For Christmas, Kendra said all she wanted was a pet. She told us that she didn't care what she got, as long as it was alive. She even clarified that she would be happy with a fish or a frog or anything. She just wanted something that was living.
We promptly told her there was no way that was going to happen for Christmas-- we had too much going on to sort out a new pet, too. Plus I figured if she got a pet, everyone else would immediately be dissatisfied with whatever presents they got. Having four disgruntled children seemed like a bad way to celebrate the holidays. I told her we'd consider getting something for her birthday (and emphasized that this did
not mean it would necessarily happen). Once things had settled down after Christmas, Craig and I began considering what we might be able to get for her. This is very tricky, because Craig is allergic to dogs and cats, and I'm something of a germophobe, especially when it comes to animals. As in, I feel the need to wash my hands and maybe sometimes change my clothes after petting people's dogs. Or spending time in a house with a cat. And between all the diapers and dirty socks, I already wash my hands a lot. So this was a bit of a concern for me. (Yes, I realize this is not normal. As long as it doesn't escalate, though, I'm not going to worry about it.)
As a kid I
LOVED bunnies and always wanted one for a pet (and a killer whale). But my parents were pretty certain that our big German shepherd/black lab mix would kill a bunny within five minutes of us bringing it home, so they never got me one, which was probably a kindness. But because of this, I immediately wanted to get Kendra a bunny. (Good parenting is all about trying to make your dreams come true through your kids, right?
Right???) So we started researching bunnies. And it turns out that the people who write books and websites on caring for rabbits are either raising them to eat them, or they're crazy. As in, all their advice pretty much ended with, "And if you aren't willing to do this then you don't even deserve a pet rabbit, you terrible person." This included everything from where to keep your rabbit (inside, or you're a terrible person), whether or not to spay them (even if you only have one and you're keeping her inside, you better spay her or you're a terrible person), and even clipping their nails (if you aren't prepared to clip their nails, you don't deserve a pet. You terrible person). So I worked to figure out which things were really necessary and which things were a little extreme. We worried about what we would do if it turned out Craig was allergic to rabbits, too. (I tried to ask around on a neighborhood website and got a lecture about how bunnies are a big responsibility. Yeah, why do you think I'm researching it before I get one???? Thanks, though.)
Then I started worrying that maybe this was just becoming all about me and wasn't even what Kendra wanted, so I asked her to make a list of pets she was interested in and rank them by which she wanted most. Bunny was #1, so I breathed a sigh of relief and went back to researching. (It's possible that she'd picked up on my cues, but I did hide all the library books on bunnies from her. Still, Kendra is a perceptive little thing...)
I looked all around to figure out where we could get a bunny from. It turns out that pet stores don't really carry rabbits any more, so I ended up scanning a website that listed Virginia rabbit breeders, the local SPCA, and Craig's List. I loved the idea of rescuing a bunny, but I didn't love the fact that you just had to take whatever they had on hand. We did go play with one bunny, who was super sweet. But her leg was a bit chewed up and we worried about getting a bunny that would require huge vet bills right from the start. Plus, I didn't love the idea of buying the first bunny we saw-- they can live for ten years, and that demanded a little more shopping around, I thought. I contacted some Craig's List people, and got no responses. I contacted two people from the breeder list, and one texted me back to say her number was listed there erroneously and she knew nothing about rabbits. And the other one had two litters that would be born right around Kendra's birthday!
Success!
A few weeks after the bunnies were born, she texted me pictures of all the does (yup, female rabbits are does; males are bucks). And then we went out to see them on a Sunday afternoon. That was when I found out that even though the website listed her as being in Charlottesville, she actually lived in Orange, about an hour away. So that was kind of a pain. But all the people listed on Craig's List were even further away (and non-responsive to my inquiries), so there weren't really any better options. So we drove to Orange!
And when I met the person I'd been texting, I discovered that she was about 12 years old! Surprise! But to her credit, she was always super professional about responding to my questions and requests for pictures. So I guess I really can't complain. But it was pretty funny.
We picked up all the does that were available and finally Kendra picked out this little cutie:
As we drove home, Craig pointed out that a perfect name would be Oreo. Kendra squealed in delight and declared that that would be her name.
A week later I got another text from my 12-year-old correspondent saying that the bunnies were ready to leave their mother. We all piled into the van and drove back to Orange to pick her up. She's so cute and sweet-- we already love our little bunny so much!
 |
| I'm going to be obnoxious and point out that I look super skinny in this picture! It's a lie-- I'm not-- but I love this picture, lies and all. |
 |
| Introducing Camille |
 |
| Inside her pen (because if you keep her in a small cage and/or keep her outside, you don't even deserve a rabbit, you jerk.) |
 |
| Oreo is a combination mini-rex and Holland lop. She'll probably grow to be about five pounds eventually, which is on the small (read: cute!!!) side |
 |
| Colton is making sure it's cozy |
 |
| Bunnies like a place where they can hide away every now and then. In our noisy house, this felt especially important. |
 |
| She was having a hard time drinking out of her bottle, so we gave her a plate of water, too. |
 |
| Camille is just a little excited |
 |
| Happy birthday, Kendra! |
4 comments:
My friend got a bunny from the shelter that was already litter trained!! She has a bunny hutch inside and it's the cutest sweetest thing. Congrats on the new pet!
Aww. Now that is pretty cute. Bunnies have the amazing ability to be dangerously adorable and hellishly terrifying. Looks like you got one on the good side. And just in time for Easter! Love it. One time my boy and I were sitting in a random park and happened upon 3 bunnies- first a brown adult, then a white adult, and then a tiiiny white baby who we fed grasses to and we both died. It was so strange and random, an Easter miracle.
Two stories: 1) My parents got a yellow lab when I was a freshman in high school. It was an outdoor dog (they live in southern California with 2 acres of land, not a hardship on this dog). They hired a woman to come advise them and train it. She basically belittled my parents as horrible human beings for never planning to allow this dog in the house. He never came in the house (except if he ever made a break for it when a door was open). Fast forward many, that dog died and now they have a chocolate lab. He is supposed to be an outdoor dog, but he's allowed in one room of the house, a giant computer room/office downstairs, where my parents spend a lot of their day as family search service missionaries. This has evolved into the dog runs through the house from the garage (which is basically above the office) to the stairs (across the house), down the stairs, and across the rest of the house to get back to the office. This is if he doesn't get distracted on his run through the house by a toy or a shoe. INSTEAD of just coming in the sliding glass door to the back porch that is off of that office/computer room. But most of this is because my dad's back and knees are bad so he's being lazy. This dog is their golden child.
2) My mom was a kindergarten teacher. She was opposed to class pets. One of the other kindergarten teachers retired, or maybe got promoted to first grade, I don't remember. But we inherited her class bunny. On the weekends we got to bring it home. I loved it. I was in high school at this point but I'd always had a crazy sting of pets (chickens, hamster, parakeet, dozens of cats, dogs). We had this bunny until he escaped and either got eaten by coyotes, or joined all the wild bunnies in their neighborhood.
Congratulations on Kendra's bunny!
Oreo looks so sweet and cute!
We had bunnies as kids. I guess we're on the undeserving jerk side, and probably didn't research them enough to know better. They were left outside, it was Vegas so it doesn't get cold and they had misters for the summer. They weren't gentle, as we got them from a rescue for wild bunnies . Plus we had 3...and different genders. That meant one morning we woke up and had 6 more bunnies!! We did love them a lot, but 9 bunnies was a lot for our tiny backyard so we had to give them away.
Post a Comment