Yofi, Anna and the Crew, 2010

[Bassetluv]

Thanks Susan! Yep, Anna takes a lot of ribbing about her weight; however (speaking of ribbing) the vet concluded that Anna's size definitely is still within acceptable norms since he could easily feel her ribs. But I will never allow Anna to see pics of your bunnies because she would absolutely want to defect and go live there, I'm sure! (I am totally in love with Daisy Mae. LOL..and Winston. Buttercup too, reminds me so much of the little Polish rabbits I used to have eons ago, such a sweetheart. :love

I don't blame you about hesitating taking your bunnies out; I guess my hesitation in letting people in the area here see them stems from waaaay back, years ago, when I was still living at home. I had rabbits in my dad's backyard and for quite a long time no one ever knew. However, the property backed onto a schoolyard, and after my dad decided to cut down a thick hedge that bordered the property, school kids could see the cages. After that I had nothing but trouble, ranging from children entering the yard to see the bunnies (which didn't bother me, so long as they asked...however most didn't), to kids teasing them with sticks, opening cages, two rabbits getting stolen (one whose fate I learned about fate shortly after...still breaks my heart today), to dog attacks, etc. Even today I am hesitant, even though these guys are indoors; I'm always afraid that if someone knows they're here, they might try to get to them when I'm not. Probably a groundless fear, but in the back of my mind nonetheless.

A year or two ago I was at one of the local parks and saw a lady with a pet stroller; this one was completely opened up and had a platform seat...looked like it had a removeable cover that had been removed. She had her cat - a very regal-looking Siamese - on a leash, and he sat on that stroller, just as proud as punch, while she pushed him down the pathway. Not sure I'd be so brave as to do that, but personally I was impressed with both the lady and her cat.

 

[Wabbitdad12]

I agree Di, your stories about the dynamic duo are priceless. Per the norm, great pictures too.

 

[Wabbitdad12]

Well Di you did your best. Maybe some of what you said will sink in and she will take care of the bunny.

 

[Nela]

*Hugs*

That always bites... I really hope the bunny will be well taken care of. :expressionless

 

[jujub793]

All you can do is give the info needed to make the right decision and choices and hope for the best.

 

[Bassetluv]

Well...I was going to delete my rant post the same day I'd written it, but by then it was too late (apparently there's a time frame allowed for post deletions; who knew? ). Just felt guilty about rambling on like that about family members, esp. since I love my family...we just don't always see eye-to-eye about things. It can be frustrating to be one of the only ones (not *the* only one, my brother is empathetic toward animals...surprisingly, because in his youth he definitely wasn't...again, who knew?) in my family tree who views a pet as more than just a pet sometimes. So my concern for the bunnyis definitely still there; hopefully I'll be able to find out how he's doing from time to time. He's a cute little guy, kind of a honey-blonde color - at least from what I recall - with BIG brown eyes. Seems almost like a rex without a rex coat. I did notice that he needed a nail trim, so I'll offer my services at some point and maybe will get to check on him. Thanks to y'all for understanding...and that's probably why I came here to vent about it; knowing that thepeople heredo love their pets as family members, and not just as add-ons.

On another note, Sir Yofi is inthe dog-house with me (or, I suppose, the *Yofi-howse*). The little rotter has developed this veryunpleasant habit recently. Whenever I get home from work and go to feed him and Anna, it seems he just can't hold his pants on for two seconds whilst I get the pellets out of their container. He dances around my legs, shoving and pushing...and, if I'm notfast enough for his liking, what follows is a rather healthy chomp on my pants...sometimes with a bit of Di caught up in there too. I swear, his appetite is growing by the minute! Not a bad thing from a health standpoint (I always love to see a bunny enjoying his or her meals), but when one comes between a Yofi and his FUD, it seems that body armor - at least from the shins down - is now becoming mandatory. :X

 

[jujub793]

i thought of you today... my nephew nad his wife a big animal fans and have two dogs a cat and a rabbit. He vounteers at our local humane society and has always been around animals and had animals as pets. the problem is with jasper, the rabbit. they got this rabbit from his wife's aunt who breeds rabbits (different story....) for their 9 year old daughter. well all was great in the beginning, until jasper was squashed by a metal folding chair that fell on him while being used as a gate to keep the dogs (a rottweiler and a chocolate lab) away from him. Then they put his cage in the room where the furnace is because he began pooping and peeing all over the place and the dogs were eating it and it was making nikki (his wife) mad because jasper would poop his little bunny heart out behind the couch all the time. i told them to go and get him fixed and it would really help alot. nope can't do that, no money for that.... so they just shut him away in this room and feed and water him when they feel like it or remember. He never gets hay or treats and they buy him that terrible food with the colored "things" in it, which i told them was bad. He rarely gets any attention unless i go over there and hold him and give him love. His nails have Never been cut except by me when i get a chance to get over there and do it and by which time his nails are like two inches long!!! Now they keep pestering me to take him because they don't want him anymore. I have told them repeatedly that i already have two rabbits and that is all i can care for at this time responsibly, (my rabbits are both fixed etc). I told them i may consider it if they had him fixed.. anyway.....today my nephew called and told me he had let Jasper go (outside). He said he hoped he'd find a nice bush to live under. I was absolutely incessed and just livid! i couldn't believe that he would be so cruel and heartless to an animal. Needless to say that i told him if that was true to not bother calling me again and i had nothing
to say to him or his wife whom i might, add i am pretty close with. Part of me didn't want to believe he would do that but part of me thinks that if he thought for a second he could get away with it he would. I am just terrified he is going to drop that bunny off someplace because they can't pressure me into taking him. I have suggested maybe they could call the local childrens zoo and donate him or to even give him back to his wife's aunt. I just don't know whatto do. That poor rabbit has a very depressing life and i feel i should do something about it but i really can't take the added responsibility for more animals in my household. But what i am trying to get at in a very long round about way is that i feel your pain with the family and pets and how everyone is different in that way.. its just too infuriating isn't it?

on a lighter note, sounds like yofsters table manners are leaving much to be desired eh? hehe

 

[Bassetluv]

Oh no...I hope your nephew wasn't serious when he said he'd released Jasper. I'm still constantly amazed by people who believe that a domesticated rabbit would be able to survive on its own. Hopefully he will find a better home for him. Unfortunately too, a great many pets wind up living most of their time in cages that are too small, tucked away from life in a bedroom or back room with no interaction. One of the things that the vet said to me as he was examining Yofi and Anna during their checkup was, "You can really tell that these two are handled a LOT". Well, part of it I think is just their personalities...the two of them are pretty laid-back for the most part; but at the same time, you can tell when a rabbit isn't used to being picked up or touched very often. And - with Yofi, anyway - that wouldn't be possible in this house. He INSISTS on massages and ear rubs and *ATENSHUN*. Anna, in the meantime, insists on her nose scritches. I just can't get away from it.

ray: for Jasper, for Bailey, and for all other bunnies - and all other species of pets - who deserve a life filled with love. :hearts:

(And *Yofi* and *table manners* in the same sentence? hehe...those two together just don't work)

 

[Bassetluv]

A few more photos:

I recently purchased a dog cushion for The Dog. (Actually, I purchased it for The Dog II, but that's a whole 'nuther story, soon to come...if things work out.) Anyway, The Dog took to the new cushion in no time at all.

Okay, so she's a bit lopsided...she's still comfy.

Then I decided to show the cushion to Yofi, just to see if he too would snuggle into it. Unfortunately, pictures did not manage to fully capture his reaction...but he did have fun on the thing.

See, what you can't really tell is that he loved the texture of the cushion...he got on it, and after a good dig or two (and a chomp on the fabric itself to see if it was edible (apparently so), he began sliiiiiiding all over it. Both front legs would go at once, gliding over the surface, dowwwwwn the side of the cushion, back to the top, dowwwwn to the other side of the cushion, back to the top....on and on he went. The Boy really seemed to like this game. But I did have to remove him after he once again went back to taste-testing; I think he thought it was some sort of giant strawberry or something.

And remember *Yofi's Howse*? That's the big cardboard box I gave to him and Anna after I'd purchased an end table. Well, this is the original entrance I carved into the side for them:

Apparently just having one doorway wasn't enough for the Yofster. Putting his engineering abilities to good use (that's the ol' *engineering*-lop coming out in him) he decided to create a side door, or an *eskape frum the hooman wen she wants sumthing* portal:

Note the neat little *shelf* he left at the bottom of it; perfect for resting those huge hearing flaps of his on so he can groom them (d'oh...why didn't I think of that?). Yep, I definitely have to give The Boy credit...his engineering skills are infinitely better than mine.

 

[SOOOSKA]

Cute pictures Di. Did Yofi pee pee on the cushion? Mine for some reason like to pee pee on cushions. It drives me nuts.

I like Yofi's "Ear Rests":biggrin2:

Susan

 

[Bassetluv]

Hi Susan! No, actually Yofi's pretty good about that; he doesn't pee on Kaya's cushion at all. When I first got him however, he thought that the sofa was meant for peeing upon. I was not impressed.

Yofi may not pee on cushions, but he's the biggest slob of a rabbit I've ever seen. As soon as I clean up the bunny room he's just moments behind me, tearing it all apart again. Hay everywhere, poops everywhere...it's not Yofi's room unless it's *decorated*.

A few pictures of the newest family member. *Izzy* (tentative name) just arrived today. He hasn't had a vet check yet, and he came from a farm in the country (farmers aren't known for coddling dogs or keeping them pristine) so I'm hoping he gets a clean bill of health at the vets next week. In the meantime it's been a challenge already to keep him and Kaya apart (she goes into walk away mode, while he tries desperately to sneak into her room to see her).

Anyway, this is Izzy the border collie (a.k.a., The Dog II)

 

[SOOOSKA]

OMG Di, that is one Adorable Puppy.

Will you keep him separated from the bunnies

Poor Anna having to live with a piggy bunny. I guess I`m pretty lucky mine tend to be neat. Winston is the worse but he`s so darn cute it`s hard to get mad at him and even if I do he doesn`t understand that he`s not suppose to PeePee & Poo Poo outside of the litterbox.

Susan

 

[Bassetluv]

LOL, every time I see photos of your bunnies I'm envious, partly because their surroundings are so neat and tidy (I'm definitely a not-so-neat-n-tidy person...guess that's where Yofi gets it), but they are always so clean-looking too. I'm mean, sparkly-white clean! My bunnies aspire to be moderately clean-ish.

Thanks Susan, I think he's a cute puppy too. He's a big fraidy-cat too, at least right now. My sister and niece dropped by to see him...he'd been storming around the house, following me, tugging and chewing on things, etc., but as soon as they walked in he sat down, lowered his head and looked worried. He also doesn't want to leave the house, seems the great outdoors frightens him. I'm not worried about that though...my biggest concern is that he's healthy, especially with Kaya here too...she's getting on in years, and I'd like to keep her healthy and happy for as long as possible. Keeping the two of them separated is a big challenge because my house is so small...not sure successful that will be. And Yofi definitely can't meet him while he's so small; Yof would probably hurt him. He used to ram head-first into my cat whenever he saw him. Yofi's a big ol' bully-bun.

If nothing else, this puppy surely does piddle a LOT! Now it's a goal to teach him that the piddling part should be done outside, not in....

 

[Wabbitdad12]

Oh how cute! I love this picture. Tell you what, I will trade you a big lovable slightly smarter then a rock pointer for Izzy.

I am sure Kaya (sp?) appreciated the Yofi seal of approval of her cushion.

Love the ear resting of Yofi, such a ham.

 

[Bassetluv]

Tell you what, I will trade you a big lovable slightly smarter then a rock pointer for Izzy.

Oh, I'll have to pass on that offer...I had one of those (only in a small size, not big) many years ago. Most loveable dog in the world, but slightly bereft of thinking muscle. The best way I could describe would be if you ever saw *Santa's Little Helper* on The Simpsons. Not only was that dog drawn like Misty, but he had her mannerisms too...right down to standing there with a big dumb grin on her face whilst a tossed ball bounced right between her eyes and onto the ground. Seriously, she would still be standing there wearing that big dumb grin long after the ball was resting in the grass.

It seems Izzy has stirred up a bit of a kafufflery within Yofi's manor. Izzy is terrified of The Boy, but at the same time is curious. So yesterday when I opened the door to the bunnies' room, Izzy sat behind me, peeking his head around to get a look at this garantuan monster who is obviously straight out of *Night of the Lepus*. Yofi hopped past, not even noticing the quaking little collie at my feet, and went off to explore the rest of the house.
A few moments later though, just as Yofi was emerging from my bedroom, Izzy had decided to go trotting in there, unaware of the demon that lurked within. The two of them saw one another at the same time and both froze solid in their tracks. For a couple of minutes I was curious, wondering just what would happen (cue Gunfight at the OK Corral standoff music), when suddenly The Yofster charged, full blast, at his target. However, Yofi's charge wasn't so much directed at Izzy as it was of getting past Izzy, who was standing right in the path of the bunny room door. Izzy panicked, his little legs paddling furiously on the hardwood floor, and Yofi, who had his ears sailing out behind him in true Yofi tour-de-force, veered off to the right to avoid the insane little puppy. Unfortunately, when one should have zigged and the other should have zagged, someone got it wrong; the two of them zigged directly into one another...KABAM! And then it was a free-for-all of puppy paws, rabbit feetz, ears and fur as they each scrabbled madly to get away. Ironically, when they did hit, the collision knocked both of them in the direction that each wanted to go, so once feet again managed to grasp floorboards, they went tearing away in opposite directions. Yofi wound up sitting in his Howse and sulking for the next hour; Izzy I managed to find tucked away in the farthest corner of his bed in his puppy crate, trying desperately to melt into the blankets.

It's gonna be a challenge to get these two to be friends, I think. :rollseyes

 

[Nela]

ROFL

:laugh:

I could TOTALLY picture that. Awwww I so envy you for having a lovely puppy. Izzy is adorable! Congrats on your new baby :wink

 

[Bassetluv]

Thanks Nela! Everyone has warned me about the prospect of taking on a border collie (i.e., 'Are you INSANE?!') and yes, I probably am. Izzy is still a quaking little bundle of nerves with regard to some things, especially in the Big Outdoors, but he is getting well-versed in learning to rearrange my shoes, his toys, Kaya's toys, his dog bed, Kaya's dog bed (which isn't small - at least with respect to Izzy's size - but it still manages to travel to the other side of the room all by itself), and just about anything that isn't bolted down. It will be interesting to see just how he takes to the bunnies as he grows, and how they take to him...well, no guessing with Yofi...any newcomer on his turf is fair game for head butts and cavalry assaults. Anna though, might make friends with Izzy at some point. *Might*.

 

[SOOOSKA]

Hey Di, you make me laugh the way you write your stories.

Aren't Border Collies like hunting dogs? How big do they get? What does Anna think of Izzy. He's so cute.

Susan

 

[jujub793]

hahahahaha love the meeting between yofi and izzy! i COULD picture that so clearly :rofl: definately would have been a kodak moment! i can't beleive you have been able to keep yofi'd 'howse" so long, my bunny's chew theirs up so quickly i have to replace them every couple of weeks.

and your new furbaby is adorable!

 

[Bassetluv]

Aren't Border Collies like hunting dogs? How big do they get? What does Anna think of Izzy. He's so cute.

Border collies are actually in the working dog class (sans a paycheck, unfortunately) and they're most often used to herd sheep; sometimes they're used for cattle, and some are even used for *goose patrols* in order to scare off flocks of geese intent on nesting in public parks. Izzy though...I'm not so sure. For the first two days after I got him, both of his stuffed animals (an imitation *Lambchop* the sheep, and a gnarly goat) scared the stuffings out of him. He'd be chewing away on them, or toting one of them from one room to another, when the squeaker would suddenly, well, squeak. Izzy would drop the stuffed animal like a hot potato and go running. What would he ever do if he actually met a real, live sheep??? I suspect that if he were wearing little doggie panties, they'd need changing. :biggrin:

Oh, and Anna doesn't care one bit for Izzy either. I put her in the living room with him in the hope that she would approach him and calm some of his fears, but instead she gave him one glaring, dirty-faced bunny look and WHUMPED as hard as she could, and then ran. And so did Izzy...in the opposite direction.

Izzy should grow to be about the same size as Kaya, or a wee bit smaller. Kaya is around 50 lbs., and she's an Australian Cattle dog mix (also a working dog without a paycheck...Aussies are used to herd cattle). LOL...a couple of summers ago I took Kaya out to PetSmart for a walk, and across the street from the store is a saddlery shop. I'm not sure why, but they sometimes keep farm animals in a small paddock that's fenced off with 6- or 7ft high chain link fence. On that particular day I noticed there were a couple of cows over there, so took Kaya over to see her reaction. Well, she didn't really care about the cows at all...but there were also some goats grazing with the cows, and they did get her attention. One of the goats - a big billy goat sporting huge horns - wandered over to us, and Kaya began getting nervous...not scared, but excited, eyes big, ears alert, wondering what the heck this thing was. So the goat came right over to Kaya, who now had her nose shoved firmly into one of the holes in the fence links, and I thought he'd just come over, they'd touch noses, and he'd walk away. But nope...that ol' goat stopped in his tracks, backed up, and before it dawned on me what he was doing, his head lowered and he lunged forward, ramming Kaya's nose so hard I thought she was going to wind up with a permanent pug nose. And what did Kaya do? Well, she certainly wasn't scared...she was MAD!!!! I had a firm grip on her leash as she started scrambling, desperately trying to (literally) scale the fence to get at the horrid beastie who'd ramrodded her in the face. If she coulda made fists at that moment I'm sure she would've, threatening to punch out that vile lowlife's proverbial lights. She made it about three feet off the ground, clinging to the fence links tenaciously - and probably muttering every canine curse word in the book - before I managed to pry her off of it. (And if goats can laugh, I'm certain that one was.)