A lot people get surprised when I tell them that I have a house rabbit, and more so when I tell them that my rabbit (Cinnamon Bun) is free-roam and lives like a cat. Even though a practice of keeping rabbits as house pets seems to be becoming more and more popular today, it's still not as common as dogs or cats.
I Wanted a Dachshund
I never thought that I would have a house rabbit until few years ago
I always wanted a dachshund and my dream had been to find a long hair, blond color, miniature dachshund before I become 30 years old. The reason for this is because my cousins had a dachshund named Lala and she had been a huge part of my life until I moved to the United States from Japan. Since my cousins lived next door and we were like an extended family, Lala came to visit our house all the time and even stayed over at least few nights a week. I have not seen her since I went back to Japan about three years ago and I miss her greatly. I was determined to find a dachshund that looks just like her! Also, I don't really like cats and my husband is allergic to them so a cat wasn't a consideration in my case.
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| Lala |
My First Interest in Rabbits
Fluffle of bunnies at Japanese Rabbit Cafe
Maybe because I'm a Japanese girl, I love everything cute (kawaii) and fluffy animals are my favorite obsession. In Japan, pet cafes, especially cat cafes, are very popular. When my husband and I were living in Tokyo, we visited a rabbit cafe. Most rabbit cafes require reservations so the rabbits won't be overwhelmed and stressed from too many visitors. The rabbit cafe we went provided us drinks and snacks, vegetables for the bunnies, and an opportunity to interact with super cute bunnies. It was a little weird to see rabbits running around and lounging in the cafe, which kind of looked more like a small apartment, but it was also refreshing and the bunnies there were so cute and fluffy!
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| Me with a rabbit at a rabbit cafe in Tokyo |
Wild rabbits in Alaska
My husband and I spent the summer in Valdez, Alaska in 2016. To our surprise, there were hundreds of wild rabbits in the town! Although they looked more like domestic rabbits than wild rabbits. There were many baby rabbits as well as adult rabbits and they were indescribably cute! Every time when we went to the town, we saw the bunnies eating grass or hopping around, and I could not forget about how cute they were even after we came back to Arizona. Then I started researching about rabbits and looked at cute bunny pictures everyday.
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| Rabbits in Valdez, Alaska |
Dog or Rabbit
I didn't know that house rabbit was a thing
Even though I started researching about rabbits, I wasn't really thinking of actually getting one. My research was simply to satisfy my curiosity and enjoy looking at cute bunny pictures. But then I found out that some people have free-roam house rabbits. I was intrigued by this fact and I started researching about house rabbits, and I started thinking that I might want a rabbit instead of a dog.
But I wanted a dachshund too! So I made a list of pros and cons of having a dog and that of a rabbit.
I don't remember the complete lists that I made but it was something like below.
Pros of dogs:
- Dogs are cuddly and friendlier than rabbits
- I can take them outside on a leash
- I have experience handling dogs
- They bark and whine
- I need to take care of poops and pees several times a day
- They need to be washed when they get dirty
- Inside of the house would likely get dirty and smelly
- I need to take them for a walk regularly
- They don't bark or whine
- They groom themselves so I don't need to wash them regularly
- They can be litter trained like cats and I only need to clean the litter box once a day/ few days
- I don't need to take them out for exercise
- They are cleaner than dogs
- It's likely that they're not as friendly as dogs and most of them hate to be picked up
- They require grooming/brushing when they shed
- Vet expense might be more costly than dogs
- I don't have a lot of experience handling them
Making lists really helped me decide that a rabbit might be more suitable for us. My husband didn't want a dog because dogs are loud and make the house dirty and smelly. I don't like the sound of dogs barking and whining either. Moreover, taking care poops and pees, walking, and washing are pain in the ass...
So we got a little bunny rabbit and we're very happy with her! I have to admit that I sometimes wish Cinnamon Bun was more like a dog because she doesn't let me pick her up and cuddle. But we can still cuddle on the floor and be friends so it's ok. My husband doesn't really like animals but I can see that he's in love with her too (he thinks that they're bonded bunnies...). However, I don't think rabbits make good house pets for everyone because they're generally skittish and fragile, and require more work than a lot of people imagine.
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| Me and Cinnamon Bun cuddling |
ayam ayam tarung ayam bangkok
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