Wednesday, June 17, 2009

BUNNY BUSINESS

On East Prospect, in Fayetteville, TN, I stopped at a home with a "Bunnies for sale" sign in the yard. I haven't held a baby bunny since I was a small child. Dad found one on the farm and brought it to the house. Soft and fragile, covered with down, breathing tiny breaths, its heart beat fast. We were concerned its mother wouldn't care for it once we'd touched it. He took it back to its nest with our childish blessings.

Jenny answered the door with a smile. I inquired about the bunnies. She was happy to give me a tour. Hutches of four cages on each side shaded adults and babies. I didn't know that mothers pull their hair out to make bedding for their babies. We pull ours out later. Rabbit hair looks and feels like wool. Newborns are hairless and pink, rat-like, with closed eyes. Several females had litters of nine.

They breed a variety of bunnies with ears that stand up, as if starched, and those that droop or lop: mini-lops, Dutch-blue, (grey to black and white markings), mini-rex, standard-rex (white with brown spots), Holland-lop, (small, golden brown with a bull-dog face), black mini (The sun bleached its black to hints of dark red.) My favorite was the Rex. It felt like velvet, the Velveteen Rabbit.

If you are in the market for a cuddly pet, call Keith and Jenny, 931-993-7898. You won't be disappointed.

2009 Red Convertible Travel Series

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