Campaigning Day.

I had to look after things at home again today while the other two helped out at The Rabbit Welfare Association stand at the Veterinary Nurses Conference.

We are desperately trying to get people to join so they can spread the word about so many important things people should know about rabbits. If you join you get four fabulous magazines a year and all the information you need to know about bunnies in the house and in the garden. The main problem is the size of hutches. People put their rabbits in hutches that are far too small for us. We need a house which is at least 6 feet by 2 feet by two feet. Then of course we like a run so we can binkie and improve on our running speed. I'm the best speed runner in the world but I get plenty of practise in this house. Well, I could miss something exciting if I were too slow.

I heard that in Germany there is already a law to make sure hutches are big enough. Maybe in Holland too but I am waiting to find out about that from a Dutch friend.

If you join the Rabbit Welfare Association there is a helpline in case you want to ask questions.

Anne Mitchell came home to see me afterwards. That's Anne in the middle of the picture. Now, Anne thinks all bunnies should live in pairs but my brother didn't like me very much so we had to be separated. I did my bit to charm her, jumped up beside her on the sofa, chewed at the carpet fringe while J tried to stop me while I ducked and dived, dashed about to show how fit I am and so on. I was so proud when she said what a wonderful life I have. Well, I sorted that out myself with my training sessions for people. Quite easy if you persevere. None of those hutches for me thank you. Not of any size or shape.

Killer rabbits.

I was listening under the table when the man came to get my Aga ready for chilly days. I always like to listen in when somebody comes. He said he had heard on the TV programme called QI that trappers in very cold countries who tried to get through the winter by living on rabbit meat alone died of malnutrition. Sounds good to me but I wonder where Mr. Fry heard that? Has anyone else heard it

Mind you, I don't think I could live on just grass. One food only wouldn't be very interesting. Even my cousins in the wild manage to find a bit of variety.

I have a small worry at the moment because my favourite things are apple leaves and they are beginning to fall in my garden. Along with my baby greens, sweetheart cabage and, yes Lennie, yummy peaches, I have a wide assortment of stuff to munch. It changes every day so I always look forward to my meals. I hope I don't lose all my apple leaves.

I'm still snoozing quite a lot. Most of the time in fact. My second in command is the same. We are very happy hanging out together.
Got it!!!

The only solution is to pee.

The signs are there. Travel basket with a fresh cuddle blanket inside and my facecloth with a blue bunny on it which smells of me. You can bet your bobtail it's ...............

VETS!

Weigh in, then bottom shave which = being left to look after the house while they go away which = Pauline and Bev which = more treats which = more time to doze during the day instead of that continuous chatter and kisses. Not bad at all.

It's just getting through the scary vet visit and makeover that's the worst and the feeling of complete helplessness when the 'scope is forced into my mouth for a teeth check. The scales are slippy so I can't get a grip for an escape leap. Awful. I'm used to being upside down for a bit while my rear end is dealt with every day so the shave is tolerable.

I was so scared in the waiting room that I peed on my fresh bed and was shaking. J picked me out and cuddled me and whispered in my ears which made things a bit better. Normally I don't like sitting on her lap but at times like this I love it because I know she understands and it makes me feel safe.

To crown it all, I was referred to, yet again, as a geriatric rabbit.

All done, anyway. Best to forget about it and drop a few hints about getting my dish filled up. Hello? Anybody there?

Carrot-free zone.

I've gone off carrots! It's official. Maybe not for ever but I'm putting it in my diary so I will remember. I thought I might write to the papers. " Rabbit refuses to eat carrot." More interesting than the stuff they publish most days. I rip them up if I find newspapers on the floor.

Carrots go with rabbits. Always. So, what's left for me? Well. there's.....

......homegrownbeanleavespeatopscarrottopsfreshgreenssweetheartcabbageflatleafparsarsleymintappleleavesbananasandsoon. When the dish is empty, I sit in it. I can get most of me in there and when they spot me, they fill it up again. Nothing to it.

They are talking about it here of course. Is it his teeth do you think? Open his mouth and have a look. No, you open his mouth. He doesn't like it. Should we take him to the vet? No, if it were his teeth he wouldn't be able to eat his crunchies and he is eating his hay which he wouldn't do if his grinding teeth at the back were troubling him. We'll wait and see then.

Phew, no vets. I hadn't thought of that.

My bedtime carrot is still left beside my dish when they put the lights out but somebody gets rid of it during the night. Hmmm.

Heard from my friend Lisa, yesterday. She has a lionhead bun to keep her house in order and help her run her Hay Experts business. She was very worried the other day because she couldn't find her. Eventually, she looked behind the sofa and Noonie had chewed her way into the back and was fast asleep inside. I think that beats my frilled arm cover. I'm so jealous. What a bun!!

As far as the carrot thing goes, why shoudn't I go off things? People do and after all, I am just a furry person after all.
What's this? Diving board? Chewy mat?

Can rabbits count?

Anne Mitchell, who is the most important person in the world because she runs the Rabbit Welfare Association, says rabbits can't count. Is she right? Does a doe bun know how many kits she has? Would she go looking if she found she was one short? Would she really know if one were missing?
Birds know. They spend hours in my garden searching for babies once they have left the nest.

Our old labrador could count but only up to three because she was the fourth member of the family and she could only see three others. If J gave her 4 little biscuits she used to take three of them away under the stairs then only come back to look for more when she had eaten them. If she was given three, she didn't bother looking for more.I've been given a pot of green buttons from Waitrose to count but I just knock it over when it's put in front of me. We are saving them for a rabbit charity although the collecting box is a long time coming. We have given Waitrose lots of information about the Rabbit Welfare fund and how badly rabbits are treated and how people like Ingrid Tarrant are great supporters of buns so we are hoping for something. If you have a Waitrose nearby you could ask them to include rabbits in their list. Dogs and cats seem to do very well with collections but rabbits seem to have been ignored. Shame on you, Waitrose.

One, two, seven, twelve, nine..............zzzzzzzzz

Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund
PO Box 603
Horsham
West Sussex
RH13 5WL

Birthday portrait.

I am eight and this is my one hundredth entry in my diary so it's a very special day. As nobody knew my exact date of birth I celebrate for the whole of July. Well, I try to.

Now, do I times by ten or by seven? If it's ten then I am eighty but if it's seven then I'm only ummmm, would it be sixty four? No. That sounds like a song.

Anyway, I'm still as fit as a fiddle and can still jump as high as a kite and can run as fast as a ....rabbit. I get plenty of practice in this house.

I was to have a birthday portrait done but only on condition I would allow J to groom me before hand. Nope. Not for a hundred birthday portraits. I don't mind my head and ears brushed gently but no further down my back thank you very much. We buck rabbits have our pride. Doe buns might like to be titivated so they can attract good looking chaps like me but not yours truely. If I can't get to some bits to straighten then they have to stay fluffy. Rabbits don't get fur balls like cats, thank goodness. Well, rarely.

Eight is a good age for a rabbit. My cousins in the wild rarely live longer than eighteen months,or so I read in a book. This is my pensive look by the way.
I might take a short nap now. Napping is one thing you are allowed to do when you are as old as I am.
Before I go, I thought you might like to see my latest artistic creation. I did it all by myself on the best sofa. I know George will like it. He loves frills.

Happy birthday to me.

Parisian chats.

They've been away again which pleased me no end because they arranged for a friend to come and watch TV with me in the evening. I still had my usual maid, Pauline, who deals with things in the morning. The best bit was, Bev didn't know how much carrot I am allowed so I OD'd on it and put on a few grams .

All in all, they were delighted because I had been losing a smidgeon in this hot weather. Bev said, "He likes to be hand fed doesn't he?" You betcha!
Mind you, she sent a text message to my lot in Paris complaining about how loudly I snore. Did she have to mention it?

Talking about putting on weight, what do you think of Mimi's friend, Tom Tom?

It must be difficult to get enough exercise being an indoor, apartment-living cat but he can still jump up onto kitchen benches.

Mimi keeps telling TT he should not be trying to steal croquettes from her tin because he's too fat but the problem is, Mimi is bi-lingual and is speaking English while TT just speaks French. I think Dani, his mum, should teach him a few phrases before she takes him to Mimi for his holidays or maybe Chachat who lives in Edinburgh could give him a few words of advice. I think she speaks French. Now, yours truly can fly through the air like a puff of wind. I can't imagine TT will ever be able to do that.