How did you get started with bunnies?

[canela_2004]

I was wondering how everyone here got interested in rabbits as pets.

 

[Nessa1487]

Saw Skippy in the petshop, needed a friend cause I was alone all of the time. So, My husband and I brought him home, and ever since then, I've been hooked!! Then I got my other two because they were being treated wrong.

 

[missyscove]

Well, I've always liked rabbits, who doesn't? A friend of mine, also named Christina, has 3 rabbits. I got to know them and fell in love with the idea of having bunnies.

Then I started volunteering at the shelter. I got used to caring for rabbits and I also saw how many there were that needed homes. My brother was going off to college and we had planned on replacing him with the cat I'd been asking for for a while, then I decided I'd rather have a rabbit.

Then I went on a researching rampage, looking up everything that I could about caring for rabbits. That's how I found this forum.

My mom said she was okay with it, but she wanted "one of those cute black & white rabbits like they have at the fair." I then began searching for dutch rabbits in local shelters.There was one dutch mix at the shelter where I volunteer, but that one was a male and my mom wanted a female. She'd already had the name Miss Whiskers picked out.

I fell in love with this:

photo of "Bunko" at the Agoura Hills animal shelter.

On August 3, 2006, we went shopping for our cage and supplies. On August 4, 2006, we picked Miss Fiona Whiskers up from the shelter.

We got Timmy just under 2 months later from the East Valley shelter where I volunteer. I got special permission to bring Fiona into pick him out.

 

[MyBoyHarper]

A little over two years ago, the pet store I worked at decided to start ordering 'feeder' rabbits, since some customers were beginning to ask for them. The first to come in was Harper. A beautiful chocolate dutch. I ranted, raved, started a war, and ended up leaving that night with him in my arms.

Weeks later, I went in to visit, and they had a baby florida white -- snake food bunny. I bought her instantly, and adopted her out to the rabbit rescue here. I began doing so anytime I got wind that they had a new feeder rabbit in the store. I would buy, then adopt out. Eventually I became friend's with the girl who runs the rescue, and afterwards became a volunteer. Through the rescue, I ended up getting Thumper after he was given up because some kids lost interest and decided he wasn't fun anymore now that he had been blinded. So after nearly 5 years in a nightmare, Thumper was given over to the rescue, I fosted him for about 5 minutes before signing the adoption papers. The rest ishistory.

And Chance... well I think everyone knows Chance's story. :inlove:

 

[Aina]

Well, a long time ago my brother wanted a bunny for his birthday so we got the biggest one we could find (it was what he wanted) from a pet store. A NZ white. He was areally sweet rabbit and we had him for a while. His name was Einstine Then I don't really know what happend, but he died. So then we didn't have rabbits for a while.
A little bit before we got Ronnie my brother was saying how he wanted another rabbit, but of course the parents would never let us get one. So I was doing reaserch for fun, and we discussed smuggling the rabbit in and how much trouble we would be in if they found out. Well I told my brother that if he got and kept his room clean I would consider it. About at that time my brother and his friend kept seeing this rabbit running around the neighborhood. They asked people and they said it was a stray, so they caught it and brought it home. My dad let us keep it in the back yard, and so that is how we got Ronnie. He looks a lot like Einstine except has a slimmer build.
For Sky I went to a pet store that I normally don't go to because of an emergency right before x-mas and I saw sky in a tiny cage with 4 other rabbits and emediatly fell in love. So I went home and conviced my parents to get her for me for a x-mas gift because I honestly couldn't think of anything else I wanted.

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

Almost 7 years ago, I worked next to a pet store. We'd walk down past it (there is a long strip of stores) to the bakery for a snack. I went in there and saw BunBun, my first bunny. He actually came up to me and licked me. Little did I know, he was trying to trick me."I'm a sweet cuddle bunny, see? I will groom you, I love you, take me home." I left and went back to work next door. Thought he was really sweet and cute.

About a week later I went in again to see if he was still there, he was. Poor thing. I talked to my husband, who then was my fiance, about going to see him. He, my son and I went to dinner at a restaurant a few stores away one night not long after. Excited we walk in to see him. He was doing the licking and being cute. My husband said that we should go look at cages and such. We did. We decided to take everything home and come and get him the next day. We told them we wanted him and we'd be back for him in the morning.That was it. We got him that next day.

He wasn't the kind of bunny that liked to be held at all. We still joke to this day that the peeps at the pet store saw me coming, because he had some personality, but not a cuddle bunny. He could be a real turd bird, but I loved him no less. BunBun died if heart failure in September 06. I miss you sweetheart!

 

[Bunman]

As a kid i was never allowed to have pets. As an adult I had Bipolar Disorder, was alone & in my 30s my therapist suggested getting a rab as a companion besides my parakeets. That was in 1985 & i've had buns ever since.

 

[Runestonez]

We bought our first bunn for all the wrong reasons, and without any preparation at all. We didn't even have a cage for her. We were at the pet store and asked to see one of the baby bunnies just for the heck of it. She was a tiny little cinnamon lop. Beautiful! The girl turned to hand her to my husband Tony and the bunn stuck out her tinyfoot and kicked him so hard he stumbled back 2 or 3 steps! The next words out of my mouth were "We'll take her!" It took us a while but we finally caught up on all the reading we should have done BEFORE we even thought of bringing a bunn home. But now that we have bunns I could never see us without one roaming around the house!

 

[karona]

Worked on a farm as a camp councelor and later just a farm hand where they had bunnys that belonged t another staff. She bread holland lops bu was getting married and moving to an apt so had to sell them all. She sold most and the one I loved happened to e her favourite old doe. She had tried to breed her but she never took, sh was just kept as a pet because the girl loved her to muh to sell. I loved her an the girl gave her to me. That was my Chloe. About 2 years later she died of mass organ failer. I then adoptd Karona a few monhs later (was planning on getting a chinchilla) but the girls at work(humane socieyt) showed her and her sis to me. I took her when she was only 6 weeks old. She was dumped at our door and they wanted someone who could raise her and keep her alive. Another staff has her sis and raised her the same.

 

[JadeIcing]

Hmm intresting I did not want rabbits. My husband had one as a child and has wanted one ever since they had to put him to sleep.Hisdad said no. So fast forward to July8th, 05 I have the day off, frustrated because my chances of getting a dog were next to none I call a local pet supply store. Yup they have bunnies.

Tell my than fiance we just have to look. We get there....I see a lionhead and fall in love but he was sold. My husband picks up a baby bunny. Maybe about 6mnths old, mixed dwarf. That was that. We were getting a cage, food, litter, and what not. (Explain to me how on my own I choose all the right stuff?) Next day we are surprised with a flemish giant. Fast forward and I am hooked, with 6 rabbits of my own, 1 foster rabbit and a mod on a bunny forum. Not sure how that happened.


Edit: I will get my lionhead!

 

[bluebird]

My parents bought a house in the country. one of the sheds was full of rabbits. bluebird

 

[JadeIcing]

Thats not fair.

 

[Bunman]

Bunnies are great therapists.


Bunman wrote:

As a kid i was never allowed to have pets. As an adult I had Bipolar Disorder, was alone & in my 30s my therapist suggested getting a rab as a companion besides my parakeets. That was in 1985 & i've had buns ever since.

 

[stephiemarie78]

I got my first rabbit as a classroom pet when i worked at a daycare. We'd let him out of his cage and he would love to hop around the room. I admit i didn't know a lot about rabbits then. When I left the center, I didn't want to take skippy so my co-teacher kept him. He was a sweet rabbit. He lived at the center for 4 years. Then My friend called and asked me If i wanted Skippy the center was closing down. So I said yes. I had him for another 3 years before he died.

 

[Starina]

My rabbit was a complete suprise.:shock:My longterm BF (of 5 yearsat the time)and I had separated in 8/05. Then 4 days before Xmas, I fell and mangled my leg. I called him and told him I was going to the hospital. He was the only one who showed up, not my roomates, not my friends. He took me to his house and took care of me. We ended upgetting back together, after some tearful arguements. One of the things I said was that I wanted our lives to improve and that I wanted a pet. Weeks later, once I had my ankle screws in and then out, we went out shopping up in Albany, about an hour's drive away. I was looking in Lane Bryant, and my BF came in and told me that there was a friend of his that he wanted me to meet. He took me to a pet store. There were 2 cages with bunnies in them. One cage had 3 redish-brown buns, the other had a black one and a grey one. I looked at the cage with the black one, since everything I own is black. The grey one comes running up to the cage, and sniffs at me. Then she starts washing her face. The black one was asleep. My heart melted, :bunnyheartI picked the grey one. I brought her home and we set up her cage. The water bottle I got her leaked, so I got a pair of matching Tabasco bowls that no one used, and she immediatly put her front paws in thewater bowl. I spent the whole day just staring at her, facinated by everything she did. I had a hard time coming up with a name. Then when I took her out to show my MIL, she got right next to me, and peed on my lap. She did the samething later when I showed my BIL. I said, "she sure is a Tinkle Bunny." The name has stuck. I went online and tried to learn as much about rabbits as I could, I had never had a pet one before. I always thought of myself as a cat person, but now I know, I am a Rabbit Person.

~Star~

 

[Pet_Bunny]

I never had a pet as a kid either.

We would baby sit the neighbours dog, but didn't really haveanimals around us. Three years ago, my sonvolunteered us to babysit two bunnies fromtwo friends at the same time.Knowing nothing about rabbits, I researched and found thisforum. This ismy ever first forum,and with the information we were able to survive the 2 weeks we had with the bunnies. I would ofkept the bunnies if the owners didn'treturn from their holidays.

After that I knew I would get a rabbit formyself. It was going to be a Holland Lop or a Dutch because they were the two thatwe babysat for. Five monthslater, I just happened to be at a Vet Clinic, and foundPebbles (a Netherland Dwarf ),wherethe previous owners lefther to be euthanzied.Pebbles was a store boughtbunny, and the owners found out she was pregnant with an oversized stuckkit, they didn't want to pay for the operation and keepher anymore.

So a twist of fate hasPebbles living with me in her forever home. Oh, my son has a dog now, so he isn't deprived ofany pets in his younger years.

Rainbows!

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

I was also one of those people who didn't ever think she'd own a rabbit! I had no interest in them. I'm the youngest of 3 kids and very persistent, my siblings had failed at getting pets but I was much more successful. I quit horseback riding shortly after my friend had an accidental litter of bunnies. I was animal deprived and my friend needed to find homes for the 9 kits. I asked her to keep the odd ball for me, the only light chocolate bunny in the litter.

So I went home and begged my dad, he eventually gave in andwithout my mom knowing, we started building the hutch. We were almost done it when my mom finally realised what we were doing but my dad told me to let him handle it and a few weeks later I brought this little guy home. Mocha is now 4 years old and still the love of my life.

Then my mom agreed that Mocha needed a friend. SoI brought home a doe but I was uneducated (before this forum existed,I'm one of theoriginal 100 members)and when they started fighting, I rehomed her instead of trying to fix it. I went back to my friend to get another male (after being falsely lead to believe how well males get along). She had one bunny left (happened to be male) of the second accidental litter, and so Spice came home to live with me.

Ever since I have been hooked. 4 years later I now have 4 bunnies, so I'm averaging about 1 addition per year, LOL.

 

[HoneyPot]

My sister brought home a bunny that her friend was trying to get rid of - because her friend's cat kept attacking him through the bars of his cage. That was Cookie. The day she called me and told me she brought a rabbit home, I told her she was nuts and she needs to find another home for him right away - who the hell wanted a rabbit.

Then after a week or two of seeing that rabbits didn't have to stay in their cage all the time (as I believed) and that he could be litter trained (which I had NO idea) and he was smart and funny and mischevious (none of which I thought rabbits could be)... I was hooked.

Cookie became my pet mainly, but when I was moving out, I could not take him with me as my entire family loves him, so I got Misty from the shelter. A few months later, we got Charlie to keep Misty company, and that's how I ended up with buns!!

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Nadia