Amongst the menagerie of pets in my home is a rabbit who takes up a fairly significant amount of square footage in my living room. I bet you are judging me right now. Who lets a rabbit hop around their living room? Me, that’s who. As we head into Easter weekend, I assure you, our personal Easter Bunny is a class act.
The bunny belongs to my daughter and as such, she got to name him. He came with the name Mocha, or something related to coffee, just like all the siblings in his litter, because they were all a beautiful mix of white and dark brown. But my theatre-loving daughter renamed him to honour the thing she has missed most throughout COVID-19: theatre. He is now Sir Andrew Lloyd Hopper (get it?). Mirvish just didn’t seem to suit his personality.
Sir Andrew was adopted from the Upper Credit Humane Society in Erin last May. My daughter wanted a pet who would help her mitigate some of the anxiety of the pandemic. Working in a long-term care home since just before COVID-19 struck, and earning her own money, I knew she was ready to be responsible. I couldn’t say no. The Carpenter tried, but was over-ruled by her logic: animal shelters were struggling to find homes for rescue animals through COVID. When that argument failed, she made her big brown eyes look sad, and well, he got to work building an outdoor play area for the rabbit. This is the kind of parents we are, and I’m good with it.
Our creatures are our family. I’ve lost count of the species we’ve harboured, but all of them except our current dog were rescued. Now that my children are grown, I see that our pets taught them the value of compassion and responsibility for creatures who, in return, gave them unconditional love, and occasionally destroyed their shoes, toys, furniture, etc. (and why I say: “this is why we don’t have nice things”). Sir Andrew is a character for sure. He rules the other animals in the household, all of whom are unsure why he has a litter box, but isn’t a cat, and why he sits up for treats, but cannot bark, or why he gets his own pen in the yard.
I know Scout, the dog, is jealous that Sir Andrew gets table scraps when nobody else does, but having a pet rabbit is basically like having a living composter. Vegetable scraps are never wasted.
A curious creature, Sir Andrew is not shy. He is confident in his presence and apt to chase his animal housemates around the house. I think the cats deserve it. The dog has recently tried to engage the rabbit in a game of ball. It didn’t happen. There was disappointment on both sides. But, Sir Andrew showed off by having a binky (surprise bursts of energy that send him zooming across the landscape, with high kicks and leaps). Sir Andrew puts on one heck of a show. Silly rabbit.
Most times, Sir Andrew is as chill and relaxed as they come. He is quite content to hop about, or enjoy his habitat, watching shows without interrupting me. Every morning, after I pour myself a coffee, he sits at his gate, up on his back legs, and waits for me to deliver his morning greens. He is cool like that.
If the Easter bunny is even half as cool as Sir Andrew, this will be an excellent weekend.
