My Rabbits
I am writing this on March 14, 2006, nine years to the day that rabbits changed my life forever.
MAIA
There was a knock on the door that evening while I was washing my dinner dishes. When I answered it, still wearing my yellow rubber gloves, there stood a friend holding a cardboard box. Inside was a brown and white mini lop, about six weeks old. She was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen and I fell in love instantly. I named her Maia, after a moon goddess, the herald of spring.
But I didn't know the first thing about keeping rabbits. Maia lived in a cat carrier at first while I scoured books from the library for information.
Thankfully, I soon found the House Rabbit Resource Network in Austin, Texas, and began attending their meetings to learn all about my new best friend.
Over the next year, I gradually became immersed in the world of rabbits. I volunteered at the local animal shelter, fostered rabbits after their spay and neuter surgery, served on the HRRN board of directors, gave talks and demonstrations at schools, and devoted more and more of my life to helping animals.
She moved out of the cat carrier and into a proper cage, but broke out of it repeatedly. She would wait for me to fall asleep, then spring the lock and jump into bed to lick my face. I eventually stopped locking her cage door, and Maia became a free-roaming house rabbit who was out 24/7. She often slept in the bed with me, and we shared everything in life. She became my greatest joy.
As I developed my freelance writing career, Maia served as inspiration with her antics, and I found a niche writing for pet publications. When I added a second career as a bodyworker, she inspired me with her healing energy and teachings. Maia's instruction became the basis for my book, The RelaxedRabbit: Massage For Your Pet Bunny.
Maia and I had many adventures together, which I shall never forget. She died suddenly on April 13, 2003. Not a day goes by that I don't miss her furry form, but I know her spirit is with us always. Every day I am awed by how she continues to touch peoples' lives, and enriches mine.
DEXTER
My life changed dramatically after Maia's death. I moved to England with a new partner and began a totally new life.
After living in London for a year, I moved to Brighton on the south coast. Once I began to feel settled in my new environment, I felt ready to accept another rabbit into my life.
Dexter is a brown and white Dutch who was born in the spring of 2004. We adopted him from Bobtail's Rabbit and Guinea Pig Rescue in Surrey. Dexter started life as a house rabbit, but when his owner moved abroad, she couldn't keep him. To our great joy, he came to live with us by the sea.
Dexter couldn't be more different from Maia. He's much more rascally and very athletic and active. He is also a free-roaming house rabbit, and he enjoys running in the garden for a few hours a day, weather permitting. He grazes the grass and leaps over and under shrubs. Indoors, he practices his sports by jumping the sofa. He has traditional tastes in vegetables, and enjoys carrots, broccoli and cabbage. He also requires a daily chunk of organic apple, thank you. Dexter's not quite the snuggle bun that Maia was, but he does enjoy a nose scratch, and when no one is looking, even a cuddle.
Dexter reminded me that I couldn't stay away from rabbits for long, and inspired me to form the Sussex Hopper Group, a group of people who love rabbits and raise funds for local rabbit rescue, and help raise awareness about keeping rabbits as pets.
EMMA
After a few months it became apparent that Dexter wanted a bunny buddy, so we adopted a lovely cream coloured lop called Emma.
Emma was found as a stray wandering the streets. A kind person found her and tried to find her owners, but no one stepped forward. Thankfully she ended up at Bobtail's Rabbit Rescue, where she bonded with Dexter. Emma's background is unknown and she exhibits fear of sudden movement, noises, and hands. But she's come to the right place and we are slowly establishing trust through loving touch. These days she can be seen binkying around the yard, chewing wicker baskets, stealing vegetables, and cuddling up to her Dex.
So here it is nine years on, and I'm still actively helping rabbits, touring the country giving workshops, and meeting the nicest people in the world, all through my rabbit friends.
Available to buy now
