♣ 'k, dis Squiggles - I'z interrwupting dis hub cuz us bunnies are NOT rodents! we are BUNNIES. actually, da scientific term is "lagomorph". but dis hub had to go someplace so it is in da "rodent" aisle. -thump-♣

That is true. My bunny, and all bunnies, are often thought to belong to the rodent (rodentia) family. There's nothing wrong with rodents, but bunnies are very sensitive and easy to disrespect, so if you want to score points with them, make sure you correctly refer to them as "lagomorphs" when classifying them as a species. What's a lagomorph, you ask? A lagomorph is a small mammal classified as one of two members of the Lagomorpha family. One class is made up of rabbits and hares, and the other consists of pikas, small mountain-dwelling cousins of the rabbit. (Hmm, I wonder of that is where Pikachu came from?) Also, bunnies have four incisors; rodents have two. Bunnies ONLY eat plants; and rodents eat meat and plants.

♣ plus we smells better!♣

Ok, now that we have determined that bunnies are not rodents, we can proceed with this hub, which explains just why I love my little bunny so much.

A bunny to call my own

I never had a pet all my own. I shared pets with my brothers and sisters, which were usually stray dogs that followed us home, that sort of thing. So when I decided to get a pet of my own, I studied on it for a while. Birds, fish, cats, dogs, even guinea pigs and hamsters all crossed my mind. As I weighed the pros and cons of each one, I decided to get a dog, and went to the bookstore and got a big book about all the different dog breeds and took it home. Once I decided on a particular breed and began looking for a dog, I ran into a problem — I only wanted to adopt one from an animal shelter since I didn't want to buy from a pet store, and the only dogs available for adoption were huge scary dogs that were not anything close to the kind I wanted — A Bichon Frisé.

One day I was surfing the net and found some really funny bunny pictures at a website about "cheezburgers".

Hmm.

SO I started thinking about bunnies and Google-ing like crazy and the more I read about bunnies and the more I thought about bunnies the more I realzied I wanted a bunny of my own. I discovered that Phoenix has a few bunny rescues and contacted one in Scottsdale, the Brambley Hedge Rabbit Rescue.

♣tell 'em how you came looking for another bunny but likeded ME better!♣

I did. I went to the bunny rescue one bright Saturday morning to see another bunny. A big white one with funny ears. But that bunny and me didn't seem to hit it off too well.

♣hee hee♣

But when I saw Squggles sititng there in the corner, my heart melted. They brought my little bunny to me and put her in my lap and the rest is history. As soon as I started petting her, she stretched out in my lap and closed her eyes, When a bunny does that, that means they trust you and like you very much!

I could do calculus - I just don't wanna.

What's so great about bunnies? Their personalities! These creatures are unbelievably intelligent. You might be able to fool a bunny once, but not twice.

♣fool me once, shame on you. fool me twice, shame on me.♣

Unlike cats, who are generally aloof, bunnies are only aloof if you offend them. Seriously, bunnies do get offended and insulted, even, and if you don't make up and let them know how sorry you are. they will deliberately snub you until they decide not to be mad at you anymore!

♣true dat♣

For example, when I am late with my bunny's breakfast, she will take her food dish and fling it against the side of her cage just to make a clatter and tell me 'Get in here already!' and then when I get her breakfast and clean her cage and freshen her hay and water, she runs around in circles because she is so excited! Then she settles down to eat breakfast and if I am not sititng there waiting to pet her (give her petties) she -thumps- to tell me to come over and pet her. If I have been on time, she scrooges down into the rug for her petties, but if I arrived late and kept her waiting, she turns her back on me. This means "You may pet me but I am mad at you" and I have to pet her and stroke her and tell her I am sorry or she will hold a grudge the rest of the morning.

Does that mean bunnies are hateful? Not at all. It just means that they are amazing communicators with an intricate set of protocols that you as a bunny owner must respect and observe.

A happy bunny is a binky bunny

A binky is something bunnies do when they are very happy and excited. Basically, they break into a run from a sitting position and, when they complete a circle, they sort of hop up and twist their body like a figure skater. Sometimes they perform a double twist and you swear you can almost hear then say "by jingo!".

Bunnies will also make a -crunch-crunch- noise with their teeth when you pet them. This means your bunny is full of trust, love and good feelings for you. It sounds like a very tiny skeleton chattering its teeth or something. Making your bunny binky or grind their teeth is quite an accomplishment because it means you made a prey animal like a rabbit fully relax and give their trust, which is very gratifying.

♣heh, she's da Bunny Whisperer♣

Plus, bunnies are very affectionate and LOVE being petted. There's something very sweet about that tiny bunny in your arms and that wee little furry face looking back at you, all innocent and trusting.

The Midnight Skulker

Well a bunny is too dignified to chase a stick or retrieve a ball. Instead, they like to explore everything around them, which is fun to watch because they walk on their hind legs, sniffing as they go. Of course this can be a bit disconcerting when they are doing it at three o'clock in the morning in a dimly lit room.

KINDA spooky-looking.

They also like to hide, being bunnies, so if you come into their space, they will just poke their little noses out and wiggle them, which is also cute. They eat groovy things like timothy hay, which smells heavenly! Instead of opening a can of smelly dog food, you just open their box of hay, grab some handfuls of green and gold hay and grass that smells like Spring and take it to them. Then you get to watch a tiny bunny who probably weighs less that a loaf of pumpernickel eat a huge pile of it stem by stem. They start at the end and slowly pull it up into their wee mouth, crunching all the way, until it's all gone then they look at you like "What?". Bunnies are very friendly, social animals, for all their occasional reclusiveness, and always want to be in the thick of things. They will pop out of hiding wherever they are and appear if you start playing music or someone drops by, then they will either wait to be noticed and admired, or, having assessed the sitiation, go back under the bed, behind the sofa, or in their secret bunny hideout. Then you go "There's a BUNNY in my house" marveling at this thought.

My STARS, you bunnies lead INTERESTING lives...

My bunny has longish fur so she requires regular brushing and grooming. You also have to trim your bunny's nails every couple of months or so. This involves a tiny bit of trickery, as most bunnies don't like to be restrained or picked up, so you carefully pick them up and wrap them in a small towel

♣da Bunny Burrito...♣

Yes, the Bunny Burrito, which calms them a bit, and then you can clip away with less stress on everyone. It also helps if you talk to your bunny throughout the process, which reassures them. Then you can make a game out of it, as Bugs Bunny did when he had to groom that big furry monster:

♣hee hee...'k dat explosion at da end was funny!♣

Jingle all the way

You can also buy fun toys for your bunny like grass jingle balls, chewy willow balls, big branch bites and places for them to hide and play in like the Cottontail Cottage. My bunny has a cardboard mini-maze, which has bunny-sized holes in it. It is great fun to watch her climb in and out of it. It has two stories so sometimes she pokes her head out of the top. You'll walk in and see two bunny ears poking out, then the whole bunny materializes and off she scampers, or retreats back into the recesses of her playhouse for a nice rest.

♣'k, dose are my offices, where I conducts important bunny business (grumble grumble)♣

Squiggles' offices are at 221-B Bunny Street, where she works. She solves important cases like missing bunnies, lost carrot stashes, etc.

After a busy day of working, it's nice to see your little bunny waiting for you every night, then you give her her treat, which is usually a banana slice, and she goes -smek-smek-smek- and you get down on the floor and cuddle your bunny in you lap and pet her and realize you are smiling.

I can't think of a better way to end my day, can you?