pet connection

Still no luck on the spy cam in Clara’s Secret Garden. Every time I look out the window those two are kissing on each other, but every time I raise a camera … they stop and stare at me as if to say, “Do you mind? A little privacy, please!”

Velocity The Rabbit (VTR) and Clara aren’t the only love-bugs of the rabbit-cat variety. Lots of people with pet rabbits and cats report a natural affinity between these two species. Dog-bunny love is a little harder to come by. Usually, the best you can hope for with a dog is that the dog will ignore the rabbit.

My old boy Ben (God rest his sweet soul) was wonderful with other pets. My first pet rabbit was Turbo, a neglect case so severe that at the Sacramento SPCA they’d named him “Flakes” because when he was brought in his furless skin looked like flakey pie crust. He’d been evaluated as unadoptable, but he was so sweet and outgoing the humane officer decided to foster him herself. After six months in her care, he was a beautiful, friendly and healthy rabbit, and I was helping a friend look for a dog to adopt when I met him.

Renamed Turbo, he soon took over the house, and was better with a litter box than many a cat. He roamed the house at will when I was home — he had a two-story “condo” to chill in when I was away — and always went back to the office when he needed to use his box.

One day, I was working with Ben stretched out asleep across the doorway of the office. Turbo (that’s him on the right, with young Velocity) hopped near, clearly intent on heading for his box, but — wow, what to do about this?! — there was 80 pounds of sleeping dog blocking the path. Turbo took a minute or two to work this out, getting up on his haunches to look over the situation better. Ben woke up and raised his head, curious as to what the rabbit was doing so close to him.

Finally, Turbo moved back a little, paused again as if to think it over one last time, and then jumped the retriever and hopped into the litter box with a satisfied bunny expression.

Ben sighed, put his head down and went back to sleep.

Both Ben and Turbo are gone now, and thinking about them always reminds me that treasured pets never really die — they live forever in your heart and memory.

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Rabbits are such under-appreciated pets, too long relegated to the “kid’s pet” category and left ignored in tiny outdoor hutches until they die of fear, disease or boredom. This makes me crazy, because if you let a rabbit really be part of the family, you’ll find to your amazement that they are delightful to be around, playful and gently affectionate.

The House Rabbit Society has the best site on the Internet for anyone looking for information on these sweet-natured pets. The society’s Web site offers information on everything from housing to nutrition to finding a bun-friendly veterinarian.