Ronnelle
Active Member
Two months ago, in the foothills of the BlueRidge Mountains, a young married couple was rescued from a life devoidof rabbits. Two rabbits, a mini rex named Butterscotch and a lop namedFloppy decided this couple was worthy of companionship and agreed to gohome with them and leave the noisy pet store.
Butterscotch was very open with her affections. She would crouch in thetypical "pet me" pose of the rabbit - flush with the floor, earsstraight back, eyelashes flashing - whenever the Mr. or Mrs. passedher.
But, Floppy seemed skeptical of the humans. They wondered if she didnot regret leaving the pet store. They would try to pet her across theforehead, down the ears, in the way Butter liked. She would simplystand up, cock her head to one side and hop away with what seemed tothe humans, a look of derision in her black, black eyes. The Mrs. wasat times scared of the little lop, as Floppy brought back recollectionsof Bunnicula, the story of the vampire rabbit. "Will she breakout of her cage and tear our carpet? Will she do worse, and pee in myshoes?" she often wondered as she lay in bed trying to sleep.
Weeks passed by with the humans and the rabbits slowly growingaccustomed to each other. The completely foreign language of the otherslowly transformed into an understandable language, albeit with anaccent.
One bright afternoon, as Floppy settled in for an afternoon of dreamingunder the table, the Mrs. slid next to her to wish her pleasant dreams.Instead of petting Flops across the forehead, she began to massage herjaw. Floppy not only remained where she was, but began to purr with herteeth! The Mrs. was so relieved. She said to her husband, "Floppydoesnt hate me! Shes finally used to me." Floppy was overcome withjoy, "The human has finally been trained." she told Butterscotch.
Floppy and Butterscotch have many years left to live with the humans.And, their time together will bring warmth and joy to all their heartsif they remember two things the first two months together has taughtthem. The first is its important to try ones best to understand theother species language, no matter how odd it seems. And the secondlesson: A bunny will let you pet her on her terms and still pee in yourshoes.
Butterscotch was very open with her affections. She would crouch in thetypical "pet me" pose of the rabbit - flush with the floor, earsstraight back, eyelashes flashing - whenever the Mr. or Mrs. passedher.
But, Floppy seemed skeptical of the humans. They wondered if she didnot regret leaving the pet store. They would try to pet her across theforehead, down the ears, in the way Butter liked. She would simplystand up, cock her head to one side and hop away with what seemed tothe humans, a look of derision in her black, black eyes. The Mrs. wasat times scared of the little lop, as Floppy brought back recollectionsof Bunnicula, the story of the vampire rabbit. "Will she breakout of her cage and tear our carpet? Will she do worse, and pee in myshoes?" she often wondered as she lay in bed trying to sleep.
Weeks passed by with the humans and the rabbits slowly growingaccustomed to each other. The completely foreign language of the otherslowly transformed into an understandable language, albeit with anaccent.
One bright afternoon, as Floppy settled in for an afternoon of dreamingunder the table, the Mrs. slid next to her to wish her pleasant dreams.Instead of petting Flops across the forehead, she began to massage herjaw. Floppy not only remained where she was, but began to purr with herteeth! The Mrs. was so relieved. She said to her husband, "Floppydoesnt hate me! Shes finally used to me." Floppy was overcome withjoy, "The human has finally been trained." she told Butterscotch.
Floppy and Butterscotch have many years left to live with the humans.And, their time together will bring warmth and joy to all their heartsif they remember two things the first two months together has taughtthem. The first is its important to try ones best to understand theother species language, no matter how odd it seems. And the secondlesson: A bunny will let you pet her on her terms and still pee in yourshoes.
