baby bunnies and (hopefully not yet) puppies

Eight weeks ago Kristi had bunnies.  Well, she herself didn't have the bunnies, her bunny did of course.  I don't know if you've ever seen a baby bunny, but there isn't anything much cuter.  (Except of course when you see your child for the first time and it doesn't matter how bruised and swollen that baby is, there has never been anything cuter ever in the world- other than her sister.)

 

Sadly, our six-year-old bunny died at the start of summer. We had a bunny funeral complete with commemorative rock and flowers.  All that was mising was a rendition of Taps and that is only because none of us own or know how to operate a trumpet.  It was a very grown-up moment for our girls and they handled it with surprising grace. 

 

And then there were baby bunnies in the family.

 

To back up for a moment, let me insert that there has been some pressure from my family to get a dog for a while now- specifically a puppy.  I have been the firm heel-dragger, certain that having one more living thing to care for would tip my precarious scales over the edge and someone would find me hanging by my fingernails over the Cliffs of Insanity (for any Princess Bride lovers out there.)   Perhaps I exaggerate slightly but we are in month 24 of 27 of Sandi's schooling and I knew the math of dog acquisition:  puppy = Suzanne's lobotomy.

 

Oh, but I could feel the the pleading eyes of Ella and the murmurs of "I just really want a pet of my own" wearing me down.  No one wants to be bullied into getting a dog but no one wants to be given a sob story every morning over her tea either. 

 

I have set the firm line that we would not get a dog while Sandi is in school.  Naturally, the girls think this means we will be picking one home on the way home from graduation in November. 

 

While I regret the possibly premature death of our pet bunny, I have to say the timing of the baby bunny has bought me some extra time.  Everyone is talking about lop ears and I have heard nary a whisper about a puppy.  Phew.

 

It was a no-brainer which bunny we wanted from the liter.  Other than one that was spoken for there were solid black ones and this cutie patotie:

She looks just like her father (Finnigan) and Kristi had nicknamed her Mini Finni.  Ella has since named her Cinnamon, but in true Carver fashion, nicknames are plentiful and quick to stick: Cinna-minifini was born.

Apparently she really likes hay.

Kristi's bunnies are likely the most beloved bunnies on the planet and this one is no exception.  They get to run free every day and are handled heartily by my niece and nephew.  If you get one of these bunnies, it is like it has been through a bunny bootcamp of sorts and you likely couldn't find more tame bunnies anywhere.  Cinnamon never bites or protests and is so laid back we were initially concerned something might be wrong with her.  But alas, she was just made for the wilds of our house. 

We brought her home from Schoodic with us and now can't imagine life without her.  She is incredibly interactive and if you walk by her cage without speaking to her or petting her, she stands up on her hind legs and peers at you expectantly.  She runs, supervised, all through the living room and runs and darts around.  She even "binkys", a term I just learned that means when a bunny jumps in the air with a pivot and their legs twitch in different directions.



bunny bath
 

I was loving up my Cinna-minifini last night and as she snuggled into my neck, I said to Sandi, "This is the perfect pet for me right now." She replied, "What, one that you can love and then return to it's cage?" I said, "Exactly."

(I believe there are two more black baby bunnies for sale if anyone wants one from the best bunny breeder going.)