This week we had a birthday party for one of the bunnies! It was for Dog-Bunny, his name is Bauer. He is 2 years old, that sure is old. I'm only 12 weeks old! Mom and Dad got him some peanut butter cookies from a really fancy store called Bark and Fitz, that said "Happy Birthday" on them. He also got a really big stinky thing they called a beef knuckle. Boy, did that smell disgusting! Bauer really likes to chew on it too. He comes over and plunks it down beside me and gnaws away, as if I would want him that close! Mom says he is trying to share, and since he likes it so much he doesn't understand why I wouldn't want some too. I was pretty jealous of all the stuff Bauer got, and tried to take some of his cookies! Mom gave me some delicious pieces of dried pear instead.
I've decided that I can't wait until it's my birthday! I have to wait a long time though, it won't be until next January. Being so far away, I will have a lot of time to think of things that I want for my birthday! A big smelly beef knuckle will definitely not be on the list.
I haven't been allowed on the computer for days! Mom has been really busy, getting ready for a big awareness event as she calls it. I guess she will be taking our foster bunny and some others to a place to meet people and talk about the rescue group she works with. It's called Rabbit Rescue Inc. She is telling me to write that if anyone is in Toronto today, it's in the Bloor West Village, 2100 Bloor Street W. at Global Pet Foods from 10-3 and there are cute bunnies and vegan treats.
I like vegan treats (since I'm a vegan, duh!) Mom gives me these cookies that are really for horses, but we all go crazy for them here in the mornings. Abbey even gets up on the couch and binkies back and forth! Today I dropped mine in Mom's shoe and had to call her back to help me find it.
Okay, I have to go, she is kicking me off again. Hrrmph! I need my own computer.
Mom and I were tagged for a book meme! We got tagged by Freckles from her blog The Adventures of Freckles and Deb. It's our first time in a game of this sort. Here are the rules!
1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people and post a comment to Freckles and Deb once you have posted it.
So Mom just finished a book called "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen and it has been sitting here on the desk. It is about a man who joins the circus during the Depression after going through an emotional upheaval. He uses his skills as a vet to get employed and tries to aid the animals on the show, becoming enamored with more than one circus member. Mom said she really enjoyed the book. It sounds fantastical and it is, but it was well-researched and she says she got really attached to the characters.
Here we go:
There's a shuffling, and someone shushing someone.
"What is it?" calls August.
"Did Clive feed the cats?"
Hmmm, are you intrigued? Now to find 5 people who aren't tagged... we are pretty new to blogging here so we need to find some!
1. Belle at Bunny Blog: Belle and Ferdinand (from Bunny Heaven) and Cornelius Too
2. The bunns at Happy Feet Bunny Blog
3. Fresh Parsley
4. Captain Rupert at Higglety Pigglety
5. The Fluffy Tribe
I don't know you guys too well yet but you've been tagged! Mom likes to read your blogs and look at the cute pictures.
There is a game that I love to play with Mom. I will find a really good spot to hide and wait for her to come and get me. It has to be a really weird spot, like under the radiator (too bad I don't fit there any more!) or I sneak into her sleeping room and hide under the bed, and I have other spots she doesn't even know about that I need to keep a secret. Then when she comes out looking for me, and I hear her calling my name, I know the fun has started! She calls a few times, then her voice gets all high, and really loud, and she rushes around the house looking in funny places like the closet. Duh, Mom, I can't open doors! Then I will pop out into the middle of the room and act like I have been there the whole time! It's so funny how she acts, I just shake my ears and giggle!
Sometimes I fall asleep waiting for her to come and find me. Then she really goes around rushing! By the time I wake up she is like a bunny herself, hopping around and sounding very upset. I don't know what she is thinking, maybe that I left her but why would I do that? I have pretty bunnies to play with, food and water, and even the Dog-Bunny isn't that bad. Anyway when I finally come out, she will say, "Where have you been! You are a bad little bunny!" She is petting me and usually gives me a treat so I can't be that bad. Jeez, Mom, I can't tell you where I was... that sort of ruins the whole point of the game!
and I'm also sure that both rabbits and chickens are animals - living, breathing, creatures. However, the USDA classifies rabbits as poultry. Why? Because "poultry" are excluded frfom the 1958 Humane Methods of Slaughter Act.
This post is a bit different than usual, because we really want to raise awareness. Because not only are rabbits not covered, but obviously everything else that is considered as poultry. Please sign this petition to have these laws changed. There is one for rabbits as well as for poultry. There is also a video with more explanation, which is NOT graphic. The laws in the US and in Canada are the same, so regardless of where you live please sign.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/rabbits-are-poultry-well-then-poultry-needs-to-be-covered-under-the-1958-humane-slaughters-act
Thank you!
Fez and the bunnies
In my recent explorations, I have started to relax in a little area beside a big chair that Mom likes to sit in. I don't know what she does there. She looks at another picture box and moves her weird paws on a clicky thing. Sometimes she laughs at it. I have no idea what is so funny but I have already learned that the two-legged bunny people are a bit off. So I just relax here close to her and every so often she gives my ears a nice rub.
Lately there has been this thing like a root that I told you about the other day. It's one of those long cords that tastes funny. It's been right where I want to flop and it just hangs down in my face and hits me in the head when I move. It's very annoying. Last night Mom wasn't home and me and Dad were hanging out, and I showed him the wire. He didn't really get the problem, and laughed when he saw me bopping my head on it. So to better demonstrate my point, I grabbed it in my mouth and pulled it. To my amazement (really!) I bit it in half.
So Dad definitely stopped laughing then. He said something about a self-own cord and having to get a new one. But I don't think he was very upset, because when Mom got home, he showed her and they both laughed about it, and said I was silly. Dad went out and he said he got a new one and he would keep it away from me! That's great. That is all that I wanted, after all. He also told me that I owe him fifty bucks. Well, I said to him, I can't count that high! Then I gave him a foot flick as I hopped away. Hrmph, that's what I get for cleaning up their cordy-messes. Anyway I don't know what a buck is, but if it's anything like a binky I'm pretty sure I'll have it made up to him by the end of today.
I have a few favourite places to take naps and play. Under tables, in the tiny space beside the couch, behind the chair... But my most favourite thing is to try to fix Mom and Dad's picture-box. It doesn't have very many shows about rabbits. It's a big problem.
One day when the Dog-Bunny was trying to lick my head (eww, stinky tongue!) I dove into a corner through some shelves, just big enough for me. I sure showed him. I realized that I was now behind the picture-box. Aha! Now I could fix it all up for Mom. I poked around 
at the long cords. They were kind of like roots, but had a weird outer layer. I checked it all out, looked at how the cords came in and out of the box, and thought hard of Bunny shows. I think I made some progress because Mom was making some excited noises at me. It was pretty warm back there and all that work made me sleepy. So I flopped down for a little snooze. Ever since it has been one of my favourite spots, and I'm sure Mom is delighted because she is always making those noises at me when I get back there!
This morning while hanging out in my condo, one of the others came to visit. I had never met her before. She came over to my cage, and I was a bit sleepy. She poked her nose in to me and woke me up, and as I opened my eyes I thought I was looking at an angel!
I immediately stood up and pushed my nose against hers, trying to get as close to her as I could. It was nice to see a friendly face, and I wanted nothing more than to snuggle with her and take a long nap! But when I pushed my nose at her, she pulled back and started smelling my condo, and chinning it! Well, it is my condo, but I'll just chin everything myself later. For now I will share with her. I ran around the levels trying to get her attention, but after a while she finished inspecting my condo, and without so much as a backward glance she hopped a few feet away and stretched out! At least she knows that I exist...
This is a picture of me in my old cage, all stretched out. I was smaller than I am now. I also had been sleeping in the room where Mom and Dad sleep. Coincidentally, Jack sleeps in there too.
Now that she knew I was there, she was always trying to jump up to my cage. She was pooping all around her pen and Mom even said she tried to pee on her! I guess that Jack just really wants to make sure that I know that her pen is, well, HERS!
So Mom told me that I was going to move somewhere new. Voila! This is my new Condo!
See how much bigger it is? It has three levels. I've been having a lot of fun exploring it. Now I am out in the room where Mom and Dad work and watch the loud bright box. They call it TB or something. They spend a lot of time out here, and now Jack has stopped trying to use Mom as a litter box. Plus, out here, there are more friends! There are two other bunnies out here. Their names are Bambi and Abbey. They come to my pen and stick their noses in and say "Hi" to me. They seem really nice, and I want to get out of here and get to know them better! I really just want to snuggle, especially with Abbey, she is just so big and pretty, she looks warm and cozy too! I hope I will get to make friends with them soon.
Soon after my arrival, Mom would take me out of my cage each day for some exploration. She put me down on this big, soft area where she and Dad slept every night. It felt strange under my feet, which were so used to the sharp metal bars of the dirty cages in my life before. I took very small steps, stretching forward to sniff out as much as I could before committing another tiny hop. I just had to be sure that it was safe. Also there were many new smells.
Mom let me explore this spot for a few days and soon I got more confident. I liked to climb over her lap (as long as she kept those scary hands away!) and also between two soft cushions where I could burrow down. Soon I tried jumping up in the air and flicking my feet. It felt good. Next Mom let me down onto a hard, slippery surface. It was even bigger, and the Dog Bunny liked to sniff me. I didn't like it much at first, but I tried to explore. Then I smelled something else... or someone else! I sniffed the air a few times and then hopped off in that direction without a second thought! It was another bunny. I saw her in her big pen, lounging in a pile of hay. She looked a lot like some of my other family members. I got right up to the bars of her pen and poked my nose through. She woke up and looked at me, and I saw her pretty black nose twitching. I think she liked me! She was coming to say hello! I was very excited to have a new friend.
Suddenly she ran at the bars and rammed them with her paws, grunting at me, "My house! Stay away! I didn't invite you in!"
I was so startled that I fell back and there was Mom. I nuzzled into her lap and she rubbed my ears. She talked to me softly and from what I can tell, the other bunny is named Jack, which is a BOY name, but it's a girl. I guess that Jack really likes her house, and doens't like anyone else coming in or getting too close. Mom told me that she is a good bunny but likes to have time and space to herself. I didn't really understand why she didn't want to be my friend, and I felt sad and still a little scared. After a few minutes Mom put me back in my cage and told me I was going somewhere new tomorrow.
SOMEWHERE NEW??? I am not sure how I felt. Away from her? I looked at her and tried to say I was sorry for upsetting Jack, but please to let me stay. She smiled at me and kissed my nose and turned out the light. I hoped the somewhere new was a good place, a safe place close to my new family...
There were a lot of changes in my life when I got to my new home. The thing that I felt right away was the loneliness. I actually missed my family members. Before, there were times that I wished for just another inch of space, of clean air to breath. But now... all that I had was space. It was frightening, in a way. I could hear the air vibrating all around me, but it was full of nothing. I could feel my own heart beat in the absence of other bodies pressed against mine. Don't get me wrong, it is not pleasant to be confined so closely as we were. We were kept in our own filth and didn't even have enough room to turn around in. It was just such a big change.
Mom put a big soft Bunny in with me. Only she didn't move, and she didn't smell like a bunny. I decided pretty fast that she wasn't a real bunny at all. I still cuddled up to her, it helped me to sleep. Also I liked to climb on her so that I could see what was going on outside of my cage. I think it was nice of my new Mom to think that maybe I was lonely, and try to find a friend for me. I just wished it was a real bunny. I was sure that I could smell others in the house...
So I live with some other rabbits, and this is a picture of me with Bauer. Bauer is the BIGGEST RABBIT I HAVE EVER SEEN! Now, I know I'm not very old yet, but when I was a baby I lived with hundreds of other rabbits. Mom said that they were all very big types of rabbits because we were being raised to be eated by humans before we got saved (some humans are GROSS! Who would eat a rabbit?)
Okay, so anyway the rabbits I used to live with were all really big I thought. But Bauer is at least like, 4 times bigger than them. Maybe even more. Mom says he is a "dog" but I'm not sure what kind of rabbit breed that is. I have only heard of a few breeds like lion-face, and New Zeppelin, or something like those. I'm not really sure, but the Dog Rabbit must for sure be the biggest kind of rabbit.
Bauer isn't really like other rabbits either. He doesn't use the litter box, Mom ties him on to a big rope and takes him outside to go to the bathroom. Also he always listens to Mom! What a sucker. She is like, "Sit, Bauer!" and he actually does! If she told me to sit I would just flick my feet at her, or maybe groom my face to show her that I don't care what she says! But then he does get treats when he does what she says. Maybe she doesn't feed him anything else, I don't see his food bowl. Also he chews on this big smelly thing called a Bone. He is always stealing me hay, but I don't say anything because he is so big. He isn't very good at chewing, I think he is missing his front teeth or something weird like that because he eats really funny. Oh, plus, he has this big long tail! Yeah, I know, it's so freaky! I like to run up and grab it, then run away really fast and go under the table. He can't get under there because he is so big.
I mean, he is really strange for a rabbit, but Dog Rabbits are pretty nice mostly, even though they are clumsy and kind of smell. He is a pretty good snuggler too. I feel like he'll always take care of me and make sure that I'm safe. So even though he is huge, stinky, acts weird and always does what Mom says and sometimes takes my hay right from my dish, he's pretty much okay.
So Mom and Dad have these funny things instead of paws, they call them "hands." Anyway whenever these hands came close to me I used to be kinda scared. THe old hands I knew were really rough and smelly, and usually grabbed my family members and hurt them. But not here! I have started to realise that Mom and Dad have very soft hands and never hurt me. Still I sometimes run away when I see them, because I know they might try to pick me up and ruin the fun I've been having chewing the carpet!
Lately though, the hands come and start to rub my ears and face, so gently. It makes me remember how my Bunny Mom used to nuzzle me and give me kisses. Mom scratches my nose and makes a goo-goo baby voice. Don't tell her but I really like it, it makes me feel safe and loved. When she rubs my face, now I just lie down and close my eyes. I fall right to sleep! I never knew that hands could be so soothing.
So sometimes I get really excited in my condo, I just get this feeling of inertia and I have to MOVE! And sometimes, I like to jump off the top floor and out onto the Dog's Chair. Well, today, I jumped out another way... I landed on this big, flat surface. I've seen Mom and Dad sitting there sometimes. Most of the time it is just covered up with lots of papers though.
Anyway I was all full of spunk and excitement and finding this new place, and Mom was standing there, watching me with this little smirk like "Well, what are you going to do now?" So, being a bunny, and so full of joy, my feet started twitching and my heart started jumping and I started to binky like I was on hot coals!
Mom swooped in, caught me with one hand and promptly put me on the floor.
Hrmmph. I flicked my feet at her and ran under the coffee table, feeling sulky. She peeked in to me and said, "FEZ, Tables are for food, not for bunny binkies! What if you fell off the edge?"
I was still sulky so I turned my back on HER until she went away. But I checked over my shoulder at the Table. It really is high. It's higher than my condo and the Dog's Chair. I guess she's right. Just... don't tell her, okay?
Hello out there. It's very nice to meet you and I would like to tell you about myself.
My name's Fez, and I am a rabbit. I'm almost 9 weeks old! Very nearly my name was rabbit stew though! Luckily that isn't the case and I have pretty much the best bunny life in the world.
But I'm getting ahead of myself! Let me start at the..... start.
I was born around the start of February. I don't remember very much, but I do know that where I lived with my family it was very crowded, and hard to breathe. It smelled horrible and a lot of my family members were sick. I was scared a lot. We saw people sometimes, and they took some of us away. If they reached in, I would run and hide under my mom, because their hands hurt, they were rough, and grabbed our ears and tails. We were so crowded that sometimes some of the other rabbits would fight, and bite or scratch each other because they were just so scared. One of my friends had a big cut on his nose from being accidentally bitten or kicked. I saw others with bigger cuts but I try not to think about it now.
Anyway one day people came, and we were really scared. They were taking everyone away, opening our cages and putting us into smaller ones, and then they would load us up in these big noisy things and go away. I tried to hide with my family but we got packed up too. But when these people picked me up they had soft voices, and told me it was okay now and that I was safe. I was still scared.
We were in the dark for a bit, then someone opened up our cage and took us all out to have a look at us. This lady was so gentle, oh! I have never been held like that, and she spoke softly and gently checked me all over. She said that I'm a boy (duh!) and that I was healthy. She put me in another cage with one of my brothers and said she would take me. I didn't know where she was taking me but they gave me some food, and I ate some and then fell asleep. I woke up later in the dark again and it was very bumpy, but my brother was there and I could hear others around us. We must have been in the bumpy dark place for a long time, but I tried to sleep.
The next thing that I remember is being taken into a place with lots of other people. They were peeking in, and making lots of funny noises! They were opening our cages, and they were PETTING us. Everyone they looked at they said something nice to, and were trying to figure something out. Each person took some of us with them. They kept saying it was okay, and we were lucky bunnies, and we were safe now. Someone opened up our cage and said, "Sorry baby, say bye to your brother, you are coming with me." She pulled me out and put me into another little cage with a soft towel by myself. I was still scared, ,I didn't really know what would happen. I missed my family, I felt lonely and thirsty, and I was just so tired. We went on another bumpy ride.
Finally the blonde girl took my cage and opened it up. She reached in and gently pulled me out. I was scared and I think I scratched her, but if I did she didn't get mad or anything, she was whispering to me and she nuzzled her face into my fur. Then, she kissed me! She said "What a long day you've had little guy. I'm going to name you Fez, and you are going to stay here for a while." She put me into a cage with soft towels, and food and water. After I had a big drink she brought in a big soft bunny stuffie. She said, "I know you must be lonely, you can snuggle up to this stuffie tonight." She gave me a little ear rub, and then left me alone. I fell asleep.
That was my first day of my new life. It was on March 12, 2008. I was 6 weeks old. Over the next few days, I found out all about my life before. The blonde girl is named Mom, and she lives with a tall boy named Dad. They told me that I was rescued by Rabbit Rescue and the SPCA from a farm where my family and I were being raised for meat, to be eaten! It makes me really sad to know that my family members were being taken away to die. They said my brothers and sisters found new homes too and that everyone that got taken that day is safe now. They said some of us were too sick and had to be put to sleep, but that it was better than being tortured and in pain. Some of us are still waiting for foster homes, but Mom says they are safe and fed now and Rabbit Rescue is working very hard to find everyone a spot. I feel very lucky. Here it is not crowded, and I can breathe, and no one is sick. I have clean food and water all the time and lots of space. At first I was so scared, I didn't want to move at all. I didn't know what to do with the food Mom gave me, so she helped to show me to eat pellets, and hay, and now I eat up as much as I can. She also showed me where to go to the bathroom. I'm still learning to hold it in until I get into my litter box but I usually make it for my pee-pees. But sometimes I'm too busy playing!
Mom weighed me the first week and said I was right one 1 lb. Now I weigh over 2.5 lbs. She had to move me into a bigger cage, she called it my condo. It has three levels and lots of room and I like to run around in it! Dad patted me too and said that I could stay here forever, which made Mom really happy. Before she said I was just staying here for a bit until I got "noodled" whatever that means. I guess now I get to stay here even after I'm noodled! I'm really happy because I love Mom and Dad. And they love me! They are my new family. I live here with 3 other rabbits, and a big dog. Also there is another rabbit that Mom says we are fostering until she gets a new home. All of my new family were rescued too. There is Bambi, Abbey, and Jack, the dog Bauer, and the foster rabbit is named Betty. I'll tell you more about them another time.
Well I'm really tired now, but you know all about me. As you can see I am very lucky, and I went from a hopeless life where I was doomed to having people who really love me. I can't believe it. Good night for now, I know that I'll have sweet dreams!
Me at about 9 weeks old...
Me at about 9 weeks old...
My ears are so big now, and they keep growing. Sometimes one is even bigger than the other one. Mom giggles and rubs them, and that feels good. I'm getting more used to hands now but I still get startled if they move too fast.
My ears are so big now, and they keep growing. Sometimes one is even bigger than the other one. Mom giggles and rubs them, and that feels good. I'm getting more used to hands now but I still get startled if they move too fast.
