Why Must Religionists Forbid Tasty Foods

I can't help but notice that many religions limit adherents' diets. They think that they're holy if they don't eat certain things or consume specific foods. Nothing could be further from the truth.

We know that the descendents of Israel were forbidden to eat certain kinds of animals. This was done for health reasons as well as to separate them from their pagan neighbours.

One example of this was the prohibition  of eating pork. We read in Leviticus 11:7 (BBE), "And the pig is unclean to you, because though the horn of its foot is parted, its food does not come back." That means it doesn't chew the cud like a cow does.

We have refrigeration and better inspection regulations now. Because of this, we needn't worry about Trichinosis. Sadly, Muslims and orthodox Jews still refuse to eat pork.

Then there are religions like Hinduism which worship cows as well as other creatures. It's a serious offense in India for anybody to eat beef. I've read many accounts where Christians were attacked for doing so.

And of course we know about vegetarians and vegans. They don't realize that our bodies require  animal protein. We also have canine teeth, something herbivores don't have. As I found out with my rabbits, they have a gap between their incisors and their molars.

Since we obey Christ, we can eat pretty much whatever we want. As he said in Matthew 15:10 and 11 (BBE), "And he got the people together and said to them, 'Give ear, and let my words be clear to you: Not that which goes into the mouth makes a man unclean, but that which comes out of the mouth.'"

This foolish idea of spiritually-defiling food clung to the first-century churches. That's why Paul wrote what he wrote in Colossians 2:20-22 (BBE). "If you were made free, by your death with Christ, from the rules of the world, why do you put yourselves under the authority of orders Which say there may be no touching, tasting, or taking in your hands, (Rules which are all to come to an end with their use) after the orders and teaching of men?"

If our Lord tarries until Saturday, I hope to post about a song regarding one journey no one should take.

ONE STRANGE KITTEN

Cats certainly do have some interesting personality quirks. Yet there was one kitten I knew who had some extremely quirky habits. He was one of a litter born to my mom's Siamese cat named Cocoa.

Because of his grey fur, we called him Cloudy. The other three kittens in the litter were black. Cloudy also had a dark grey Hitler mustache.

Adding to his quirks was that he had a speech impediment. Instead of meowing like a normal cat, he'd say, "Gow!" That was handy since we didn't even need to wonder which one of Cocoa's kittens wanted attention.

Cloudy also loved to retrieve woolen flowers. My sister Diane had bought them to decorate her knitting projects. Cloudy discovered one on the floor and dropped it at our feet as we sat and watched TV. "Gow!" he insisted and pawed at the flower. Diane tossed it across the living room and Cloudy chased after it. To our surprise, he came trotting back with the flower in his mouth. "Gow!" he exclaimed as he stared at us again.

WE soon tired of the game but Cloudy didn't. We'd be engrossed in the program on TV when We would hear "Gow!" behind us. If we didn't respond, Cloudy would paw at our feet until we complied with his wishes. Never have I known of a cat who retrieved toys to be tossed again by his or her humans.

We all missed the kittens when they were given away by Mom.  I think we missed Cloudy the most. He was so loveable and eccentric that we often spoke of how silly he was. Forty-one years later, I still remember that spring and the fun we had playing fetch with that silly grey kitten with the little mustache.

I haven't written much about my family's pets but I did write a memoir of my rabbits which I had as an adult. They too had their own quirky quirks. For Example, Gideon hurled rolled-up socks between his hind legs like a football quarterback. Harry was so self-possessed that he often fell asleep on his side in the kitchen doorway. Neutrino was a little bunny with a huge attitude. These stories and more are told in When A Man Loves a Rabbit: Learning and Living With Bunnies. Check it out on my Bruce Atchison's books link.

DEPRESSION EFFECTS RABBITS

Why is it that many people figure rabbits are dull pets? The answer is simple and obvious. Locking bunnies inside isolated backyard hutches or tiny cages without human interaction causes them to become depressed. As we know with people, depression takes away any incentive to be active. Consequently, rabbits are seen to be boring fur balls who just eat, sleep, and excrete.

I was once of this opinion. Because nobody told me otherwise, I assumed that rabbits were lacking in intelligence and affection. How wrong I was. In 1996, I discovered a newsgroup called alt.pets.rabbits. The things I learned about bunnies amazed me.

Thanks to the friendly folks there, I learned that bunnies can be litter-trained and they lived much longer after being spayed or neutered. The most important lesson I learned is that rabbits can live in our homes like cats and dogs.

Why was that so important? When bunnies are allowed space to play and have humans to hang out with, they come out of their shells and become active. Give a rabbit a cardboard box house with two doors in it and he or she will spend hours playing or sleeping in it. Bunnies also enjoy tossing noise-making objects, like plastic keys for babies, around. Additionally, a toilet paper tube stuffed with hay is a toy as well as a snack to them.

Because most caged rabbits lack social interaction and mental stimulation, they sink into deep depression. Even food isn't a cause for excitement for those poor creatures. Since their European ancestors lived in large colonies and burrowed underground, lacking a hiding place and companionship is unnatural for them.

House rabbits, like the many that I've lived with, developed distinct personalities when I treated them like pets instead of possessions. They each had their own little character quirks as well as likes and dislikes. I've also enjoyed interacting with them. Even changing their litter boxes and watching them get all excited when I set the plastic tubs down on the floor for them was always an enjoyable experience.

I wrote a memoir of the first eight years I spent with my long-eared companions in When a Man Loves a Rabbit. I only have a few copies left of this book so e-mail me if you're interested in buying a copy.

BLACK RABBIT WITH ATTITUDE.

Why does Easter make me feel sad? Many adults buy bunnies for their children for Easter without realizing what they're getting into.  Most likely, many once-loved bunnies will be surrendered to animal shelters or cruelly dumped outdoors to fend for themselves. Some will be "loved" to death while others will end up exiled to a lonely cage in the back yard.

With resources such as The House Rabbit Society website, people lack the excuse that they couldn't find information on house rabbits. In fact, many folks believe they don't need to learn anything about how to care for these mentally-complex creatures.

As I found out, bunnies are like other pets. They get into mischief and some have attitudes. In When a Man Loves a Rabbit (Learning and Living With Bunnies), I wrote about one little Netherland Dwarf with a big ego.

Because he was small and black, I named him Neutrino. It was partly because he was so hard to see in semi-darkness but also because of my favourite Klaatu song, The Little Neutrino

My little fur friend had a stubborn streak. One of his bad habits was to pee in front of places he thought needed marking. Though Neutrino had been neutered, he still defied the usual bunny stereotype of being perfectly litter trained. When I placed litter boxes where he wet, he nosed them aside and peed on the same spot. No amount of cleaning and spraying with strong-smelling cologne detered him.

I should add that most rabbits are better behaved than Neutrino was. Even so, some are strong-willed and, as a result, are surrendered to shelters or dumped outside. Many otherwise-loveable bunnies die or are euthanized as a result of feckless humans who should have done their homework.

When a Man Loves a Rabbit is filled with many more fascinating stories of life with house bunnies. These vignettes range from the tragic to the hilarious. Please click on the link to my books for details about both of my paperbacks. You're also welcome to contact me directly for more information.

RABBIT-PROOFING A COMPUTER ROOM.

bunnies certainly can get into mischief, as I've discovered on numerous occasions. No matter how careful a person is, these buck-toothed vandals seem to find ways around preventive measures.

During my years of having house rabbits, I've been defeated many times by clever lagomorphs. In my debut memoir, When a Man Loves a Rabbit (Learning and Living With Bunnies), I wrote about how destructive my long-eared companions became at times. Here's an example of how I was outwitted by one determined bunny.

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Around that same time, Harry began to be quite a pest. Perhaps my being gone all day on Tuesdays and Thursdays, while I took a Windows course in Edmonton made him feel abandoned. He was especially naughty in April when he pushed  a box to the PC desk, hopped on it and chewed a placemat. He also knocked the mouse off the keyboard shelf.

Fortunately, Harry didn't chew the cord through, but he almost bit the plug off. I thanked God that Pastor Wayne Sykes was able to solder the wires back together for me and it worked just fine. Then Harry nibbled a chunk out of the middle mouse button.

On another occasion, the sneaky wretch nipped the computer's keyboard cable. Thankfully, there was no electrical damage and I finally got the hint. I immediately covered all the peripheral cables with wire wrap and aluminum tape.

I did three things for Harry that distracted him from his destruction hobby. First, I turned half a box upside down, put a chair over it and cut doors in it. He had fun going in and out as well as peering at Gideon through the NIC barrier.

Next, I took a box lid and sat some water bottles inside. Harry loved the resistance when he tugged at the edges of it with his teeth. Lastly, I gave him a paper grocery bag and he loved hopping inside it and ripping the other end open.

All these distractions helped keep my lop-eared lad out of mischief, but it wasn't a perfect solution.

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When a Man Loves a Rabbit is filled with many more fascinating stories of life with house bunnies. These vignettes range from the tragic to the hilarious. Please click on the link to my books for details about both of my paperbacks. You're also welcome to contact me directly for more information.

THE EASTER BUNNY HOLOCAUST

Am I being melodramatic when I describe the annual sales of under-aged rabbits to unprepared people as a holocaust? I don't believe so. Having adopted many cast-off bunnies from families who didn't want them anymore, I feel that I'm right.

Even my family succumbed to the allure of having a cute bunny. During April of 1968, my mom and I did some shopping at Woodward's department store. A fenced-in table attracted our attention. Six or eight tan-coloured rabbits regarded us curiously through the chicken wire as we strolled up to their enclosure. "Let's get one for Diane," Mom exclaimed. "Which one of them do you want?" I chose a lighter blond coloured rabbit. A store clerk put her into a cardboard box with holes punched in it and we smuggled our new pet home on the Greyhound bus.

My sister was delighted with our new bunny at first. As time passed however, both of us tired of her. She was eventually consigned to a lonely hutch in the back yard. That poor animal died during summer due to our ignorance.

For some perverse reason, people feel compelled to tell me their dead rabbit stories. I've heard of dogs attacking the bunny, "it" getting sick and dying, or even worse. The fact that a domesticated creature with emotions and feelings died or was left to fend for itself in parks doesn't impinge on their consciences.

Doubtless people would feel differently if they knew how to care for house rabbits and realized what delightful companions they can be. Since 1996 when I found out about the House Rabbit Society, I have shared my home with quite a few delightful bunnies. From the incredibly-curious Gideon to my present rabbit, Deborah, I've felt such a close bond to my long-eared friends. They also repaid me with their affection and cute antics.

Because of the rampant ignorance regarding rabbits and the tricks some breeders resort to, I wrote When a Man Loves a Rabbit: Learning and Living With Bunnies. It shows how each rabbit who entered my care changed from a shy fur ball to a charming and intelligent creature. By letting them be themselves, I've had many happy years of companionship with each of them. Check my Bruce Atchison's books page for more about this marvelous memoir.

BEEZER TURNS THIRTEEN, PROVING RABBITS LIVE LONG

Last month, I heard the wonderful news that Judith Barnette's bunny had reached the venerable age of thirteen. Whenever I hear of a rabbit crossing the ten-year-old line, I rejoice. It proves that bunnies aren't short-lived creatures as many uninformed folks think.

The reason that the majority of people believe rabbits only live for a few years is that they don't know how to take care of them properly. The first mistake novice bunny owners make is to put their pets in backyard cages. Exposed to the elements and insects, these poor creatures often have next to no shelter as a wild rabbit would. The confined space allows their muscles to atrophy. Diets of alfalfa pellets also make them obese. Worst of all, rabbits can die from fright, even if a predator can't get at them. Since people aren't around those poor bunnies, they don't notice the subtle signs of illness or distress. No wonder the public believes rabbits live short lives.

When rabbits are allowed to live indoors and are given space to run, an amazing transformation takes place. Once shy and timid creatures become playful and affectionate companions. Rabbit lives are also extended by giving them good grass hay and greens such as romaine lettuce.

Additionally, bunnies love to chew and shred paper. A box with openings cut into it, along with an old phone book without the covers, becomes a fun playground for these long-eared companions. Bunnies love playing with toys too. My Deborah loves to slam down an iced tea lid and move it about. She also does that when she thinks she should be fed. Watching a rabbit playing is one adorable sight which the backyard cage crowd misses out on.

Rabbits require veterinary care just as cats and dogs. Exotic vets are the best ones to take bunnies to since they're more likely to know about rabbit diseases. Wellness checks are also a good idea since these prey animals hide their symptoms so as not to attract predators.

I've had many rabbits live long lives. Neutrino lived for ten years. Gideon lived for seven and a half until I had to have him put down. Deborah is seven and a half but is still healthy. Had I left these bunnies in the backyard in a smelly old hutch, they would have lived short and miserable existences. Because I let them live with me and I treated them like beloved companions, they lived long, happy lives.

Some of my friends have had their bunnies live longer than mine. For example, Sheila Frappier's Tango is eleven. Other folks on the rabbit lists I subscribe to also have senior rabbits above ten years old. In fact, I've rarely heard of rabbits passing away before they entered their second year unless they weren't taken care of properly during their formative months.

I wrote all about my long-eared friends in When a Man Loves a Rabbit: Learning and Living with Bunnies. It and Deliverance from Jericho are on the Bruce Atchison's books link

I have a new book out called How I Was Razed: A Journey from Cultism to Christianity. Read more about how God brought me out of bondage at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Virtual Bookworm Publishers.

WHERE TO FIND MORE GOOD HOUSE RABBIT INFORMATION.

I wrote in April about the The House Rabbit Society and the wealth of information there. That post brought a few helpful comments about other excellent sites.

For a list of what rabbits can and can't eat, read the PDF file at MediRabbit. In fact, MediRabbit has all sorts of good information on bunny health.

Another good site to visit is Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Virtual Bookworm Publishers distribute Kindle, Nook, and paperback editions of my testimony of God's love.

By the way, I now have a RebelMouse page. It shows all of my online activities on one convenient page. That saves you from having to go to multiple sites to find out what I'm up to, or perhaps down to.

AN EXPRESSION OF PURE JOY.

What was the sweetest demonstration of pure joy that you saw an animal express? Most people know about playful dogs and some know about frisky cats but what about rabbits? Most folks would be surprised that these animals have their own way to express their happiness.

One of these ways is what certain rabbit owners call binkying. A binky is a leap straight up in the air, sometimes accompanied with a twist of the body. Many rabbits often land facing the opposite way from which they ran. Frequently, the bunny will look confused or bemused. Binkies are common with young rabbits who feel confident about their surroundings. When these pets are allowed to live in a home, either in a large pen or free range, they delight their humans with these magnificent leaps.

Another way rabbits have of expressing happiness is racing from room to room or up and down a hallway. My bunny-loving friends call that the Bunny 500. The sheer ecstacy of living in a safe enviroment causes rabbits to race around for the fun of it. I remember being startled by a noise behind me as I worked on my computer one morning in 1998. I turned around and saw Gideon racing back and forth in the hallway. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get his Bunny 500 race on video.

Rabbits will also shake their heads and torsos before hopping to some desired place, such as the food bowl or a human offering petting. This is a diminished form of joyful expression but it still indicates pleasure. Sometimes a rabbit will do a sort of ear wiggle to express excitement.

Though rabbits thump to sound the alarm, they sometimes slam their feet down to express excitement. I've seen quite a few bunnies check out a room and then then thump. It's like they're saying, "This is mine! All mine!"

Bunnies also will wiggle their tails before racing off somewhere. This is either a show of defiance to a human or an expression of playfulness. In either case, it shows that the bunny is happy in his or her environment.

After working off their excess energy, house rabbits often flop on their sides with their feet kicked out behind them. My friends call this "happy feet." It's a demonstration that the bunny feels relaxed enough to risk a slower take off at the first sign of danger.

If rabbits feel very secure, they'll risk sleeping on their sides with their eyes closed. As in this picture of Deborah snoozing on the rug, bunnies feel that they can let their guards down and relax.Moments such as this are missed by those people who keep rabbits in tiny cages. What a shame that more folks don't know that they can experience such sublime sights if they chose to.

In When a Man Loves a Rabbit, I wrote about many wonderful times which I had with my long-eared companions. Please check this paperback out at the left side of this page.

I recently published How I Was Razed: A Journey from Cultism to Christianity. Check it out at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Virtual Bookworm Publishers

THERE'S A DOG INHALING MY BEDROOM.

Thirty years ago, I lived in a basement suite while a young couple rented the main floor of the house. They had a large dog with a golden fur coat while I have a black bunny. I named her Focus, after one of my favourite Dutch jazz-rock bands.

My neighbours and I kept to ourselves for the most part. But their dog had different ideas, as I discovered one afternoon. As I closed the bathroom door and strolled across the laundry room, I saw that silly animal with his nose pressed to the gap under my bedroom door. I couldn't help but giggle when I heard him snort deeply. The dog was so interested in the enticing scent of rabbit that he didn't notice me until I was beside him. He gave me that look dogs usually give when they want something. "No," I said as he started wagging his tail, "you can't go in there."

The memory of that fascinating animal scent must have lingered in that dog's mind. A few weeks later, I heard a noise in my kitchen around supper time. When I walked in, I saw the dog sniffing at Focus through the wires. She sat as still as she could, doubtless hoping that scarry animal would go away. The dog looked up at me and wagged his tail. He let out a funny yowl as if to say, "I found it." Fearing for my rabbit's safety, I opened the kitchen door and led him into the laundry room.

I made sure to close the door firmly whenever I went to the bathroom after that. The neighbours moved out but I never forgot that silly dog and his obvious glee in finding the mystery animal.

As you can tell by past posts and my When a Man Loves a Rabbit book, I've written much about my long-eared friends. In fact, my family had a pet rabbit when I was twelve. I wrote about her in Deliverance from Jericho. I've recently published How I Was Razed: A Journey from Cultism to Christianity. This memoir also mentions my bunnies. Use the search box at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Virtual Bookworm to learn more about this testimony of God's grace and providence.

CHEWING ONE'S WAY TO FREEDOM.

Rabbits enjoy chewing. This fact was first demonstrated to me when I adopted a Himalayan bunny who I named Gideon. Since rabbits don't understand punishment, I tried distraction instead.

My friends on the rabbit lists helped me with the chewing problem when they told me about cardboard box houses and how much rabbits enjoyed chewing them. In my When a Man Loves a Rabbit (Learning and Living with Bunnies) memoir, I wrote about how I invented a chewing game for Gideon. Here's how it happened.

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One November afternoon, while shopping at Dickensfield Mall, I found a cardboard box with hand holes and no lid. I took it home and decided to play another prank on Gideon.

I placed the box over him and waited to see what he’d do. Would my bunny bro try to chew his way out?

At first, he pawed at the holes. When that didn't work, he started nibbling at the bottom edge of one of them. My bunny buddy made steady progress and the hand hole grew larger. He tried several times to hop through it, but broke off the leap at the last minute.

His whiskers must have told him it was still too small.

Finally, he leapt through the new opening and took his bearings. That silly rabbit seemed to be having so much fun chewing the box and ripping it up that he almost forgot he was escaping it. He hopped in and out of his former prison, rejoicing in the novelty of his newfound freedom.

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When a Man Loves a Rabbit contains many more vignettes of my life with house bunnies. Please check it out by clicking on the Bruce Atchison's books link on this page.

Meanwhile, check out my newly-published How I Was Razed memoir on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Virtual Bookworm pages. Type "How I Was Razed" into the search box to find it.

THE BUNNY BERRY THIEVES.

Have you noticed that some of your pets are afraid of cleaning equipment while others become inquisitive? I've had this happen with many of my rabbits. As I describe in the following excerpt from When a Man Loves a Rabbit (Learning and Living With Bunnies), My long-eared friends had widely divergent reactions to me tidying up their areas.

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Though Gideon was fascinated with the carpet sweeper and Neutrino kept a respectful distance, Harry attacked it every time I tidied up his droppings in my studio. As the blue beast gobbled up his calling cards, he lunged at the intruder and growled as fiercely as he could.

I couldn’t help but laugh at Harry’s determination to vanquish that invader and drive it from his favourite spots. His attacks and my sidesplitting laughter made the chore take twice as long. Rabbits sure can get protective of their areas.

The bunnies also reacted comically to the vacuum. Gideon was fascinated with it and hoovered every inch of the machine, while Harry tackled it. On the other end of the reaction scale, Zacchaeus and Neutrino just took evasive action whenever the machine zoomed by. Esther never saw the vacuum, since I didn’t feel like lugging it downstairs, and though the carpet sweeper interested her, she never attacked it.

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When a Man Loves a Rabbit contains many vignettes such as this one. Please click on the Bruce Atchison's books link to learn more about it and my Deliverance from Jericho memoir.

I've recently published How I Was Razed: A Journey from Cultism to Christianity. Use the search box at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Virtual Bookworm to learn more about this testamony of God's providence.

WHY BUNNIES HATE WIRE-BOTTOM CAGES.

One mistake that most owners of rabbits make is to use cages with wire-bottom floors. They don't realize that these are hard on the poor animals' feet. Bunnies also become uncomfortable with the noise and feel of the metal grid underfoot.

I should have remembered that lesson in 2004 when I reluctantly caged my house bunny. From my When a Man Loves a Rabbit memoir, here is an excerpt showing how rabbits despise wire flooring.

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While looking in his hutch one day, it suddenly occurred to me why Gideon stayed in his bedroom most of the time. The wire flooring in the main part of the hutch bothered his feet and made distressingly loud noises. And it probably felt strange because of its flexibility.

I had lots of cardboard pieces gathering dust, so I put one next to Gideon’s bedroom door. He sniffed it suspiciously at first. Perhaps my little prince had forgotten how nice it was to sit on cardboard.

When I checked him later, he was not only loafing on it, but also ripping shreds off one corner. I’d given him someplace to sit and something to do. That made me happy and I apologized to Gideon for not realizing what he was trying to tell me.

Sometimes we humans can be so obtuse.

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When a Man Loves a Rabbit (Learning and Living With Bunnies) is my debut memoir of my life living with rabbits. Please click on the Bruce Atchison's books link to learn more about it and my Deliverance from Jericho book.

I've recently published How I Was Razed: A Journey from Cultism to Christianity. Use the search box at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Virtual Bookworm to learn more about this testimony of God's providence.

Understanding Your Rabbit’s Habits By Tamsin Stone.

Why is the third most popular pet in America and Canada so misunderstood by people? Perhaps it's because they never learned the proper way to look after them. Worse yet, many of the books about bunnies are filled with bad advice.

One book that isn't filled with mistaken ideas regarding the nature of rabbits is Tamsin Stone's concise compendium, Understanding Your Rabbit's Habits. Illustrated with helpful drawings, it explains many physical and psychological reasons for the behaviour of pet bunnies and their wild European cousins.

From extensive research and observations of her rabbit, Scamp, Stone has put together a guide that is sure to help novice bunny owners. Even long-time "rabbit people" will enjoy and appreciate this book.

Being unlike dogs and cats, these animals react to situations differently. For example, they hate being picked up since it's like being caught by a predator. They want to keep all four paws on the floor and receive petting on their terms. Bunnies also love loafing under couches and beds because they feel protected there. Such places are like the warrens or ground cover of their ancestors.

Being herbivores, these animals instinctively chew on things. Since the teeth of rabbits continue to grow, they must eat plenty of hay to wear them down. Without cardboard boxes to chew on and newspaper to shred, indoor bunnies tend to destroy carpets and electrical wires. By rabbit-proofing rooms and making, cardboard box houses with a doorway on opposite sides, these natural-but-problematic behaviours can be redirected from dangerous or valued household objects.

Rabbits have a high degree of intelligence, a fact unknown to many people. Their wild cousins also have complex social hierarchies. Pet rabbits retain the same instincts and emotions, something to keep in mind when keeping them indoors. Otherwise they might seem aggressive, skittish, or naughty to their human caretakers.

Stone runs a rabbit rescue organization called The Rabbit House in the UK and she also blogs at http://www.therabbithouse.com/blog/ about bunny-related topics. Her book can be ordered from the The Rabbit Hous/ page. A Kindle version can be purchased through the www.Amazon UK site. It would make a wonderful gift for any rabbit-loving friend or family member.

GIDEON THE WATCH RABBIT.

Believe it or not, I once had a watch rabbit. He didn't frighten burglars away but he did alert me to one person who entered my suite. This is how I discovered that Gideon, my house bunny, could actually be of help to me.

During August of 1997, one of the plastic bolts on the toilet seat snapped. I called my landlord the next day to come and replace it.

As I tidied up the bathroom the next afternoon, I expected my landlord to arrive at the front door. Suddenly I heard Gideon race out of the kitchen at top speed. All I saw was a white blur zoom past the bathroom door and into the bedroom. He stood there, ears straight up and eyes wide open, thumping his alarm.

As I started to leave the bathroom to calm Gideon down and see what frightened him, The landlord lugged his large tool kit down the hall. That must have been what panicked my fur sir so badly.

The fact that bunnies could be useful as alarms never occurred to me. His alertness made me feel somewhat safer.

After that day, I bragged to my friends on the PetBunny e-mail list that I had a watch rabbit.

When a Man Loves a Rabbit, my memoir of Gideon and his long-eared friends, is filled with many more fascinating stories of life with house bunnies. These vignettes range from the tragic to the hilarious. Please click on the link to my books for details about both of my paperbacks. You're also welcome to contact me directly for more information.

Additionally, please visit The House Rabbit Society site for everything you need to know about bunny care.

AUTOBAHN: THE HIGHWAY TO ELECTRONIC MUSIC EXPLORATION.

During twenty-one years of my life, I composed and recorded my own form of electronic music. My passion for this genre began in 1975 when I became an instant fan of the German group Kraftwerk. I first heard their hit Autobahn played on CHED, Edmonton's local rock music radio station.

When I bought their first three albums, I felt inspired to create my own sonic textures. Other electronic artists intimidated me with their racks of expensive synthesizers but Kraftwerk's early music could be produced even by poor musicians such as me.

I began tinkering with various circuits and acoustic sound-making devices in my housekeeping room, during the late seventies, for my own amusement. I couldn't imagine that anybody would be interested in my style of compositions so I never mentioned my hobby to anybody.

In December of 1984, I discovered a program on CJSR radio called Departures. The host, Marcel Dion, played all sorts of fascinating compositions plus he invited "home tapers" to submit their music for broadcast. Believing that my works might have a chance of being played, I copied all of my experiments onto a cassette and hand-delivered it to Marcel in March of 1985 as he was airing his program. Those early recordings were very primitive but as time passed, I bought better gear and improved my technique.

During the summer of 1998, and in honour of my beloved house bunny, Gideon, I recorded an album called Lagomorph. The title refers to the family of animals comprising rabbits, hares, and pikas. When I visited the House Rabbit Society web page containing the word rabbit in different languages, I decided to title each of my new tunes with those names. It took me a few months to finish recording and manufacturing the album at my home, partly due to my freelance writing work, but also because of other interruptions.

Though my music never sold well, I had fun creating it. I now write books and articles but I still have a large number of my electronic music CD-Rs collecting dust in my basement. Please contact me directly if you're interested in this style of music.

I also wrote about how I combined my love of house rabbits and electronic music in my How I Was Razed: A Journey from Cultism to Christianity memoir. Please check out the links on the left hand side of this page for details.

HOW TO BATHE A RABBIT.

NEVER immerse a rabbit in water. I learned from personal experience that they can become extremely stressed, enough that they could die, when plunged into a bath. These animals keep their fur clean in much the same way cats do.

Nevertheless, there are situations when bunnies need their hind ends bathed. In my When a Man Loves a Rabbit: Learning and Living with Bunnies memoir, I wrote about a terribly-neglected fuzzy lop named Harry who was given to me by a friend of a friend. This is what I did to make him half-way presentable to the vet.

Rabbits aren't bathed like dogs, needing only an inch or two of warm water to be washed in. Since his paws and butt were the dirtiest part of him, I didn't have to fill the tub much. I made sure the water was tepid and that I had towels handy to dry my bunny off afterwards. Since I didn't have baby shampoo, I had to make do with hand soap. Then I fetched Harry.

I knew that rabbits disliked water but I didn't realize how much of a fight the poor guy would put up. Harry squirmed, wriggled, and tried every trick he knew to get out of the tub. He even attempted to leap out twice but I pushed him back in. Then he stared at me with the most reproachful look I'd ever seen. Harry must have thought that I was torturing him the way he gave me that "shame on you" look. It took a while to soften the faecal material and peal it off of him. The job would have been easier if he had held still. Both of us were glad when the ordeal was finally over.

Harry still smelled a bit but not nearly as strongly as before. I set him on some old towels and dried his fur as best as I could.

I wrote about Harry, as well as a number of rabbits who lived with me, in my When a Man Loves a Rabbit: Learning and Living with Bunnies memoir. Please check the links on the left hand side of this page for information regarding this paperback and Deliverance from Jericho: Six Years in a Blind School.

UNDERSTANDING RABBITS.

After all the publicity in the media about bunnies being a poor choice for children, why do parents still purchase them for their offspring? Any thinking person would realize that these animals are different from cats and dogs. Therefore, they have different needs and exhibit different behaviours.

My mother was one of many unthinking parents who bought a rabbit on a whim. Though it was 1968 and few people even knew that bunnies could be kept as house pets, she should have known that we wouldn't be interested in caring for the poor animal once the novelty wore off.

From my When a Man Loves a Rabbitmemoir, here's how my lack of knowledge about bunnies caused me to misunderstand our long-eared pet.

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As I was attending Jericho Hill School for the Blind in Vancouver, I was only able to be with Samantha over the Easter holidays. Sent home at the end of June, I discovered that she was kept in a large wooden hutch in the backyard. When I asked Mom why, she said that the mess the rabbit made had become too much for her to bear.

I visited Samantha the first evening of my summer vacation and when I knelt and looked in on her, she hopped from the main part of her cage to her private quarters. I opened the door on the side and she glared at me with large brown eyes?as if I were intruding.

I felt rejected by her.

Besides, it was boring watching a bunny through the wire.

I soon lost interest and the poor animal ended up alone most of the time as we went about our daily activities.

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When a Man Loves a Rabbit is filled with many more fascinating stories of life with house bunnies. These vignettes range from the tragic to the hilarious. Please click on the link to my books for details about both of my paperbacks. You're also welcome to contact me directly for more information. Please also visit the House Rabbit Society site for comprehensive rabbit care information.

RABBITS HAVE CHARACTER.

For most folks, the fact that rabbits have well-defined characters is an amazing revelation. The customary notion of bunnies is that they are dim-witted and boring pets, fit only for children.

Otto and Pandora, two rabbits I looked after in 1999, amply proved the public's stereotypical view of rabbits wrong. From my When a Man Loves a Rabbit: Learning and Living With Bunnies memoir, here is an excerpt demonstrating this fact.

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My new responsibilities were totally different in character as well as looks. Otto was a timid Dutch rabbit with a thin blaze on his forehead. The poor bunny had been badly abused at his previous home and had never quite gotten over it. He was frightened by any sudden moves.

Pandora was a mixed breed and considerably larger than Otto. She had lovely white and caramel fur, and her left ear drooped, making her look comical. Pandora was adventurous and full of mischief, living up to her name.

Later that evening, I let Gideon out for his exercise, but I kept the other bunnies caged for their protection. I had heard that rabbits could fight so violently that combatants sometimes killed each other.

Initially, Gideon was extremely inquisitive. He hopped from one cage to the other, first sniffing Pandora and then Otto. True to her nature, Pandora became very interested in Gideon. In fact, it seemed like she was brazenly flirting with The Earl of Hurl. Otto just loafed in his cage for the most part, only sniffing a few times at my bunny boy's inquiring face. Meanwhile, I taped the bunnies and their cute reactions to each other.

Once the introductions were over, Gideon wasn't happy at all that his house had been invaded by two strange rabbits. He thumped almost continuously when his access to the foreigners from Calgary was denied.

I couldn't help laughing. It was as if he were a bar patron challenging new rivals to "step outside?.

When I locked Gideon up for the night, he kept rattling the cage door at me and stomping angrily. I brushed my teeth and headed for bed, but I could still hear him thumping his defiance. The poor guy yearned to mix it up with the two new strangers. I suspect he was eager to establish his dominance over them. And Gideon might have been pleased to find some of his own species in the house. It must have seemed like being an exile in a foreign land and suddenly finding a crowd of people who spoke his language.

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When a Man Loves a Rabbit is filled with many more fascinating stories of life with house bunnies. These vignettes range from the tragic to the hilarious. Please click on the link to my books for details about both of my paperbacks. You're also welcome to contact me directly for more information. Please visit The House Rabbit Society for all your questions regarding bunny care.

BUNNYSITTING WASN'T THAT HARD EITHER.

Did you know that taking care of a rabbit requires more work than caring for a cat or dog? Along with feeding and cleaning litter boxes, rabbits need exercise outside of their pens or cages. They also get into mischief, particularly when you aren't watching them.

In my When a Man Loves a Rabbit: Learning and Living With Bunnies memoir, I wrote about the joys and tribulations of my first bunnysitting job. It was quite the adventure.

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One June morning in 1999, I was listening to my e-mail when a post caught my ear. A woman in Calgary, Alberta, was looking for a bunnysitter. Heather owned two rabbits, Otto and Pandora. She was leaving for Europe for two months, so she could travel and see the total eclipse of the sun.

I volunteered to bunnysit, partly to be of help, but also to have two more bunnies to love.

Heather arrived in Edmonton with her boyfriend Jason. She had brought two cages, pellets and other supplies along with her bunnies.

"Let's put them in the kitchen," I suggested. "I haven't properly rabbit-proofed the living room yet."

Heather agreed and we put Pandora's condo, a Neat Idea Cube or NIC, between the fridge and Gideon's cage. Otto was placed in a white cage with doors on the top. It was not the best kind of housing for a bunny, but it had to do.

"You can keep that cage if you want," Heather offered.

I thanked her, even though the PetBunny folks said such a cage wasn't the best for rabbits.

After Heather gave me the feeding instructions, she kissed her bunnies goodbye and then the three of us humans went for supper at Capital Pizza. Not only was the food good, but I enjoyed chatting with folks who actually thought of rabbits like companions instead of livestock.

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When a Man Loves a Rabbit is filled with many more fascinating stories of life with house bunnies. These vignettes range from the tragic to the hilarious. Please click on the link to my books for details about both of my paperbacks. You're also welcome to contact me directly for more information. Please also visit the House Rabbit Society site for comprehensive rabbit care information.