A Tale of Three Rabbits

They say, “Hop.” I say, “How high?”

I always told myself that if ever I owned a pet, I would not become one of those people who stored their pet food on top of the washing machine or have various pet paraphernalia strewn all about the house.  But, and make that an overly emphasized but, love has a way of reshaping our hearts and homes.

My home has been known to look museum curated neat, or so I’ve been told in an indirect manner.  Not a stitch out of place.  Call me compulsive?  Yes.  So how is it then, that three little cottontails named Tosh, Prea, and Tiah have woven their way into my heart?  It’s quite simple—love, which has a way of massaging the areas in most need of attention—my compulsivity.

Before I knew what was happening or had any say in the matter, Tosh showed up one day on our front lawn.  Soon after, Prea followed.  And as of recent, baby Tiah.  By the time Tiah was born, we had a system in place.  Morning apples and carrots to supplement a grass-fed diet.  Each morning like clockwork, three little sets of paws, with three sets of enormously round brown eyes, appear alongside the rosebush trellis, staring expectantly at our home.  And every morning, I squeal with glee and delight and run with hands waving in the air to retrieve their food.  As you can see, they clearly have me wrapped around their little paws.  They say, “Hop.”  I say, “How high?”

The rabbit food that sits on top of our washing machine is store bought, and of the highest quality.  Yet, they much prefer eating away on what nature intended them to eat.  The natural grasses, a smattering of apples, and lots of carrots.  However, I love looking at the packaged pet food on the washing machine.  For, to me, it symbolizes a home with a heart, which is something no amount of straightening can ever provide.