Rabbits 101: My Best Success Story and the Whole Point of Doing a Rabbit Primer

(Previously: The Basics I, The Basics II, and The Hazards)

A Primer to the Domestic House Rabbit: My Best Success Story and the Whole Point of Doing a Rabbit Primer

1. Cadbury, the Church Rabbit
2. What has been done: the "Make Mine Chocolate" campaign and the house rabbit memes
3. What needs to be done: education, education, education

Cadbury, the Church Rabbit

Early 2001.  While I was living down in Jacksonville, Florida, I remember my sister and I playing outside of church when we saw a rabbit down the street.  We told our mom about it and she passed it off as just us mistaking a wild rabbit for a domestic one.

Sure enough though, next week, our pastor came up to my mom and said, "There's a rabbit at the front of the church.  If we catch him, will you take him?"

He knew that we already had rabbits and that we would take care of him.  My mom agreed and not five minutes later, over half the congregation was outside trying to herd this one rabbit towards the corner of the fence.

There's something to be said about watching a grown man try to reach for a rabbit and then quickly back off when that rabbit charges back.

You see, we weren't sure how long Cadbury was out running around that neighborhood (which was always filled with stray dogs and cats, so it's amazing he hadn't been killed).  What we were sure of was that he was out there long enough for him to get mean.

This rabbit would get spittin' mad just by you walking by his cage; we used to call him Caddy Baddy.  Even after his neuter, he was still aggressive.

I've always worked well with the hard case rabbits - and that all started here.  I found that if I just sat with him, he would calm down (I didn't know about gazing - a rabbit's way of bonding, where they just sit and look at each other (or at you) - at the time; frankly, I was sort of just winging it).

I didn't try to hold him and kiss him, I simply sat there.  Occasionally, I would reach over and scratch his head  - carefully (I let him see my hand, but I didn't put it near his mouth).  When rabbits try to bite something coming in from above, they have to tip their heads back, which can be awkward for them, so they also try to circle around.  So the goal was to start scratching his forehead before he started in on circling.

Caddy, for all his fury, couldn't fight against a good head scratch.

But I didn't push it.  This is important.  You can't push yourself on a rabbit.  This is true for all critters with a bad past - you have to take things at their pace, not yours.  Rushing through a healing process can be just as damaging.

Anyway, after five/six seconds head of scratches, then I'd lean back and go back to my book or drawing or whatever.  And he'd go back to glaring or turning away from me - giving me the butt - as he pointedly groomed himself and ignored my presence.

I repeated these sessions about two or three times a day, every day.

It wasn't long before he stopped trying to bite my hand, and not much longer after that he stopped growling at everyone who walked by.  His ears didn't go flat anymore when he saw me coming to feed him (I was the only one at this point who could reach into his cage to grab his food bowl).

He still had moments where he would revert back to his old self, but as weeks turned to months and our sessions continued - those moments became fewer and farther between.

And as the months turned to years, Caddy and I became inseparable.  We would take naps together and spent countless afternoons watching TV together as we shared an apple or banana or carrot.  It even got to the point where I could use him as a pillow!

Caddy passed away in my arms in 2006.  He was one of the best rabbits I've ever had the pleasure of living with.

Cadbury, 2005

What has been done: the "Make Mine Chocolate" campaign and the house rabbit memes

The MMC campaign began in 2002 at a Columbus, Ohio rabbit shelter.  It partners with various organizations to spread awareness about the plight of Easter rabbits.

Their Facebook page offers many different types of promotional material that can be printed off and distributed within businesses (or anywhere, really).

One of the many types of posters available for download

I would be remiss if I didn't mention Sadie Lovington Nibblesworth's Home for Wayward Rabbits and Tea Parlor who are the creators of these fabulous memes:

What needs to be done: education, education, education

So, what is the point of all of this?  It's simple: education! Spreading the word!

A few years back, Subaru released a commercial that showed a woman and young child releasing a domestic rabbit into the woods where it was "adopted" by a wild rabbit.  The ad was almost immediately pulled after the backlash by bunny activists and you can't even find it online.

The commercial helped to perpetuate the myth that domestic rabbits are fully capable of taking care of themselves in "the wild."  I know several rabbits who would disagree with this...

Stella disagrees with certain people's life choices.

Sidebar:

It's not just the domestic house rabbit that is misunderstood - wild rabbits are, too.  If you see a nest of baby wild rabbits - leave them alone!  Mama rabbits only visit the nest twice a day to avoid attracting predators to the nest.

It is illegal in the state of Oklahoma to have a wild rabbit in your possession.  If you find one that is injured, you can take it to Wildcare.  I know there are a lot of well-intentioned people out there, but a lot of the times they do more harm than good.

Leave the babies alone.

One of my main goals for this primer is that, even if you only glance at it, that you retain something that can influence you to speak up if you hear someone talk about getting a rabbit.

And as always, remember: adopt, don't shop.

Thank you for taking the time to read this!

Bye!