They Who Must Be Obeyed

(Cecilia and Max, waiting for parsley.)

I adopted Max and Cecilia from a school when they were just little guys, about 7 weeks old. I saw them first at about 3 days old. Two of a healthy litter of five, the birth was a surprise as rabbit births often are. I'd never kept rabbits, so I did my homework. Located what few books exist on the subject, researched on-line, even built them a high-rise wire shelving cage. Got them both fixed as soon as they were old enough. Didn't want any inbred babies from the siblings.

What do I like best about house rabbits? One word- binky. I still laugh every time.

These two are a deeply bonded pair. They are never more than a few feet from each other and get along very nicely without us, thank you very much. (Except, of course, for that food/clean cage/ fresh water part, but they don't appear to know it.) "Huu-mans? We don't need no stinkin' huu-mans..." Insert bunny cackle here.

Their personalities couldn't be more different. Cecilia is the dominant one, the curious one, a total bulldozer. Nothing phases her. She's more engaged with us than Max is, and lets us know if we're in her territory with a few swift nose-pokes to the ankle, which usually occurs when were sitting at our own human desks, in our own human chairs. She's a smart girl, and I can see the wheels turning, minute to minute.

Max is sullen, enigmatic. He grunts a lot, and never hesitates to voice any and all displeasure. I'd swear Max is mildly depressed. He has a perpetually sour look on his face; even the shape of his eyes is peevish. I'd take a picture for Disapproving Rabbits, but his glossy black fur doesn't show much detail. The depth and breadth of his cantankerousness is best experienced in person, anyway.

For our companionship needs at this stage, we really couldn't have better pets. They are *definitely* not demanding of our attention- in fact, I often wish we had lap rabbits, cuddle bunnies. These buns don't care for human touch. They are just over two years old, and sometimes I hope it might change as they age. Though, I must say, I'm not counting on it. They're just not that into us.