Padfoot and the Technicolor Dream Ball

Padfoot may very well have had the best day of his Mini Lop life today. He's had it rough. His first family didn't pay attention to him, then he moved to the Humane Society then he moved to our apartment, then to our house. Then, a rambunctious and ridiculous Lionhead bunny became his adopted baby brother and they had to share a room together. Even though he had a clean place to sleep and endless food, hay, lettuce, and carrots, he just wasn't a happy bunny.

We've been getting the boys out to run around the screened in porch - one at a time of course because Padfoot gets upset whenever Ron is near him. (Recently, Ron has taken to jumping up near Padfoot's cage trying to see who's in there. Padfoot does not like this.) We haven't been able to get Padfoot to come out of his cage because he freaks out whenever we try to pick him up, so today I decided to take Ron's cage out of the room, put Padfoot's cage on the floor, and open his door.

He came out right away. He ran around and hopped and sniffed and played. We got out a ball and he pushed it around adorably. I think he was the happiest he's been since he's been with us and I am pleased. He went back in his cage after about 30 minutes of exercise and exploration and assumed his favorite position...sprawled out in the corner of his cage.

The Boys: Photos

This is Ron and I on our first day home. The boys lived in the apartment for about a week in between our move. Ron and Padfoot were not getting along very well (i.e. Padfoot freaked out any time he saw Ron) so Ron was sleeping in our room and Padfoot was in the office. We quickly learned that we should have made opposite sleeping arrangements because Ron is a young bunny, energetic, and a giant mess. I gave him a sheet of cardboard to sleep on so he wasn't directly on the wire floor. At 4:30 a.m. we woke up and moved him to the kitchen due to the continuous chchchchc WHACK chchchchchc WHACK as Ron pulled his cardboard up, then stomped on top of it to knock it back to the ground.

Ron also did not appreciate where his litter box was placed in his cage, nor was he satisfied with the amount of litter in it. Thus, he moved it, kicked it, chewed it, and flipped it onto his head until he was satisfied and his box empty.



This is Padfoot, doing what Padfoot does best. Padfoot is still adjusting to having a loving home with a baby brother who lives across the room. He was taken into custody because there were too many animals at his former residence. I think he lacked attention and feels threatened by other animals. He thumps a lot and won't let us hold him, but I have "touch therapy" with him daily, where I sit and pet him for a time without attempting to hold him. Padfoot loves lettuce, but not iceberg lettuce. He will only eat organic spring mix. My boy knows what he wants.

The Boys: Backstory

We recently adopted two pet bunnies, whom I affectionately refer to as "The Boys." Here's the story of their joining our household:

I grew up with rabbits and left them at home when I came to school in BG. As time has passed, all of my home bunnies have gone to rabbit heaven. For quite some time, I'd been begging Jesse to let me have a bunny, but he insisted that our two bedroom apartment could not fit any pets (touche). For graduation, Jesse took me to Build-a-Bear and made me a bunny. Neville Longears has been with us since December and I've loved him much in that short time, but I still desired a live bunny.

Then came "The E-Commerce Pet Rescue Sqad." My coworkers are both pet rescuers. One is in denial because she doesn't want to become "the cat lady," but if you ask anyone else, her fate is sealed. A few weeks ago, my other coworker (who has also rescued a cat and took personal responsibility for the well-being of a stray dog who wandered onto the company property) came into the office and said that a black bunny was hopping around outside the apartment complex. We were immediately concerned because a black bunny is a domestic bunny and wouldn't stand a chance outside.

Naturally, not being able to leave work, I called Jesse and kindly asked him if he would walk to my coworker's apartment building (I had the car at work with me) with a box and attempt to catch the bunny. Meanwhile, my coworker decided to contact our office manager and request to leave work to go assist Jesse. So Jesse met my coworker for the first time on a pet rescue mission. The bunny hopped away...at which point Jesse discovered a cage with an open door...

Well I got to thinking. We got on petfinder.com at work and I found a picture of "Cocoa," a mini lop bunny at the Hancock County Humane Society. After realizing that Hancock Co. is a kill shelter, I immediately called Jesse and asked if I could adopt "Cocoa."

He agreed...and then I was on the website again and I saw an adorable lionhead bunny named "Humpty" (he came in with Dumpty...how unfortunate...I had to help). Jesse said I could only have one but I showed him the picture and he was sold.

Jesse went down to Hancock County while I was at work and met the bunnies. He brought them home and after initial personality assessment, we renamed "Cocoa" Padfoot and "Humpty" Ron. Now we have three boys: Neville, Padfoot, and Ron (NPR).