Why I chose rabbits as my pet

[Flakie]

I had never really thought of having a bunny as a pet. I had budgies and a dog as an older child.

Then along came my two kids and we had about 4 hamsters and umpteen goldfish but their lifespan was short.

Then one day a Rabbit came into my life! It was a Monday morning me and the kids had just got up when we heard awful screaming in our front garden. Ear piercing screams. I ran out to find a tiny wild bunny having been dropped by a rather large bird which was still hovering about. I had no idea what to do. I lifted the bunny and placed it in bushes beside my house and watched. Within minutes I saw a cat approaching and ran out again and lifted the terrified bunny and brought it inside. We placed it in a box with some wood shavings and it calmed. It was so so young. We called the SSPA (Scottish Society for Prevention of cruelty to animals) who took it away and fed it cats milk and said if it lived they would release it back into the Wild.

Now that started the chain of events. A local pet shop bred bunnies and a few weeks later we went to choose two from his home. Unfortunately a cat had managed to access the mum and babies and some had to get vet help so there were only a few that were unhurt.

My son chose Poppy (aka Snowdrop) a red eye white and my daughter chose Flakie (aka Snowflake).

They were really bought for the children but as an adult they were my responsibility and i was always the one who looked after them, took them to the vet, gave them medicine and nursed them through illness and sadly the one who was there with them when sadly they had to be put to sleep. Pop lived till 9 and Flakie almost 10.

They taught me a lot about having bunnies as pets and they both had a long and happy life with us. I am now a total bunny lover having had the love of these two wee rascals and will always miss them ❤️

I now have Basil and Holly to love only this morning I gave them a little bit banana and my oh my the kisses I got made be so proud to be a bunny owner ❤️❤️❤️

[Deleted User]

Such a beautiful story!

I never wanted bunnies. I was a puppy girl, through and through. My hubs and I were living in an apartment that didn’t allow dogs, only caged animals and cats. One day at the puppy store we saw a beautiful papillion with white fur and a brown pattern on the back. He was such a fiesty and playful little thing. I knew we couldn’t get him but I played with him three times, and cried because we couldn’t have him. Eventually hubs realized I needed to nurture something (thanks depression), so he said I could get a bunny.

At first I was really put off, and really didn’t want one. Sure they are cute looking, but I had the stereotype in my mind that they were like hamsters or guniea pigs, meant to be kept in cage and hardly interacted with. Then hubs did a ton of research and gave it to me, and I decided maybe I could be okay with them. At first they were honestly supposed to be placeholder pets until we were in a good position to get a puppy. But within the first night I knew they were so much more than that.

These little guys have become my life, my heart, my soul, my everything. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for them. I’ve nursed Bombur so many times, and I’ve been patient with Asriel as he comes out of his shell. It’s been the greatest joy in my life. I wouldn’t trade them for anything. The past year with them has been crazy tumultuous, but my little guys have made it 100% worth it. I honestly don’t even care about getting a pupper anymore. I just want bunnies.

[Gordo and Janice]

“I just want bunnies”…lol. Spoken like a child, albeit a grown up one. I’m sure everyone knows my story but I’ll add it to this thread because it’s appropriate. And besides, I like and respect you two.

Seems like we have been more of rescuers by accident than on purpose. Our neighbors corner wise across the street had a Pomeranian mix that they didn’t really take care of and allowed to get pregnant. So she had only two little babies (that we were aware of, there may have been more that didn’t make it). Long story short we ended up raising the babies from 1 or 2 days old until they were weaned and adopted. The mother went from very stand off-ish and untrusting and actually teeth bearing growling at times to anyone and everyone to the most lovable loyal trusting dog (with us anyway) in a relatively short time. She ended up going to an older gentleman and lived life like a princess with him. Her name was actually Princess. The story is a great one and could use a lot more detail but this is about bunnies.

Then the other neighbors catty-corner across the street and their cousins two doors further down got Easter bunnies. They brought them over to show us. We let them out of their cage on the bed and Icey ran straight to Janice and buried her head and little body into Janice’s hands and just nuzzled there doing her teeth noise while Janice petted her. Instant heart melt for Janice. She wanted them to bring them over as much as possible but Icey was usually the only one that made the trip because she was closer and the little boy wanted our help in cleaning her cage. Again longer story short, because of the way she was being kept Janice asked if we could take her and (as they say) the rest was history.

We didn’t know anything about bunnies either, other than they were cute. But we learned as best we could. Of course we didn’t know about BinkyBunny. But we still tried to learn through research on the internet and had to learn by Icey teaching us “this is what we rabbits do”. As I’ve said many times before, I never could have imagined how deep my relationship with her would go. Incredible. And I could go into so much lovey dovey detail (I’m sure everyone knows that by now) but I’ve done that too many times. So in the end, in reality, I didn’t choose rabbits as my pet. They sort of chose me, with Icey as their ambassador. And now…if I may quote someone from above…”I JUST WANT BUNNIES!”

[Sirius&Luna]

What lovely stories!

I’ve always loved bunnies, as long as I can remember. When I was a child, I remember begging my parents for a bunny. And when I was about 6 or 7, my parents got us a beautiful black lop called Floppy. He was a lovely bunny, he used to spend all day in the garden, then hang out in the kitchen with everyone all evening. He had a litter tray with a brick in it, and he used to perch on the brick and hang his bum over so he didn’t step in pee haha. Now, I feel bad that he must have been lonely outside alone all day, but we did the best we knew at the time. After he died, we adopted a bonded pair of boys. Then, when I went to uni I persuaded all my housemates that we should get a house bunny. He came home with me after uni, until eventually EC got him.

It’s always been bunnies for me. I never wanted cats or dogs or horses or guinea pigs. Always bunnies.

When me and my boyfriend moved in together, two years ago, the first thing we did was get a bunny! Now somehow, we’re on three. My boyfriend is now officially a ‘bunny person’ too. I think they’re magical creatures.

[Gordo and Janice]

Magical!…that about sums it up. Magical in so many ways.

[sarahthegemini]

I wanted a cat. Boyfriend wanted a dog. We compromised and got rabbits LOL.

[pinknfwuffy]

This thread is so lovely and inspiring! Bunnies come into our lives in the most remarkable ways.

My first pet was a rabbit. A large, REW lop, Snowflake. She was the sweetest house bunny and from then on I was obsessed with rabbits. Our family always had animals (guinea pigs, fish, turtles, chickens) and had two more bunnies after Snowflake, a black lop and a black rex. They were so fun but after they were gone and we later had two dogs in the house our family stopped having smaller pets.

Fast forward to living on my own as a fully-functioning adult but desperate to have a furry friend. I always thought I’d have a dog but my apartment doesn’t allow them. I had to work pretty hard to convince them to allow any animals at all but finally got my landlord to agree to allowing a rabbit. Our local pet supply store hosts shelter animals to give them more exposure to the public. I went to see one of them, a gorgeous brown lop, but something didn’t feel right. It wasn’t the perfect fit. While I was there, the store clerk mentioned that there was a little six month old rabbit in the back who was going to be shipped to another shelter if no one adopted him soon. He had been living there, alone, for three months. I petted him and he nudged my hand. It was love at first nose boop. 

Needless to say, Olaf became my first pet and the love of my life. Also, now that I’ve gotten to know his behavior it turns out his nudge was actually his way of saying go away but… never mind that.
Bunnies are the best.

[Flakie]

Thoroughly enjoying reading everyone’s stories. Love them all ❤️❤️

If I had my way I would have a whole Warren lol ?

As Asriel and Bombur said

❤️❤️❤️I just want bunnies. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[Bladesmith]

I never wanted a rabbit. Never even considered one. But my ex was a breeder of show rabbits and asked me to house sit for a weekend. When she was introducing me to the rabbits, I met Clover. She immediately ran over to me and climbed out of her cage and draped herself over my shoulder and wouldn’t get off of me. She literally had to be lifted off of me and be put back in her cage. Every time I saw her afterwards, she would leap towards me and love all over me. I was in love.

It wasn’t a month later that my ex decided to not breed Chinchillas anymore and asked me if I wanted Clover. I didn’t even think about it. I knew nothing about rabbits, had no supplies, but I just couldn’t say no. So I hit the interwebs, learned as much as I could, found this joint and learned more (Thank you guys so much), and never looked back. I love that rabbit more than almost anything. She’s kept me sane, and her love grows exponentially.

I didn’t choose a rabbit, a rabbit chose me, and I’m honored to be worthy of her love and trust.

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

Awww, you didn’t chose her, she chose you! What a beautiful story Bladesmith ^_^

Breintje is actually my BF’s bunny, but he was at my place already after our second date. Bas wanted me to meet Breintje first before we started dating, to see if we’d get along. I was completely unprepared and a little worried the first couple of weeks. Rabbit behaviour is very different from other pets, and Breintjes antics sometimes gave me “worried mom”-syndrome. Breintje’s behaviour also took an odd change when he moved in with me: he started to display hormonal behaviour. He was 2 when he moved in, so he was well past puberty, but at Bas’ place he was always super well-behaved. In my house he started to spray, circle and hump, but after a quick intervention from the vet he’s become a cute snugglebug.

[Azerane]

I wanted rabbits because of Watership Down Because I knew there was so much more to rabbits than met the eye, I knew they were intelligent creatures that gave more than most people realised.

[Author]

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