“I need a rabbit with a special personality,” the caller tells me, and goes on to describe the rabbit she lost. The rabbit begged to be held, licked her face. Do I have a rabbit like that in my foster home? As we talk, it’s revealed that the caller has another rabbit, one that lives outdoors, in a hutch. This rabbit isn’t special, and in the callers’s mind, never will be.
If a rabbit actively seeks attention from humans, the rabbit receives rewards of petting, treats, companionship. The rabbit expands with pleasure and trust, becoming even more demonstrative. The positive cycle of becoming a “special rabbit” has begun.
But what if the human, not the rabbit, must be the one to start things off? Sadly, the “special rabbit cycle” may never happen.
I look at the rabbits I have needing homes…but can think of no rabbit more needy than that shy rabbit in the hutch, just as ready to expand with pleasure and trust…to be a special rabbit.
Holly O’Meara
House Rabbit Journal Volume II, Number 9