My Buns

Today, I buried the first animal I ever brought home as a pet. His formal name was Mr. Coats, more affectionately known as Buns. He was my bunny. The first time I laid eyes on him, he looked like a furry baby turtle. That’s all it took. He bobbed his head at me in approval. He even approved of my boyfriend at the time too. When I broke up with the boyfriend, Buns kept me afloat. I’d get home late, every night at midnight, and clean out his cage. I’d sit with him, talk to him, and sing to him. We loved each other very much.

Years later, whenever I walked into the room and he heard my voice he’d go nuts. Running all around his cage, fur and pellets flying. We gave him fresh and dried fruits. He hated banana. Don’t ever give a rabbit mushy food. They’ll think you’re rotten.

I had to give him up to my mom and dad to take care of when I found out I was allergic to him. I couldn't tell when he still had his baby fur. That hurt. I wanted to love him till the day he died. But my mother did that for me. My dad would clip his nails and give him new carpeting (he was a high class bunny). My father and uncle build an outdoor cage for him from scratch. It even had shingles on the roof. He did not appreciate it the first time we put him out there. He was furious that we would do such a thing. But we always brought him back in during the winter. Still, he would have preferred staying indoors all year.

He didn't care about grass or wild flowers. The first time we put him outside on a leash, yes a leash, he didn't know what to do. The flowers he loved to eat from the clovers with the purple flowers to the plentiful dandelions around the yard were gone on him once he was on the ground. It could have been the fact that he’d never seen fresh grass before in his life. In hind sight, we shouldn't have been surprised that he preferred the carpeting.

He was like a cat. If you loved him, he loved you. If you ignored him, he was mad at you. If you put him outside away from everyone else, he wasn't going to eat your stinking flowers until he got over the injustice to his life. He wanted to be near you when he wanted attention, to go take catnaps every afternoon, and it was especially fun to chase you up and down the hall, run between your legs, and use you as an obstacle course.

He was well loved. I will miss him even more, now that I can’t go have an asthma attack to hug him. No more red eyes and runny nose from sticking my face in his fur. No more petting his nose. A pet who lets you pet their nose trusts you. Honor that trust the best you can. And love them as much as you can while you have them. They are joy.