Got them

We did it. Adopted two rabbit 'companions'. A few days back we nosed our way down to the seemingly secret location of the society and checked out the rabbits they had up for adoption. In this crowded back room of a building off 494, the boys were ushered into a wire pen and two by two the 'bonded pairs' were brought over to do their stuff and try to impress the potential new owners. Apparently it doesn't take much to impress old Eli and Theo. They latched on to a pair who appeared the most curious and hopefully the least skittish. I have to admit that I was thrilled to learn that this particular pair was 5 years old! Already middle aged! This would mean that Jon and I would not have to parent the rabbits for years as our boys were off at college as a rabbit has a life expectancy of around 10 years. So we went through the paperwork, purchased a garbage bag full of hay and a bag of grain pellets, watched the new rabbits get groomed and nail-clipped, and then we were off, on our own with two new souls under our care.

And now, over a week into this new world of rabbit owning, I have to say I am quite pleased. I like old Penny and Gunnar quite a bit actually. They are litter box trained, don't make any noise, relatively odor-free, and really entertain me with their crazy evening antics when we let them out of their 'condo'. We were a little worried about so-called bunny proofing, but it turns out that these two hate hard wood floors, so when we let them out they are nicely confined to area rugs and the carpeted upstairs hallway. They also have terrible depth-perception. This means that although the downstairs clearly beckons to their curious little hearts, they can not bring themselves to hop off the top landing. They get to the very edge and spend quite a bit of time leaning forward, sniffing and dreaming and scheming, but as yet, no action. They absolutely tear up and down the hallway, leaping across a hardwood chasm onto the office rug, then back out and over a similar chasm into the boys room, around and around at full speed letting loose with crazy airborne spins and twists- I honestly could, and have, watched this activity for hours.

So who knew? I realize that this could still be the honeymoon, and we hear stories of mean old rabbits out there, but as for now, Penny and Gunnar have wormed their way into my heart.