Being a Pet Owner

up all the furniture and he was nowhere to be seen. Now, I felt really bad about this, so I just let that tank hang out for a long time until the water had evaporated, which I know sounds horrible. But I don’t know, I was 19 and felt really bad that I couldn’t find this fish, so I just let the tank hang out just in case. All fish endeavors aside, what I really wanted was a rabbit. The fish were kind of a starting point to prove that I could keep something alive for a good amount of time. What sparked it is that I went to the Topsham Fair and saw these very cute adorable baby bunnies. And of course, at the fair they let you hold them and pet them and they were for sale and I couldn’t get it out of my head, “oh my gosh I want this rabbit,” and the initial mentality is “ooh I’m an adult with adult money I

Finding a vet was one of the main concerns because rabbits are considered exotic pets. This means that normal veterinarians are not trained in how to take care of rabbits’ little bodies; a lot of them are just trained on cats and dogs. If my furry little friend were to get hurt or sick I couldn’t just take them to any normal vet, so I had to figure this out. I made many phone calls and found out that there are not very many. The smartest phone call I made was to an animal shelter. Because they had rabbits for adoption, they knew who could be a vet for rabbits in the area. It worked out that there was one in Portland.

I had to bunny-proof my house, much like baby-proofing except rabbits’ teeth will chew through furniture, carpets, cords, shoes, and really anything any other animal would or could destroy. I got a tie for my curtains, and an enclosed shoe rack so they could not be easily accessed, and I started saving some cardboard. I thought that I did a really great job: my house was spotless, and I figured everything was out of reach. I would later learn things were not in fact out of reach of a rabbit and after many new charging cords and a rug I learned what the routine of destruction would be.

Kelly Ledsworth / Design Director

can make this decision,” but I really had to stop and think about the fact that it’s not just me, it’s this small creature’s life also at stake. So I went in and did my research. I watched many YouTube videos, particularly from Lennon the Bunny, who is a YouTuber that goes over all of the things you should expect when having a pet rabbit. What I found out is that rabbits are not easy to care for. Yes, they are cute and cuddly and look like they’d be the perfect pet if you want it bad enough. The main thing though is that these are not for children. The amount of care and effort and money and energy that you have to put into these animals in order for them to survive adds up. Before I was going to make a commitment like that I needed to know that my space and I would be prepared for it.

Then it was time and I went and picked out the biggest rabbit I could find from the local animal shelter. Her name was Pickles, and she was an eleven pound rabbit. She is part Havana and part Silver Fox. This means she is all black with flecks of silver starting halfway down her back, and she has the cutest little white and black toes. This rabbit was meant to be mine and it was instant love. The people at the animal shelter said she was distant and had been adopted four times before, but returned for being mean. The last home had multiple rabbits and they would fight one another, even drawing blood, and it was not a good place for her. When I brought her home she ran around, lounging in sun spots and coming up and just plopping down next to me. She was even binkying and I felt so special. Binkying is something a rabbit does when they are so full of joy they jump up, wiggle, and contort their bodies in the most miraculous way.

She has grown over the years to trust me so much and I’m grateful. She is completely litterbox trained and wellbehaved. I have taught her tricks such as spin, and jump up, and she comes when she is called. I have become so used to her that when she is not feeling well I know.

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