It always seems to happen. Something funny occurrs but it never gets captured on video. One moment that I would have loved to have captured happened in 1997 with my first house Rabbit. Gideon demonstrated his reasoning skills, as this excerpt from When a Man Loves a Rabbit shows.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There was one funny incident which I wish I had taped.
The few times that Gideon was out all night, he thumped and put his paws on my bedroom door. The noise of his claws constantly woke me and I had to lock him up again. Every night before bed, I would bribe him to go into his cage.
It was comical to see him charge into the kitchen for his pellets and as soon as he was in his cage, I’d close the door. That rascal invariably grew angry and threw the rabbit equivalent of a tantrum when he discovered he’d been fooled yet again. My little prince tossed his toys around and rattled the cage doors in protest.
Watching him, I had a mental picture of little bunny swear words appearing in a cartoon bubble above his noggin and I could almost read his mind.
“Oh no! Not again! I forgot that he was going to lock me in.”
One night, the lure of alfalfa called to him and Gideon raced toward his cage. Suddenly, he screeched to a halt at the kitchen door.
“Wait a minute! If I go in there, I’ll get locked in again.”
As I called his name, Gideon struggled with the decision. Then he made up his mind. My fur-clad lad turned around and ran straight for the bedroom. Like a child who doesn’t want to go to bed, he hid under the desk.
Of course, there was no place where he could get away from me. So I scooped him up in the recommended way, which allowed him no wiggle room. Then I kissed his head several times and carried him to the cage. He threw his customary tantrum when I went to bed, but it didn’t help him any.
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When a Man Loves a Rabbit is filled with hilarious and poignent vignettes like this one. Please click on my books link at the top left of this page and check out this book.
Hi Bruce, isn't it funny how animals can act like children? As I was reading this, I was thinking how if Gideon were my two-year-old, I would throw him over my knee and give him a few good, hard swats on the bottom. Fortunately, I don't have a two-year-old, and I probably never will.
ReplyDeleteAbbie Johnson Taylor, Author of
We Shall Overcome
and
How to Build a Better Mousetrap:
Recollections and Reflections of a Family Caregiver
http://abbiejohnsontaylor.com/blog