her. We just couldn’ t leave her there and risk someone picking her up who would not fully appreciate how awesome she was and not allow her to reach her potential. We’ve never regretted that decision.

And then there’s Fred. My daughter spotted him in a snowbank on the side of the road in early Feb. Just as we are losing our sweet bunny-girl to cancer, Fred hops in just in time to help us with our sorrow. He’s one of the sweetest, chillest bunny I’ve ever had – despite having been out in the wild for 4 or 5 months.

3) What other pets do you have?

2 Mice and 5 chickens, and we’re starting 2 beehives this Spring.

[Little Lion Head]

LBJ thats adorable that your hubby already had Leopold’s name picked out!!! Kind of like us with Rocky. We knew it would be Shamrock/Rocky no matter who we got!

JR I didn’t realize that Keiko was supposed to be your son’s! I’m guessing that he no longer feels as strongly about that? You filled up quickly with bunnies! What did Mysti think of all the furbabies?

JP isn’t that the truth. All of our buns are so lucky!

[LBJ10]

Yep LLH, we had to get a bunny to go with the name. What’s funny is that people often ask me if we named him Leopold after Aldo Leopold. But, sadly no, he was named after Butters on South Park. o_O

[Deleted User]

I don’t know why I always wanted a bunny??? Being illegal where I live, I had never seen a real life bunny ever! I just thought they were something cute to be snuggled and cuddled, ha ha ha! Even when I met my hubby – within months he was calling me Bunny or Buns. 18 years later, I can’t remember the last time he called me by my actual name??? Lol!
Then my dream came true! Coming home after work and picking up the kid’s just after the sun set to grab my mum’s birthday present (so it was the 11th of March 1997) there was Petey! A white with grey uppy ears and a tail bunny being stalked by a cat – I stopped the car in the street with the headlights shining into my front yard while demanding my kid’s aged 3 – 8 get out and help catch him. We did! LOL! Guess what? Bunny’s aren’t something meant to be snuggled and cuddled, ha ha ha! My daughter (aged 8) was covered in scratches and boy did they ‘sting’ when she had to go swimming the next day, ha ha ha!
Not having the internet back then and no one to ask, Petey lived under my bed and was fed salad and veg (probably all the naughty stuff too like ice berg lettuce) with no hay or pellets. Luckily (or so I thought?) I put him outside every weekend to eat the grass – but that was my downfall! My IDIOT husband left the side gate open. I was so distressed and even dreamed about him. My hubby!!! and anyone that would listen never heard to the end of it. I even had a friend who travelled down South for an occasion who was going to get me a surprise bunny on their way home till they saw the signs at the border saying bunny’s carried a $44,000 fine if brought into the State. So they didn’t – the thought was nice.
Fast forward 2 years ago in May…. my son said “I’m doing it – I am getting you a bunny for Mother’s Day” and crossed the border and picked Henry out of a litter from a breeder located in farmland. So I never chose him, I actually wanted a girl, but the breeder told Den boy’s were easier! I even had the name Henry picked out for a girl bunny…..

I’ve always been a doggy mummy, so Henry at 9 weeks old came home to a family of 3 dog’s which I introduced that same day. George mothered him, licked him and wouldn’t let the other 2 dog’s near him. She growled if they looked at him, ha ha ha – why funny? George now has nothing to do with him. Notice I have never posted a picture of Henry with George??? She realized he was more trouble than he was worth and will avoid him at any cost. Luckily the other 2, in particular Frank, tolerate him. And Henry has lived happily ever after since.

[JackRabbit]

LLH — his promise to take care of her lasted about 5 minutes! Then when I got the lops, he begged to name one of them because he felt that Kieko was more his girlfriend’s bunny and Mysti was more hus dad’s dog so he never really felt like he had a pet and he promised to help take care of it . . . I had planned on naming them Marley and Peaches, but to keep him happy, they became Moshi (he started out wanting to name him Mooshy!) and Marlee. Kieko still lives in her condo in his room though — mainly because we built the condo in that room and it”s too big to fit through the door without taking it apart!

Mysti wasn’t a bunny kind of dog, for that matter, she never got along with any other animals (she thought she was a person). She caught a couple of wild bunnies in the yard and hubby had to rescue them from her. While Mysti was alive, she stayed downstairs and the bunnies upstairs. One close call (she came upstairs to find hubby and scared the crap out of the bunnies) so we ended up with a baby gate at the bottom of the stairs and baby gates in the doorways upstairs.

[MoxieMeadows]

1) I had wanted a bunny for a while. I was always trying to find some way for my parents to agree a bunny was a good idea. Now let me get into details that will be important further into my story: Both me and my sister owned 5 pet ducks together, they were my babies. We hatched them from eggs. But my dad wanted them gone because we kinda didn’t have permission from the landlords because we weren’t supposed to keep them after they hatched…Oops!
Well one day I was gone and a man came over and started trying to get my sister to sell our 5 ducks. (we were selling baby ducks at the time, and our 5 were adults). My dad agreed that they should sell them and so they did. When I picked up the phone and heard my sister really upset because the ducks had been sold and she hadn’t wanted them to I don’t think I ever felt a stronger feeling of betrayal /anger.
I was so upset, and their were baby bunnies for sale. I *almost* made the impulse decision to buy a vicious little black and white male bun. But my mother knew I was upset and talked me out of it.
Somebody she knew was planning on having angora rabbit kits, so I agreed to wait a few months. Well, they ended up not having the kits. During that time I did lots and lots of research, I knew the basics: Hay, pellets, water, fresh veggies and run around time. Other than that though I was utterly clueless on what was coming my way (in a good way)!
I found another angora rabbit breeder and found out they had a litter, a black female, a black male, a REW female and 2 broken males (one black one brown). I decided I wanted a female and then decided on the little black kit that peed on my little sister’s foot. (Moxie!) Since then Moxie has been a blessing and I have learned so much! <3

2) Oops I think I kinda covered that up there! I liked Moxie’s feisty personality and her coloration.

3)Other pets, I have a Mini Dachshund named Snickers. (Female.)
We also have a family dog (Husky names Zero. He already came with that name…) and a family cat named Spring we rescued from the Shelter. My sister has a cat names Cleo that was a family cat but kinda likes her more so we’ve all kinda accepted that Cleo is hers. My sister also has a Cockatiel named Kiko. (Pronounced the same as JR’s Keiko.)

[JackRabbit]

Moxie — Kiko – that’s nice! Kieko’s original name was Jack Jack (son’s choice) when my son insisted she was a boy — partly how I came up with JackRabbit as a user name. Once I figured out how to determine the sex of a bunny and found that Jack Jack was a girl, my son and his girlfriend went through the bunny name lists online and found Kieko (she was almost Artemis!).

[Cottontail]

I am loving these stories.
I promised the hubby after Zoey that the next pet would be his dog… Then we got Pete. Then that was it.
…Then we got Tilly. And we repeated “no more pets” so now I poke at the hubby whenever we pass a cute cat, puppy, bunny, etc. lol

[Deleted User]

LOL CT! My hubby is and has always been desperate for a cat – GASP! I ‘stated’ (LOL!) I’m not having cat hair all over my house!
Then we (I) got Henry – Ooooop’s!!! Bloody bunny fur ‘everywhere!’. Ha ha ha ha!
Just a week ago he bought up the CAT conversation again and I said after having Henry – ‘your kidding aren’t you?’ ha ha ha ha ha!

Also, after losing Molly (our Toy Poodle after 15 years, so all our life together at that time) I was so distraught by his loss I said NO more animals ever! I can’t stand the pain and I was adamant!!! Again, we ended up with Henry, ha ha ha!

Dam bunny! And dam those cute tissues ad’s that convinced me bunny’s were for cuddling! BLAH!

LOL!

[MeketatenBun]

1) Why did you choose a bunny?

I’ve always wanted a bunny since I was little and finally when I was 11 I convinced my parents to let me join my local 4-H rabbit club and, oh darn, looks like I need a rabbit to be in the club soooooo…… Haha, but yeah, essentially I just always thought they were cute

2) How did you pick the bunny/bunnies that you have?

Because I was in 4-H, I had to get a purebred rabbit from a breeder to show it, so one of the leaders is an ARBA certified breeder of Havanas and Holland Lops and I knew I wanted a bunny with stand-uppy ears because I was 11 and that’s what bunnies should look like I guess? Weird way of thinking. I really wanted a Polish or Netherland Dwarf, but it was harder finding a breeder for that, but the Havanas were super cute to me regardless. At that time, Havanas could only be in Blue, Black, or Brown colors and she had just had a litter of blues that were ready to be separated from their mother. So she brought them all out, with their mother, and all of them scurried and hid by their mom except for my Nefertari and I knew she was the one because she, at 8 weeks old, just kinda looked at me like “yeah, what?”

So when Nefi passed away, I told myself I could never replace her, but within a few months I still had a hole in my heart that only another bunny could fill. I, too, didn’t want to get one from a pet store, and now I was long out of 4-H and didn’t know of any references, so I contacted Nefi’s breeder again. Turns out she had a pretty young litter of just two rabbits. Havanas can now come in a broken color, so she bred a broken blue with a black to get broken blacks and ended up with two babies, a completely black male and a female that was all black except for a white spot on her nose which is a disqualification in the show ring. And because I have no intention of showing any bunnies anymore (county fairs are a scary place for buns, I only showed Nefi for two years and gave that up because I hated seeing her look so scared in the cramped fair cages), I gladly took in Meketaten once she was old enough so I knew she’d have a good life since the show ring wasn’t a place she could go.

3) What other pets do you have?

I have a parakeet named Zeus, he’s picking up on English which we find hilarious because all other parakeets we’ve had didn’t talk, but hey, it’s fun to sit in the living room and hear a garbled “Pretty Zeusy, pretty pretty!” coming from his cage. Then there’s Meeshka, who is technically my brother’s husky, but she’s over enough and I take enough care of her that I’ll just call her partly mine

[Little Lion Head]

These stories are so great!!!

Toni I love the story about your dad!. Not that he was butchering, but that he stopped for you And I think Fred is so cool! And that must be Radar in your avatar?

Andi I don’t know if I’ve heard the Petey story before! That is too cute, your kiddos chasing an illegal bunny! haha!! So sad that he got out, I would be heartbroken. Oh but LUCKY YOU (haha) you got Henry

JR I can see Moshi as a Mooshy with that sweet little face!

Moxie awww your poor ducks! That’s terrible! I used to have a couple of ducks and a pot-bellied pig as a kid.

Meketaten I know that feeling of a hole only a bunny can fill. I think once you’ve had one, you’ll always have or want one! The parakeet sounds cool!

Ok, if I could I would have a big dog, some hermit crabs, a beta fish, and some kind of big talking bird. Hubby doesn’t want to be a zoo, but I’m thinking I charge the local neighbor kids admission to help pay the vet bills….?!

[Deleted User]

I think I have only shared my Petey story once, on a thread that not many member’s saw? And I think it was well over a year ago??? I remember Jersey telling me not to feel bad that I didn’t know to get him hay or pellets – she said the grass would have done the trick. How wonderful was she! Trying to make me feel better. Maybe that’s why I never told anyone??? The guilt can be overwhelming.
And you do know where the name Petey came from? Peter Rabbit, lol! Talk about original – NOT! Ha ha ha!

I said this on that thread and I still say it…. once I find that photo of him, I will post it!

[JackRabbit]

I love everyone’s stories, but I have to admit that my favorite so far is KandK’s harmonica!

[Deleted User]

I agree JR! I reckon she should get a prize…. a NEW harmonica???

LOL!

Honestly, I ‘love’ it tooooooo!

[Cottontail]

Aww, Andi I thought your Petey story was sweet and sad. You did what you could for him while you were in his life, and that’s all you can really hope to do for anyone. And as far as the name, you know I’m not against it! lol
Mek I always wondered what breed your buns were; they look so pretty and regal! And I love the little dot on Meki’s nose! It’s an adorable little birthmark!

[MoxieMeadows]

LLH— You had a pot bellied pig? Did you like it? I’ve kinda always wanted a pot bellied pig since I was little. When I was about 8 I tried giving up any pig meat forever (Including Bacon!) but that didn’t last too long..!

[Little Lion Head]

Yes Moxie! I loved my little pot belly!! He was so cute and round haha! Not a super exciting pet but cool nonetheless!

My parents have llamas and they all have L names. ..Leroy Lucy Lucky etc…They are all white or tan except for one black guy named Obama the llama!! Leroy follows my mom around like a dog and I’m pretty sure she loves him more than me!! The bonus is that we raid the llamas hay stash for the buns!

[MoxieMeadows]

I really like Llamas. (Okay who am I kidding? I love ALL animals!)

[JackRabbit]

LLH – my hubby went on a plumbing call to a house where the people had llamas. What he found most fascinating? That the llamas poop like bunnies except in big piles! My question for him? Did you ask them where they buy their hay?!

[Little Lion Head]

Andi I would agree you did the best you could with Petey! We didn’t know anything with Boston either!!! I was feeding her cauliflower, broccoli, and brussel sprouts as her regular veggies! It’s amazing she never had stasis!

So kind of a related story. My brother used to tell me that pigs could snort your fingers off if you got too close to their snout. So I would always stay near my pot-bellie’s rear end when petting him!! haha and he also told me i if I got too close to the highway, the semi’s would suck me under. I believed every word he said. In hindsight, I guess the semi thing kind of protected me since we lived on the highway!

[MoxieMeadows]

LLH– Lol that is too funny!

[emm_renn]

OOO! I want in on this story time! okay here it goes!
1. Why a bunny? (this is going to take a while)
Well I have always loved animals of all shapes and sizes. From little insects like roly-polies to dogs. My dad is allergic to cats and dogs so I never had an animal in the house. I had outdoor cats for the longest time until we moved and the neighborhood rules were “you can’t have your pets running around”, so we had to rehome my last and most favorite cat. Little me grew lonely of having furry friends so I decided to research different pets that were pretty low-maintenence. I started out with hamsters. They were great and all, but I couldn’t really cuddle with them, so I continued my search. A friend of mine in grade school had rabbits that she showed in 4h. She had a dwarf hotot that she was looking to rehome and asked me if I wanted it and of course I did! Unfortunately I didn’t do hardly any research and my dad forced the rabbit to stay in the garage or in our screened porch if the weather was nice. It passed away a few months later probably from stasis. I was so upset my dad let me get another one but it passed because my dad thought it would be a good idea to let it out lose during the winter and I could never catch it to bring it back in. I was so upset because I told my dad to not let her run around the yard because I knew it was hard to catch her. I’m going to skip the drama and the horrific way my dad unknowingly killed my previous rabbit and skip to the good part.
Fast forward this past summer! I wanted to redeem myself. After what felt like YEARS of research, stalking youtube videos and forums, house rabbit society website, books and brochures, and any other website you can think of, I probably read it, I finally decided I was mature enough and financially stable enough to welcome another rabbit into my life.

How I picked my current rabbit?
Living in Indiana you would think there would be tons of rabbit societies, but come to find out there were only a few and they were a couple of hours out. This made it hard for them because they all wanted to do a home check but didn’t want to travel that far. So I looked on craigslist and there I found 3 month old Fuji along with her other brothers and sisters. When I contacted the breeder she sounded very knowledgable about rabbits and sounded like she cared for them all. I was told she was a boy, but I was skeptical because at that age its hard to tell. And behold! He ended up being a she!

Do you have any other pets?
I do not. Fuji is my little diva princess who isn’t afraid to tell you to move out of her way!

[Boing]

I’ve always liked rabbits, but I like other animals too.  I used to watch wild ones in our yard when I was a kid, and still love the Beatrix Potter books.  

That said, I have a bunny thanks to Mukluck.  He was a coworker’s rabbit, and I bunny sat him in my home when she would go on vacation.  It was a very dark, lonely time in my life, but Mukluck didn’t judge.  He was happy just to be, and he liked me.  I ran carrot experiments with him.  He could infallibly distinguish between farmer’s market pesticide free baby carrots and big carrots, and regular baby cut carrots or big carrots.  

Cincinnati came from the Humane Society; I saw his profile on their website and went to get him.  I wanted an up eared, short haired, non dwarf rabbit, for the rabbit’s health and ease of grooming.  He is like that.  I went on a Saturday.  It turned out he had been pet of the week that whole week and no one wanted him.  

I have a cat whom Cincinnati adores!  

I have enjoyed learning more about rabbits; it’s different if you own one, as well as about ‘rabbit people’.  I just wish that people would drop the term ‘bunny slave’, as there are real slaves still!

It’s great how many things bunnies can eat that are healthy!  Just recently Cincinnati has tried more treats, but his new favorite is BB pumpkin cookies.

[Little Lion Head]

emm_remm is that Fuji in your avatar? A lionhead? I absolutely love her!!! I think it’s awesome that you decided to give it another go. I feel bad for what you went through with your first two I’m sure Fuji has the best live imaginable!

Boing–I also love the wide variety of food options for bunnies. Makes dinner time fun! And I love the name Cincinnati. Our first bun being Boston, we actually considered naming Pumpkin Cleveland. Had we don that, Shamrock probably would have been Orlando. They are all cities that mean something to me and hubby.

Since we went with holiday names (got Pumpkin at Halloween and Shamrock at St. Patrick’s Day) I keep joking with hubby that when we get our next bun in July we’ll name it Freedom hehehe he’s not biting though!

[Little Lion Head]

Oh JR I didn’t see your post! So in regards to hay–there is a hay exchange website locally here. You can go online and find nearby farmers that sell different hays in different size bales!!

Boing Pumpkin LOVES BB Pumpkin cookies too! She gets one after every vet visit (she’s been to the vet 9 times since October!!) and I call her cannibal when she eats them! haha

[emm_renn]

Yes that is Fuji! She is a lion head mix. Vet thinks she is mixed with a mini lop because of her size. I was told she is a chinchilla/lionhead by the breeder.

[BrunosMama]

Hmmm, how does one go from zero to crazy in .8 seconds? That’s how our bunnies have come to us lol.

Why a bunny? Well, a few years ago, our friend got a couple gpigs. I had had some as a kid and told the hubs we should get one! But he said he would rather have a bunny – a lop. So I started doing research on bunnies and decided our first bunnies name – Bruno. One day, we were visiting a local pet store when we saw her – small gray and fuzzy! Bruno! We immediately got her. She grew like a weed. Then after a few months, we thought she needed a friend. That’s when we got Roxie. Then things just sort of snowballed. We got bit by the bunny bug. Next came Harley, followed by Caesar. Now the girls had honey bunnies. Several months later, we stopped by a store for something pet related and saw Obie. He was there from the humane shelter. He had been neglected and abused and was a mess. He was dirty and had bald patches where the shelter had to cut out matt’s. We left the store, but went back that evening. Obie lived by himself for a year. Then, on my birthday, we were out of town and I was feeling kind of down. So my hubby took me to a pet store to snuggle puppies. We stopped to pet the bunnies and a worker came up and said “this is our free bunny section. They’re getting a little old to sell.” So we brought home Hazel. Biscuit came along about a year later. We bonded her with Obie, but she passed away suddenly. (Now Obie and Hazel are finally bonded!) In our grief over Biscuit, we went to the shelter to pick a bunny. They had 3 – we took two, because they had been there awhile and one was being called “a mean bunny”. This was Potus and Annie. Three weeks later we went back for the third bunny, Butternut. A month after we brought Potus and Annie home, Annie had a litter! We were told they were both girls….wrong. They had less than a minutes interaction when we brought them home. She had 4, we kept one. His name is Backers. We now have an overflowing house of fluff and hay and love.

Other pets? Sure why not. We also have 4 cats and 1 hamster.

[JackRabbit]

LLH — no! Your July 4 bunny would be a harlequin (for the stripes) and you could name her Star (stars and stripes) or him Sam (uncle sam)! If you’re really brave, Easter is coming up really soon and Cadbury would be a really cute name for a bunny……

[Little Lion Head]

BrunosMom!!! I love your story! I always wondered how you ended up with so many sweet babies! You must have a very patient hubby? Mine would lose it over so much hay and poop!!

JR I thought about Uncle Sam!!! But ooooh a harlequin! I think Easter is too soon to bring it up…like I said earlier, I like being married! teehee…I saw this pitbull mix that was the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen with the absolutely WORST background in her one short year. she would make a great Freedom!!! Hubby says we can’t get a dog till we have kids now though!

So funny story, hubby asked me what happens when you have a bonded pair and one passes? I told him that the single bun could get sad and depressed and a lot of people get him/her a new friend. All of the sudden the realization hit him and hubby said “you’ve tricked me into having two bunnies for the rest of my life!!!”

[Little Lion Head]

JR have you seen the movie “Hop”? That bunny’s name is E.B. (Easter Bunny)

[BrunosMama]

LLH – Most of the bunnies were his idea! Lol he would have a ton more if he could. He’s a total softie for animals. Hr wants to save them all! His dream is to start a rabbit rescue.

JR- Cadbury is an awesome bunny name! When we get our GIANT bunny, maybe we can name it Cadbury.

[JackRabbit]

LLH — explaining the bonded pair needs to your hubby opened the door….. that’s why you should have 3 so that if something happened to one of them the other two would already have each other!

When we stopped trying to bond our three last year, I actually almost got another lop to bond with the M&Ms since Moshi can’t hear and relies on Marlee’s ears! I came to my senses thankfully.

BM — you are doomed to add to your warren! You already have a name for the giant bunny!

[MoxieMeadows]

What? BM already picked out a name for the giant bun she wants?

And JR— That’s what I was totally thinking too, that LLH needs to tell him a third bun would help if something bad happened to one of them…

[BrunosMama]

Its JR’s fault Moxie lol she starts throwing around bunny names, its bound to happen!

[Megabunny]

LLH I’ve often thought the same thing about permanently having two bunnies forever in that case. Your husband sounds so funny!!
Why a rabbit? I wasn’t allowed cats or dogs growing up. My dad finally agreed to a rabbit and I found myself just loving taking care of them, and I just have to have rabbits in my life now or I feel something is missing. People ask me now “Why rabbits?” I don’t even try to explain. I could just as easily ask “Why a horse? Why golf? Why whatever?” If it’s in your heart it just is.

[manic_muncher]

1) Why did you choose a bunny?
I blame YouTube, “The REAL Energizer Bunny” and Queen. I was manic and decided I needed another furball of some sort. I had already tormented the hubby with ferrets and he was done with those. I considered guinea pigs, as I had a couple of them in the past, but after stumbling across house rabbits being properly housed and not being “hutch rabbits” as I’ve had as a young child, I was hooked on the idea. BudgetBunny, 101Rabbits, and many of you guys here at BinkyBunny can be added to the list of whose fault it is too, by the way!

2) How did you pick the bunny/bunnies that you have?
I knew I wanted a lop-eared rabbit, all the other rabbits I’ve had in the past were uppity-eared and I just really love the way the lopped ear changed their faces. Love the adorable sorta grumpiness about it. After a little research into lop-eared breeds, I thought the holland lop would be what I’d want. I live very rural, and more than 2 hours from any rescues, so I started looking first for local breeders. Found a very nice woman who had her rabbits, a few breeds, in their own outside sheds. Climate controlled. Still in cages, but at least they were clean and roomy, safe from predators, and not dealing with the weather. She had recently sent some bunnies to Richmond (about 2 hrs from me) to be sold via a friend. I assumed to pet stores. Well, Bumpy ended up coming back and that’s how I picked him. He was the bunny that didn’t get sold.

The other two… well all I can really say is… I found a woman on Facebook that lives pretty close to me (compared to other rabbit-obtaining opportunities) who sold Flemish Giants and I went to “look at them”. I was not exactly horrified at their living conditions, they were clean at least, but it was just beginning to get hot for the season, and there were SOOOOOOO many rabbits of many different breeds. They were all in outside hutches, home-made and not even close to the Hilton. Maybe a Motel 6. Which is all great and fine for short term… you know, over-night stay out of town kinda thing? But you wouldn’t wanna live there. I ended up bringing Bonnie (Flemish) and Clyde (Lilac) home.

3) What other pets do you have?
Right now we only have two other fur-babies. Both are Shihtzus. Bandit (5 1/2 yrs) and Outlaw (5 yrs). Though my house has always been home to many animals and birds, most of the times multiple varieties at once, I must admit it’s a lot easier having these few to deal with. Next dog in about 8 yrs, unless something tragically unexpected happens before then. -knocks on wood-

hmm maybe a couple birds for my birthday this year?

[Little Lion Head]

Haha I really appreciate and agree with all of your logic on a 3rd bunny! It’s a no-brainer! Maybe i can get the hubby sauced up a bit and convince him as well???

Today I had an interesting experience at a training. We had to go around the room and say something interesting about ourselves. Of course I brought up the bunnies. People were baffled and appalled that they live inside. I guess I never really thought that was weird?! Oh and one guy had to go into how he used to raise them for meat and the gory details. Not only did I zone out, I didn’t attempt to hide that I wasn’t listening to him!!!

MB i think you’re right–I think if its in your heart it just is. I don’t know if I’ll never not have a bunny!!

[JackRabbit]

LLH — you know that’s how Hazel got Bubbles! Went out drinking, popped in a pet store, went home with a ferret! I learned my lesson about drinking — last time I went out drinking I cane home engaged!

[BrunosMama]

Roxie and Hazel are both bipolar bunnies. We got both of them during one of my relapses (different times). Oddly enough, both of them are crazy themselves.

[Little Lion Head]

Manic Muncher I LOVE your bunny names! My hubby just loves loves Shihtuzs and has talked about getting one forever. I like big dogs, he likes little. Anyway, we love your Bonnie and Clyde, Outlaw and Bandit names!!! Cool story!

So funny story…a few beers in tonight I bring up the 3rd bunny story and mention some cool names (Uncle Sam, Star (believe it or not he knew that a harlequin is striped?!, Cadbury, and E.B.)…he got kind of excited at both Cadbury and E.B…..I mean honestly if I pushed hard enough I could have had a yes! I think we should the ones we have bonded first though!

Animals just make us feel better! I totally get why you get bunnies during your relapses BM! They just make everything better! And your hubby sounds great! My dream is for my hubby to get rich so I can open a bunny shelter! It would be amazing!

We both got home from work today and went for an 8 mile walk/jog and then we went out to eat and had some beers and could have gone out to the bar but hubby said “well the bunnies have been locked up all day so maybe we should go home.” Honestly, I would rather be here with them then out and about most nights! I love the affect they have on us!

[Sindri]

Why did I want a bunny? I saw the video Manic was talking about called the Real Energizer bunny. I was looking of Craigslist and saw cute baby bunnies for sale too. I started reading about rabbits and how to care for them. I read about different breeds. I decided that I wanted one. I originally wanted a Holland Lop rabbit but I ended up getting Netherland dwarf rabbits. I got Usagi from a farm that sold different breeds of rabbits. When I got Usagi my husband said I couldn’t get another rabbit but after having him for some time I decided to get Usagi a companion because we would go to our family’s to visit at least once a month for an afternoon and I would come home to find Usagi’s room a mess. He didn’t like when I would be gone like that. I wanted to adopt but there was not any shelters close by and I saw Kilala on Craigslist and got her from a really nice woman.

As for other pets I have 2 cats and 2 dogs. Puss Puss is a Russian blue Persian who just turned 11 years old. My other cat is a himalayian mix who is 6 years old. I have a 9 year old Shi Tzu mix named Suki and a Shi Tzu name Mitzu who is 6 years old.

[Little Lion Head]

Sindriona-I just looked up Russian Blue Persian cats to see what they look like. Beautiful!! Did getting Kilala help with Usagi’s temper tantrums? How do your dogs and cats do with the buns or do you keep separate?

[JackRabbit]

LLH — funny you mentioned the temper tantrums. Maybe its the difference in breeds or being a single bun, but of mine, only Kieko throws temper tantrums. Moshi is laid back and Marlee pouts, but Kieko can throw a major fit.

[LBJ10]

Leopold throws temper tantrums whether Wooly is there or not. LOL

[Little Lion Head]

Pumpkin’s only thrown a few temper tantrums. Usually if she feels she’s been locked up too long or if she thinks we’re going to forget to let her out to run in the morning. She digs and kicks her litterbox contents everywhere!

[Eepster]

We’re vegetarians and wanted a vegetarian pet.

I also have a pair of red eared sliders named Fred(rika) and Barney.

[Little Lion Head]

Turtles or tortoises, right Eepster? My friend has two tortoises, not sure what kind. But I LOVE watching them eat tomatoes! Add that to my list with maybe a cockatoo….

[LBJ10]

I thought most turtles are omnivores.

[Boing]

These stories are great reading!

It’s hilarious that Pumpkin loves pumpkin cookies. I hadn’t expected the reaction to them that Cincinnati had – they may be his favorite treat. He came with his name and seemed to know it, so I kept it. I’ve actually never been to Cincinnati. LOL!

[Eepster]

Posted By LBJ10 on 3/21/2015 9:17 PM

I thought most turtles are omnivores.

They are.

I’ve had them since before I had my kid, so wasn’t as concerned about having a vegetarian pet at that point.  When I was a kid sharing food with my pet was something I enjoyed, so I wanted my son to be able to share with “his” pet.  The turtles are mine, Porky is his.  They both adore dried mango.  

I’m an adult, I don’t share food with my turtles.  They eat their food, I eat mine.

[Eepster]

Posted By Little Lion Head on 3/21/2015 9:13 PM

Turtles or tortoises, right Eepster? My friend has two tortoises, not sure what kind. But I LOVE watching them eat tomatoes! Add that to my list with maybe a cockatoo….

They are mostly aquatic turtles.  Here’s their wiki page  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-eared_slider

[MissGabbster]

1) Why did you choose a bunny?

Funny enough, I never wanted to have a pet bunny. Even though I thought they were cute I didn’t think they seemed that interesting and I’d heard that they would have a heart attack if frightened.

2) How did you pick the bunny/bunnies that you have?

My Grandma had gotten a hotel room downtown one night and invited the family to come over and swim/hot tub. I didn’t end up going to the hotel but the rest of my family did. I was sitting at home goofing around on the computer and I got a call from my Mom and she goes, “Your uncle brought his bunny to the hotel room and told us to give him to you. We’ll probably be home in around 3 hours, but I thought I’d give you some warning.”

Not going to lie, I panicked! lol I knew nothing about rabbit care at that time. I flew onto Google as soon as the phone was put down and 3 hours later when they pulled into the driveway I at least knew the basics of rabbit care.

I’ll never forget the moment when they walked through the door. Ox was in some stupid guinea pig travel cage, he had absolutely no room to move at all (a guinea pig wouldn’t have had much room to move either) and was forced to sit all hunched up and I just looked at him and was instantly enamored. I let him loose in the living room because it didn’t seem fair to make him sit in that cage for another minute. He stretched, found my spot on the sofa, sniffed it, looked me dead in the eye and did the biggest wee. lol Welcome home?

3) What other pets do you have?

Tribble the Pomeranian, Viola Chubbs the betta fish, and my sister.

[Bam]

I found Bam in the woods. He’d been left there on a pile of garbage. He was so easy to pick up, he just sat in my arms like of course he should. I had no intention of becoming a bunny owner but as we all know, bunnies don’t always give a dm about human intentions.

[Little Lion Head]

Hahah Miss Gabbster:
3) What other pets do you have?
Tribble the Pomeranian, Viola Chubbs the betta fish, and my sister

What a great story!!! I love the way Ox worked his way into your life!

bam I didn’t realize you found Bam abandoned like that! Poor little guy–you came by at the perfect time for him!

[MissGabbster]

I didn’t know that was how you found Bam either! I’m so happy that you were the one to find him!

I’m so glad Ox did make his way into my life. I didn’t realize just how much I needed him until I had him. A few months after he was brought home I was finally able to get off the depression medication I’d been dependent on for years. I’m also definitely a crazy bunny lady now!

I need to go read the rest of the stories now. It’s so interesting to see all the ways these bunnies have snuck their way into our lives!

[Deleted User]

I knew that was how bam ended up with Bam, I think I always remembered because of how I found my first bunny love Petey. And like me with Henry and my doggies, her Bam lives with her BIG (lol!) dog Ephie (her big dog makes up for my 3 little dog’s, ha ha ha!) – funny the stuff you remember, but I do….

I can’t believe how many us own Shih Tzu’s??? Manic, Sindriona, me…. ha ha ha! I knew Manic owned Shih Tzu’s, but I had no idea that you did Sindriona? Honestly, Frank, our Shih Tzu is the one that tolerates Henry the most – short of grooming him, they could be a couple? Lol! Notice how I used the word ‘tolerate’? Lol!
Some people ask what is the best dog breed to match with a bunny??? Maybe we should put the Shih Tzu breed out there???

MissG, I have been dying to ask for forever, and I hope it is ok? How old is your sister now? If it isn’t appropriate, just ignore me – but she is so beautiful, and my favourite pic is still, her sharing Ox’s dinner, ha ha ha!
BTW, I took antidepressants for years, but have been off them for as many years. I have days where I still struggle, but I am fortunate! I seem to understand myself now and that helps when I get belted over the head with a wave of depression usually caused by getting upset or overwhelmed by something. I am super happy to know your now bunny dependant, ha ha ha!

[Sindri]

LLH Now that Usagi and Kilala are bonded Usagi doesn’t through fits anymore when I am gone. They are really happy together. We also don’t go places as much either which helps.

I don’t know about your Shi Tzus but my Mitzu is a little crazy. I don’t think he has the typical personality for the breed. He is not easy going like our mix breed. He doesn’t like children and can bite. he is possessive of things and will get aggressive if you try to take an item from him he shouldn’t have. He barks at people when they come over that he doesn’t know and comes off mean but he is really scared. We call him a wackadoodle. The dogs do like the rabbits. All the animals get along in the living room when out together. In the rabbit room its another story the only pet the rabbits will tolerate in their space is our cat Grimjow. Sometimes Usagi will run him off because he wants to eat their hay. Kilala doesn’t seem to mind any of the other pets but Usagi hates Puss and will chase him and jump at him. Puss cant help himself and will take a swipe at him. So he is really allowed around the rabbits.

[Sindri]

I thought I would go ahead and post some pics of my other pets. They both are kind of old but one has Suki, Mitzu and Grimjow together on the couch. The other is a rare pic of Puss in the rabbit room right before he got kicked out for being mean. I guess I need to take more up to date pictures of my pets.

[Deleted User]

My goodness, Frank bites too! But only us – he has never bitten anyone else. And never Henry! And bark? Who needs a doorbell???
We just thought we got a dud, ha ha ha…… now I’m wondering? Lol!

[Sindri]

When Mitzu bites he doesn’t bite hard thank goodness. My grand daughter who is 2 and half had started a bad habbit of trying to hit him and chase him and bother him. She knows he will get upset. He tried to bite her once because of it. Now our grand daughter doesn’t do that anymore but he is scared of kids now because of it. Yea your right about who needs a doorbell. No one could sneak in this house. They are good for keeping burglars away. LOL

[Deleted User]

Here’s our Frank! After a hair cut, ha ha ha! Not as cute as your guys….. lol!

PS – I hate to admit this, but Frank has drawn blood on us. I think the only one he hasn’t bitten is Blair? Anyhow, he was much younger and hasn’t bitten for quite a few years now – he is the baby being 9 in May.

[Sindri]

Ahh frank is cute. I will admit Mitzu looks the same as he did as a puppy except he is bigger and his fur lightened up. Suki has long fur and its time for her Spring haircut. I do it myself so I am putting it off. Mitzu is such a scaredy baby that it took too much out of me cutting his fur and bathing him I didn’t have energy to cut Suki’s fur.

[Deleted User]

I’m not silly, ha ha ha ha….. Our dog’s go to the hairdresser’s (why not – I don’t go, lol!) every 3 or 4 months. If we only had one, I would definitely give it a go – but 3? No chance, ha ha ha!
And I agree – anyone trying to break in? Good luck to you with Frank! Lol! He’d bark at a piece of grass growing 200 metre’s away, ha ha ha!

[MissGabbster]

I don’t mind you asking, AH! She’s currently 4.

Foofy cats! Foofy dogs! Henry!

Tribble is due a haircut as well. I let her coat grow out over the winter so she’s full-coated right now. Neither of us are liking it! Definitely don’t need a doorbell either. She sounds similar to Frank when it comes to barking! I swear she barks just to hear the sound of her own voice. She even barks in her sleep.

[Little Lion Head]

Sindriona can I just move in?!?! Ok I’m really not a cat person, but lately I’ve been falling with BBers cats on here! Cottontail’s Zoey! Sindriona’s Puss!! Serious love!!!

And no one can resist that pic of Henry and Frank. I love Henry’s face!

[Deleted User]

Only 4??? My gosh, that’s why she is SO adorable MissG! Enjoy her, she’ll be all grown up and a little miss before you know it, ha ha ha! Make sure you tell her how beautiful I think she is! BIG smile!

Frank doesn’t bark in his sleep (thank goodness, lol! we need a break), but he does snore! Actually, all of our dog’s snore! Between the hubby and the dog’s, no wonder I don’t sleep well, ha ha!

Oh gosh YES!!! I agree with LLH! I was never fond of pussy cats, but since meeting and seeing everyone’s pussy’s (and let’s not forget Hazel’s Lily!), I have changed my mind a little – who couldn’t? DON’T anyone tell my hubby that!!!

LOL!

[Sindri]

LLH I fell in love with Puss the first moment I saw him. It was like the movies where things are in slow motion and all I could see was him. I went into a pet shop to look at puppies but didn’t see anything else. I wish I had a good baby pic of him because he was the cutest thing ever. He must have impressed my husband because he got a bonus from work and let me purchase him with it. I tell my husband to this day he was the best thing he ever bought me. He is the cat love of my life.

[Little Lion Head]

How sweet Sindriona!! That’s what happened with Pumpkin. We went to look at dogs but i saw her first and refused to leave her side in case someone else snatched her up. When Hubby finally convinced me to actually go look at the dogs i think saw 20 dogs in under 2 minutes! Haha i just wanted to get back to Pumpkin!

[Sindri]

My husband was calling for me to look at the dogs I went over to where he was but I never saw the dogs. I told him to come and look at Puss. My husband agreed to get the cat and said he had to give him his name that goes on his papers. Puss has several names. He has 2 formal names that you put on their papers. He was named after his dad. I can remember the first name Sir Furticus Maximus I cant remember the second one. His other names are Puss Puss Meow Meow and Captian Puss. Honestly the first name that came to mind that I wanted to name him was Vegeta from Dragonball Z but I didn’t name him that. It fits his personality. He thinks he is Prince of all Persains and this house.
I am glad you got Pumpkin. I think the pets we get are destined to be ours.

[JackRabbit]

Sindriona — I totally agree that our pets were destined to be ours. I also think that there’s a purpose in it. I just haven’t quite figured out the purpose of me having three bunnies, and still find myself wondering at times “what was I thinking?”!

When I look at all the money I spend on hay, litter, vet bills, bunny toys, etc., I wonder if they are here because I wasn’t meant to get a wonderful Sleep Number bed? Would something bad have happened if I had the money to go on a nice vacation? Was I never meant to go float around in AH’s boat, see kangaroos or koalas, or Roberta’s bathtub? I’ve always loved bunnies (even my first car’s name was Bunny and my husband gave me a stuffed bunny our first Christmas together), was I meant to count bunny poops and obsess over hay and bunny salads?

I will have to admit that I’ve found that some of my favorite things are seeing bunny binkies, feeling soft squishy bunny faces eat treats out of the palm of my hand, and hearing tooth purrs. If only they all liked to snuggle with me!

[Little Lion Head]

I’m pretty sure my life was destined to sit on this couch and watch crazy Rocky/Ninja binky-zooms.

I wanted Mathais SO BAD — but it’s so obvious that Rocky was meant to be here with us!

[LongEaredLions]

1) Why did you choose a bunny?
I wouldn’t say we “chose” bunnies, although I know I would have gotten them anyway as they have always been special to me since I was a child. Bella came to us from a friend who didn’t want her anymore. We didn’t have an excess of furballs back then as we do now, so we just couldn’t refuse. My love has grown for them every day, it truly is amazing what wonderful creatures they can be when treated properly.

2) How did you pick the bunny/bunnies that you have?
Bella came to us from a friend, and Lionel worked the best on a bunny date Bella had at the rescue. Roxi and Asha came after Bella’s passing when I was asked to foster a mother and baby as the rescue was overloaded. Talk about foster failure. Believe it or not, I never intended to end up with all REW lion heads but I have grown a particular fondness for them now, I am very inclined to be attracted to them when I see them at rescues.

3) What other pets do you have?
I have 4 guinea pigs, 1 hamster, and a nearly furless creature called a “husband.”

[Deleted User]

I have one of those too Amanda – a ‘nearly’ furless husband! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!
And he is the worst to look after! LOL!

[LBJ10]

Chest hair is okay. Just no back hair. Blech.

[Sonn]

1) Why did you choose a bunny?
I didn’t even know rabbits could be house pets! I had only ever seen rabbits in tiny hutches in people’s backyards. But a friend of mine had a house rabbit and I met him and I was amazed. I mean it was like a mind blowing realization that rabbits could be house pets! I did research forever before giving it a shot and I’ve never looked back.

2) How did you pick the bunny/bunnies that you have?
My first rabbit was Pacey (my avatar) the best rabbit in the universe! I got him from a man outside of the shelter. He was my heart bunny. Most of my rabbits usually come from terrible situations because people suck and everyone in this town knows I won’t let an animal suffer if I can help it. It’s like they all magically have my address and phone number. I got Gypsy after a child brought her home and the dad threatened to drown her in a creek (not uncommon in this area unfortunately). And I just got ‘unnamed bunny’ after someone else threatened unspeakable things if I didn’t take him.

3) What other pets do you have?
Other than my rabbits I have 3 elderly dogs, a fat cat, 5 foster cats, a tiny newborn hamster I am trying to keep alive, ducks, hedgehog, brazilian rainbow boa, ball python, and several fish. I could count all of the stray cats that hang around my house and barn as pets but there are so many I would be known as the crazy cat lady. Lol.

[Little Lion Head]

Sonn–don’t forget you have a LLH and two lion heads who are moving in stat to play with all your animals!

[Author]

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