The Bunny Chronicles

Growing up, I'v been allergic to lots of things. Needless to say, pets were always out of the question.

One day, my mom brought inside a little guy who seemed to be lost on our lawn. Now, I was never one to drool over cute animals (mostly because I knew I would never get one) but when I saw this bunny, I could almost feel my heart smiling.

I convinced my mom to let me keep him and named him Lemony. A week later, we let him play on the lawn and he ran into my neighbor's. When we asked if we could get him back, they told us that his name was in fact Gizmo and he was their's.

I like to think he's really happy with his old family and that he's stopped wandering into other people's lawns and breaking little girl's hearts.

~

Once I got over the Lemony thing, I was like "what am I gonna do with all this bunny stuff?" and after a ton of begging, my sister and I convinced my parents to get us another bunny.

When we got to the store, they let us pick out a bunny each!

Debbie picked out the scary one on the left, named Juliet. I picked out the one on the right, named Olaf. They were inseparable.

Unfortunately, Olaf was a bit on the autistic side so he often ran into walls and threw himself off my bed. One day, he took it a bit too far.

Less than two days after, Juliet stopped eating all together and got diarrhea. After two days of caring for her,  she passed away as well.

This was extremely hard since they were our first real pets. And the first to die under our care.

I like to think they're somewhere up in bunny Heaven, snuggling, sharing apple sticks and grooming each other.

~

At this point, I didn't really feel fit to care for myself, much less another bunny. But after a while, my mom took matters into her own hands and got my sister and I... another bunny!

She named him Baby Panda and they instantly hit it off. BP was charming and sweet and before we knew it, we all fell in love with him. We allowed him to eat at the table with us and when it was cold, he would sit on our beds and make us pet him.

My mom and Baby Panda.

At that moment, he was the best bunny I had.

He was happy and energetic and trusting and he sneezed and he answered when I called his name.

When he had to be put down, the whole family agreed that we would never ever get another bunny ever again. 

We tossed out the stale bunny food, and put away his cage.

Looking at animals made me sad for a very long time. 

It was terrible.

~

On January 12, 2012, a very kind young man showed up at my door and delivered what would become my bestest friend in the entire world.

I like to think that I have become a great bunny owner. Using everything my previous bunnies have taught me, I am trying to make Leia the happiest animal ever.

I like to think that, wherever they are, they are nodding their heads in approval.

~

I'v come to think of my bunnies as wonderful little companions. They all have their own space in my heart.

Some guy (Irving Townsend) once said "Each new kitten becomes his own cat, and none is repeated. I am four years old, measuring out my life in friends that have succeeded, but not replaced one another"

I guess that's kind of what I'm doing; measuring my life in bunnies.

Hmmm

Something tells me signs like these are not to be trusted.

No matter how much you love bunnies.

Why you should bring a bunny on a date

I don’t really date but if I did, I would be extremely disappointed if said person did not totally melt when they met Leia. She is the embodiment of all that is sweet and loving. In fact, most bunnies are.

First dates (from what I’v seen in movies) are usually uncomfortable and stressful. And we all know that every stressful and uncomfortable situation is made right with a bunny.

Let me explain.

First date without a bunny

First date with a bunny

A bunny will give you something to talk about during those awkward, silent moments. You can even talk to the bunny. I do it all the time and I promise, it’s not weird.

Bunnies also do all sorts of kooky things that will make your date laugh liiiiiiiiiike…

Tickle your date’s armpit

Alan's face has been obscured to protect his identity.

If you simply cannot bear to face your first date alone, bring along a bunny friend!

Best case scenario: they will find your pet absolutely wonderful and think you are the coolest person ever.

Worst case scenario: it simply will not work out.

But Leia... I'm sleepy!

When she first did it, it was cute. Now it’s kind of annoying, especially on school days.

But how can I possibly say no to this adorable face?

Musings of a bunny named Leia

There is nothing cooler than having a pet bunny. I know because I’v had one  for about as long as I can remember. What’s cool about them is  they’re like tiny hairy people. Every bunny has a different personality, attention span, favorite food, eating schedule, neediness level… the list could go on forever. My current (and favorite) bunny, Leia, is the moodiest, hungriest, most curious bunny I’v ever met.

One minute she’ll be prancing around for my attention, next thing I know her claws are tangled in my hair.

Since Leia is a growing girl who needs tons of exercise, I try to let her run around the house at least once a day (which is loads of fun for the both of us.) The only problem is that she climbs on everything, chews on our fake fruit, and is very easy to hit with the refrigerator door.

Whenever I make the extra effort to take her to the park, she will only stare at me and bury herself under my knees.

At first, I thought maybe she was afraid of being outside but when I took her to the beach for the first time, she went bananas. She ate all the dry palm leaves, ran through every sand dune, she even got one of those annoying pinchy plants stuck in her fur. What she seemed to enjoy the most though, was the sand. Once she felt the sand between her claws, she began digging. And digging. And digging.

I let her dig and play in the sand all day,she definitely would have. I eventually had to put her away when I noticed a couple of seagulls eyeing her. My guess is they wanted to carry her off to their nest on some faraway mountain.

~

I’ll bet you’re wondering if Leia and I spend our days adventuring. We don’t. I have to go to school and stuff. This is one of the things she does when she thinks I’m not looking.

If curiosity killed the cat, it makes bunnies eat their own poop.

After about two years of living with Leia I have come to accept her… eccentricity. I have grown to love her and enjoy her company more than anyone else’s. Leia is my best friend and her bunny kisses are better than anyone’s in the universe.

*Note* These bunny kisses do not happen directly after she has eaten her poop.