Once again, I heard a demonic like snorting emanating from under the bed while laying the sheet on top of my mattress. It was followed by a gentle yet intentional head butt along with the feeling of fur against my foot telling me to back away from the bed or else. “Dammit, Halo. It’s me. It’s always me.”
For the past seven years, making the bed has been an
adventure few experience. My pet rabbit, Halo, makes sure of
that each day as she vehemently defends
her territory which consists of under the bed, a nearby litter box, water
bowl and food tray. If so much as a toe infiltrates her domain, I hear about
it.
Bang
With a name like Halo,
you might envision a sweet, cuddly, little angel, right? She has
her moments. More often than not, however, Halo is a rabbit with a clear sense
of what is hers, and doesn’t hesitate to let me know. Perhaps Bang, Bonk or
Snort might have been better choices of names, but who knew.
After making my bed, I went to the kitchen to grab a bag of
lettuce as part of the morning routine. I generally give Halo a heaping handful
with a small piece of fruit or carrot a couple of times daily. As I leaned over
to place the lettuce on her tray, my little angel rushed out from under the bed, and with her two front paws raised, knocked the bag out of my hands with determination. Leaves flew everywhere.
This is not the first time either. It seems it mostly happens on the mornings I’m running behind schedule and can’t spare a moment to clean up the leafy blanket of green strewn across my bedroom floor, bed, or even the night table depending on the force Halo was able to whack the bag with.
This is not the first time either. It seems it mostly happens on the mornings I’m running behind schedule and can’t spare a moment to clean up the leafy blanket of green strewn across my bedroom floor, bed, or even the night table depending on the force Halo was able to whack the bag with.
“Bad rabbit!” I said sternly knowing the admonishment would have little impact on
future behavior. She just looked at me with those big, soft, brown eyes
feigning innocence while munching on the tender leaves she had liberated from
the bag.
Bonk and Snort
Rabbits make a grunt sound when they are just not happy about
something. Halo has taken the grunt to new heights.
Her grunt is a bonafide snort. It sounds like her head is about to spin around, and is rather disconcerting.
The snorting occurs any time I mess with what’s hers. There are times she allows me in her space - at her discretion of course. The one time she gets the biggest rise out of me is while making the
bed. That’s when she combines snort with head butt. She still can take me by
surprise at which time the words “Dammit, Halo,” are my standard response.
My rabbit is all about posturing, though. In the seven years we have
known each other, she has not so much as scratched me. In that
time, she has also lived in relative peace with two separate dogs. Her worst has been rearing up on her furry hind legs and snorting loudly. In one instance, I supported her actions as my goofy
puppy was attempting to rough house with her. Bunnies do not rough house.
I stood ready to intervene, but Halo had it under control. In fact, Kona, my
dog, and I give Halo a wide berth when entering her space. I mean, who wants to be snorted at?
The Beginning
My bun came to live with me after surviving terrible conditions.
Halo, along with 39 other rabbits, were fancy breeding bunnies housed in small
cages and used for profit. When their owners could no longer afford the rent on their property,
they suddenly left abandoning 40 caged rabbits.
The rabbits were starving to death when discovered. Some
didn’t make it. Halo survived. I adopted her a few months after Mary Ellen
Whitehouse of Bunny Lu (http://www.bunnylu.org/) rescued her. By the time I came to adopt her, she looked strong
and healthy having been thin, weak and dehydrated when found.
I chose Halo for two reasons. First, when I looked into her
eyes, I recognized something familiar in her. It was a feeling like I knew her - a soul recognition, if you will. I can’t explain it better. The second reason is she looked sturdy. Prior to
Halo, I had a bunny named Sparkles. She was a happy, loving rabbit who was
healthy one day and deathly ill the next (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCoE31n2l0o). She died suddenly. It broke my heart.
So, I wanted a sturdy rabbit this time around.
Clover and Halo
I brought Halo home to be part of a blended family: human,
dog and rabbit. My dog Clover had lived with four bunnies prior and treated
each one like her puppy. She snuggled with them and cared for them. It was
love.
Clover was no spring chicken when Halo came to live with us.
As Clover’s health declined, and vision failed - her balance became challenged. At that point, Halo functioned as her eyes and helped her navigate sharp corners in safety.
She also slept cuddled up near Clover as company. It was amazing to witness the
bond between them, and even more, the care one little rabbit showed an old, sick
dog.
The day came when we needed to say goodbye to Miss Clover.
It was a terrible day for me. I’m sure it was a huge loss for Halo as well. We
had both lost our best friend.
Halo never snorted at Clover. There were never any territory
disputes. It was share and share alike. Unlike with me where snort, bonk, bang
were (and are) daily occurrences.
New Puppy
My life seemed empty without a dog, so in came Kona.
Things were OK as long as the rambunctious newcomer was smaller than Halo, but
that lasted only about three months. With all the high energy puppy play, Halo had to set some clear boundaries. It took a few dedicated snorts to define her territory, but Kona now understands his place, and it is not
under the bed or near Halo's consecrated turf. Not EVER!
I do feel the need to add, the entire process was closely
supervised. That little bunny, even with all her rabbitude, needed a caring and watchful eye.
She Loves Me
Things have gone on much the same between Halo and I for the past seven years. In addition to snorts and head butts, Halo chooses when I can pet her. Given her history, I can understand. Still, I would love to be able to scoop her up and snuggle at will! Nope, nope, that’s just not who my self-possessed, independent bun is.
Things have gone on much the same between Halo and I for the past seven years. In addition to snorts and head butts, Halo chooses when I can pet her. Given her history, I can understand. Still, I would love to be able to scoop her up and snuggle at will! Nope, nope, that’s just not who my self-possessed, independent bun is.
At the conclusion of another day, I look over at Halo before turning off the light. I gaze into those big, soft, bunny eyes and swear I detect love as they stare gently back at me.
