6/16/08 ~ About 3 weeks ago I lost my pet rabbit, Buhk Buhk. I wasn't sure whether or not I was going to talk about him until I had a recent visit with one of my clients in Manhattan. Her story about how she decided to take in a rabbit reminded me of how my Buhk Buhk came into my life. I became inspired, and that is why I am telling my story now.
My Buhk Buhk was originally named "Buckwheat" by some provincial people living outside of Buffalo, NY. It was believed that had lived with them for about 3-4 years. From what I've heard he was a tough barn bunny who spent his days fighting and mounting other barnyard dogs, cats and rabbits. He was then adopted by a new family that had a little girl who couldn't pronounce "Buckwheat," so she instead called him "Buhk Buhk." They had him for about 3 years and needed someone to care for him when they were moving into an apartment with my friend. My friend asked me if I could care for him and I decided that my life was stable enough to take in a bunny.
Buhk Buhk was much different from previous rabbits I had. For one thing, this rabbit never really had a stable home and also didn't get enough proper attention. He wasn't neutered and he was too old to be altered. He wasn't litter or house trained as well! I quickly realized I had a lot of teaching to do! It wasn't easy at first, this bunny came equipped with plenty of attitude. It took a few weeks for him to be litter trained and about a year to become house broken. He eventually started to respond to my voice when I would call him over. Buhk was such a joy to have in the family, for example: he would eat dinner when I ate dinner, he would lounge around and watch TV if I was there doing the same thing and we would have fun playing a game of chase in the living room. Buhk seemed to win the hearts of everyone in my family. They were all very impressed as to how well trained he was. My father mentioned that I should start becoming a local "rabbit trainer." I initially brushed off this idea thinking that he was crazy (little did I know)!
Buhk Buhk passed away at the estimated age of 10 years old! In case you didn't know, that's amazing for a rabbit. It's funny there have been a few times when I thought he was going to die. I called him the "bunny with 9 lives." When he finally did pass away though, it was almost as if I didn't want to believe it, even though I knew his death was coming for awhile.
I miss him tremendously, but soon I'll be ready to adopt a new pet that needs love and a stable home, just like he did. Thank you to my readers and clients who have expressed their condolences and I will continue to offer tips and my services to you.
Thank you! ~ Jen
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Do You Have A Rabbit Story?
If you have a story that you would like to share, please email me and I will post it.
A Rabbit's Tale: Buhk Buhk's Story
Pet Portrait Services Now Available!
I would first like to say thank you all for showing much support for this site. I enjoy receiving and reading your emails and hope that you'll continue to gain informative material as well as other services from this site. Some of you might wonder what I do besides sharing my love for rabbits. I am actually an artist, more specifically an illustrator (JMV Illustrations). In the past I have done paintings for family and friends of their pets. These pet portraits make great gifts, and I thought it was about time that I should extend my services outside my circle of family and friends.
Please provide two or more clear, close-up photos of each pet. Photos can be mailed electronically or through the post office.
Upon receiving your final invoice, please send payment via money orders, credit card through paypal, or personal checks. Your completed portrait will be sent out as soon as I receive your payment in full. Bounced checks are subject to $35.00 fee.
At this time there will be no framing services for your completed portrait.
Copyright on all commissioned portraits are retained by the artist, and cannot be reproduced in any way without express written consent from artist.
Please fill out and submit this form. I will get back to you to confirm your order within 24 hours. Your info will be kept private.
Please email me if you are having trouble with using the order form.
Can't We All Just Get Along? Mixing In Other Pets
Mixing in other pets is not always easy, especially when you're mixing carnivores with vegetarians. It is possible though for your pet dog or cat to get along with your bunny. What most animals are neurotic about is their territory. It is important to realize that your pets need their own space, food, and toys.
Your pets also heavily rely on their sense of smell. Dogs, cats, rabbits and many other small animals do a lot of their investigating and introducing with their noses. This is imperative information to know when you're going to bring in a new family member.
Here are some tips:
1) For starters, keep your new pet in a separate room.
2) Place toys that your new pet has played with and place them around the house where the other pet members are, so they can get used to the new scent.
3) Eventually, bring out your new pet to the same room but keep it in its cage so the other members can sniff around it.
4) Supervision is crucial when you are going to let your pets make contact with each other. If you're mixing different breeds, (dog and rabbit) make sure the dog remains submissive and your rabbit has dominance. Let your rabbit brush up and sniff your pet. If you are mixing two rabbits, be sure to separate your rabbits if they still can't manage to be friends.
Just like the human world, not all animals are going to get along because of their conflicting personalities. I hope these tips do help you if you still choose to bring in a new pet. Good Luck!
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Image Source: The Cat's Meow
