Dashinthezoo
Member
So, I thought this would be an interesting way for my husband and I to document our adventures into rabbit-dom.
First, I must mention, my husband once owned a rabbit who lived to be roughly 8-10 years old. His name was Beethoven and he was a 4-H bunny. He enjoyed the high life as far as I know and enjoyed chasing cats. David's sister also owned a 4-H rabbit who was less than...friendly.
Anyway, Dash was an accident. Sorta. I fully admit that I kind of poked and prodded to get him to come home with us. My husband had mentioned having a rabbit before and I thought, oh! Fantastic idea. Er...but I know next to nothing about rabbits.
Keep in mind that I worked at a pet store at the time. Most of our rabbits were fairly obvious heinz 57s. I don't ever remember our store getting in Dash, but by the time he came in, I would have been moved over to the grooming salon as a dog groomer.
I wasn't there the day he was dropped off and the other groomers attempted to free him from the majority of his mats. The owners claimed he had mites and had chewed and scratched himself so matted. They were angry at us because they said we were the ones to gave him the mites (though they fully admitted to using wood bedding), despite none of our other rabbits having mites. They told us they kept him outside. They were angry too because their 4-H leader told them he was a mixed breed and they only wanted a purebred rabbit. We told them we never guaranteed our rabbits were purebred. After being shaved down, he was put in quarantine in our backroom. He sat in the corner of his cage and didn't interact with the people who fed him. The only thing he did was empty his food bowl as quickly as possible. I visited him often and held him and rubbed ointment on his roughed up skin.
Three days in a row, I told my husband how sad I was for this little rabbit. How he seemed so depressed. How the pet store was trying, but unable to give him the attention he needed. The day before my last day there (did I mention I was changing jobs in the midst of all this?), I had my husband come and meet him. Dash looked up at us and came out of his corner. My husband, very matter-of-factly, picked him up by the scruff and bum and went over him. "He's pretty thin, and he's got some horrible dandruff...And...God, is that a mat?" I nodded, we hadn't been able to get the mats out of his armpits, they were just too close to his skin. Suddenly, my husband put his face in the rabbit, holding him close. After a minute, I realized he was crying. He looked up slowly, "How can people be this cruel?" I shook my head.
The next day, he came home with me.
He lived his first week in what would amount to a 20 gallon cage. I knew it was too small, but it was all we had to offer. We let him out daily starting then, confining him to the office and bathroom. His first day, he jumped, what seemed, for joy. Leaping and twirling and wiggling his feet. We let in one of cats the following day to see how she would react to the rabbit. She was a kitten I had hand raised from 2 weeks old, named Hannelore - Hanners for short, who is about as ADHD as they come. For about fifteen minutes, she followed him around, poking him in the rear and the face and the ears, pouncing on his tail and following him with a twitching tail. Then the rabbit, still unnamed, put his face in hers, sniffing her. And quite suddenly, jumped at her and took off in the opposite direction. He was inviting her to play? What little I knew of rabbits, I hadn't known they played. I was worried, so I kept an eye on them, and every time they'd settle, he'd reinitiate.
The next night he gained his name Dash. Bouncing around and dashing around with the cat. We let in our other cat, a fairly chubby siamese mix with crossed eyes and a personality like a kitten, named Sedgewick. Sedge stared at the rabbit. The rabbit gazed calmly at him. Sedge poked him in the face, the rabbit flickered his ears and calmly started grooming himself. Sedge sat back, Dash jumped forward. Sedge whined, his tail like a bottle brush and hid under the desk. Dash looked at me, as if to say, "Really?" I let Hanners in and they dashed around the room, frequently bothering the hiding Sedgewick.
After about a week, we moved Dash into an old aviary cage, roughly three and a half feet tall by three and a half feet wide. We got him a little wooden hut, a new food dish, a wicker ball with a bell inside and a cardboard hay roller. While we have been working on putting a second level in, Dash has patiently enjoyed trips to the outside, where he binkys high and often at the old apple tree and neighbor's cat (who is usually on a tie out - he has a tendency to stray) and the neighbor's grandkids, time learning how to jump over the feeble excuse for a gate we have to keep him in the areas of the kitchen and dining area (both of which have laminated floors for easy cleaning). We've started brushing him regularly, usually every other day or so, particularly if he's been outside in his jacket (a harness and leash combo, something I'm wary of with his long fur). He is officially free and clear of all mats as of two days ago.
So...that's the beginning of the story...I figure I will post more about his life as time goes on. He's a joy in our lives that I never thought a rabbit could fill. And despite what my mother in law thinks, he's here to stay.
Oh, and some before and after shots:
First, I must mention, my husband once owned a rabbit who lived to be roughly 8-10 years old. His name was Beethoven and he was a 4-H bunny. He enjoyed the high life as far as I know and enjoyed chasing cats. David's sister also owned a 4-H rabbit who was less than...friendly.
Anyway, Dash was an accident. Sorta. I fully admit that I kind of poked and prodded to get him to come home with us. My husband had mentioned having a rabbit before and I thought, oh! Fantastic idea. Er...but I know next to nothing about rabbits.
Keep in mind that I worked at a pet store at the time. Most of our rabbits were fairly obvious heinz 57s. I don't ever remember our store getting in Dash, but by the time he came in, I would have been moved over to the grooming salon as a dog groomer.
I wasn't there the day he was dropped off and the other groomers attempted to free him from the majority of his mats. The owners claimed he had mites and had chewed and scratched himself so matted. They were angry at us because they said we were the ones to gave him the mites (though they fully admitted to using wood bedding), despite none of our other rabbits having mites. They told us they kept him outside. They were angry too because their 4-H leader told them he was a mixed breed and they only wanted a purebred rabbit. We told them we never guaranteed our rabbits were purebred. After being shaved down, he was put in quarantine in our backroom. He sat in the corner of his cage and didn't interact with the people who fed him. The only thing he did was empty his food bowl as quickly as possible. I visited him often and held him and rubbed ointment on his roughed up skin.
Three days in a row, I told my husband how sad I was for this little rabbit. How he seemed so depressed. How the pet store was trying, but unable to give him the attention he needed. The day before my last day there (did I mention I was changing jobs in the midst of all this?), I had my husband come and meet him. Dash looked up at us and came out of his corner. My husband, very matter-of-factly, picked him up by the scruff and bum and went over him. "He's pretty thin, and he's got some horrible dandruff...And...God, is that a mat?" I nodded, we hadn't been able to get the mats out of his armpits, they were just too close to his skin. Suddenly, my husband put his face in the rabbit, holding him close. After a minute, I realized he was crying. He looked up slowly, "How can people be this cruel?" I shook my head.
The next day, he came home with me.
He lived his first week in what would amount to a 20 gallon cage. I knew it was too small, but it was all we had to offer. We let him out daily starting then, confining him to the office and bathroom. His first day, he jumped, what seemed, for joy. Leaping and twirling and wiggling his feet. We let in one of cats the following day to see how she would react to the rabbit. She was a kitten I had hand raised from 2 weeks old, named Hannelore - Hanners for short, who is about as ADHD as they come. For about fifteen minutes, she followed him around, poking him in the rear and the face and the ears, pouncing on his tail and following him with a twitching tail. Then the rabbit, still unnamed, put his face in hers, sniffing her. And quite suddenly, jumped at her and took off in the opposite direction. He was inviting her to play? What little I knew of rabbits, I hadn't known they played. I was worried, so I kept an eye on them, and every time they'd settle, he'd reinitiate.
The next night he gained his name Dash. Bouncing around and dashing around with the cat. We let in our other cat, a fairly chubby siamese mix with crossed eyes and a personality like a kitten, named Sedgewick. Sedge stared at the rabbit. The rabbit gazed calmly at him. Sedge poked him in the face, the rabbit flickered his ears and calmly started grooming himself. Sedge sat back, Dash jumped forward. Sedge whined, his tail like a bottle brush and hid under the desk. Dash looked at me, as if to say, "Really?" I let Hanners in and they dashed around the room, frequently bothering the hiding Sedgewick.
After about a week, we moved Dash into an old aviary cage, roughly three and a half feet tall by three and a half feet wide. We got him a little wooden hut, a new food dish, a wicker ball with a bell inside and a cardboard hay roller. While we have been working on putting a second level in, Dash has patiently enjoyed trips to the outside, where he binkys high and often at the old apple tree and neighbor's cat (who is usually on a tie out - he has a tendency to stray) and the neighbor's grandkids, time learning how to jump over the feeble excuse for a gate we have to keep him in the areas of the kitchen and dining area (both of which have laminated floors for easy cleaning). We've started brushing him regularly, usually every other day or so, particularly if he's been outside in his jacket (a harness and leash combo, something I'm wary of with his long fur). He is officially free and clear of all mats as of two days ago.
So...that's the beginning of the story...I figure I will post more about his life as time goes on. He's a joy in our lives that I never thought a rabbit could fill. And despite what my mother in law thinks, he's here to stay.
Oh, and some before and after shots:
