Bye-bye Bunny: Our Mr. Rufus

Last night, we lost our bunny of nearly nine years.

This might seem especially silly to some (or probably many) people, but our rabbit, Mr. Rufus, was more to me than just a bunny.  Some people see rabbits as similar to hamsters--they are rodents--and others set their rabbits in a hutch outside.  Mr. Rufus was more like a cat or a dog to us.  She was litter-trained.  She had free run of the house most of the time.  She would jump on the couch for snuggles.  Even though we also had two dogs and a cat, Mr. Rufus was in charge of the house.  The other animals were interested in her, but respected her.  She loved junk food, especially Doritos, but we kept her to a strict diet of Oxbow bunny food, hay, and fresh greens.  She loved to have her forehead rubbed (she would grind her teeth like a cat purring) and ears massaged.  She was definitely a member of the family.

Growing up, my family nickname was Katie Rabbit because my sister wanted my middle name to be Rabbit.  I guess in this way I was set up to have a special, soft spot for rabbits since before birth.  As a kid, rabbits were always my favorite animal.  I begged for a bunny, but my parents always said no.

When I was 18, I finally convinced my dad that a Holland mini lop would grow no larger than the palm of his hand.  Sorry, Dad, but I was thinking of a dwarf rabbit.  Mr. Rufus grew much, much larger, but I didn't care. 

When I first got her in fall 2004.

You might be wondering why she was named "Mister".  When I got her, the pet store told me that she was a male.  When she was old enough to be neutered, we took her to the vet, but she came back spayed instead.  She was six months old by then, so the "Mister" just stuck anyway.  

I treated her like a puppy--no, I treated her like a child.  During the first couple of years with Mr. Rufus, I took her everywhere I could and places that I shouldn't.  We snuck her into Chris's dorm.  We took her on "walks" on a leash.  We took her to play on the playground equipment at the park.

In the spring, I took her for bike rides.

In the summer, I put her in the pool.  Did you know that rabbits are excellent swimmers?

In the fall, we carved pumpkins together.  

In the winter, she played in the snow.

I slowly realized that she probably didn't enjoy these activities and just went along with it, so I stopped lugging her everywhere as much.  However, that didn't mean that she was "left behind" or forgotten in any way.

When I went away to Longwood for college, I brought Mr. Rufus with us.  I lived in a dorm, but Chris lived in an apartment with three other guys, so Mr. Rufus lived with him.  Looking back, it must have seemed so strange to bring a rabbit to college, but to me, she was one of the most important parts of my life.  I couldn't leave her behind.

Mr. Rufus in the fall garden.  I had this grand image in my head of her enjoying greens straight out of our garden.  She was not interested; she always was a little nervous outside.

Through the years, Mr. Rufus was ever-present in the action of our home.  We kept her cage in the den so she would always be around us.  We let her run around the house whenever we could.  Chris always said that he hoped she'd still be around when we eventually had kids.  He wanted to share her with them.  And then we had Eliot.  Eliot loves all animals, but he really loved that bunny.  In fact, the first time he pulled to a stand, he used her cage.

Eliot grew from a baby to a toddler.  He had to be taught to be gentle, but he was generally good with her.  He loved to help feed her.  He would patiently scratch her head while she sat safely in her cage.  And almost every day, Eliot would lay on the couch and beg for me to set Mr. Rufus next to him.  She would snuggle next to him and he loved to scratch her head.  He called her "Foo-foo" before he could say "Rufus".

Eliot and Mr. Rufus sharing an apple.

Mr. Rufus really was in charge of the other pets.  Here is Dexter submitting to her while she scented his nose.

Last night, we were letting Mr. Rufus run around the house like usual.  We've been doing this since she was a little bunny.  And then when I went into our bedroom, she was just laying there dead.  Eliot saw her.  She had some loose fur around her and Eliot cried, "Rufus apart!  Rufus apart!"  I took him away and got him to sleep on the couch while Chris buried her in the backyard.  I have no idea what happened.  She had slowly been losing weight over the past handful of months.  She was old for a bunny.  Rabbits have heart attacks easily, so I am guessing that is what happened.  I feel really bad for Eliot because when he woke up this morning, he shouted, "Rufus apart!"  The poor boy thinks his rabbit just fell apart, I guess.

I try to keep in mind that she lived a long time and had a good life for a rabbit.  So many rabbits are bought at Easter when they are cute and tiny, and then their owners put them in a cage in a corner or drop them off at a humane society.  Mr. Rufus was loved throughout all of her eight and a half years.  I hope that she knew that we liked her a lot.