^_ About Bagel

Bagel is a female Dutch Dwarf mix, she is small with a lot of personality. She is very friendly. Bagel has many human friends, a dog, and three cats, two who think she is in league with the dog, and one is her friend.

^_ More About Bagel

Bagel is now five years old, and I often reflect on how we met. I was on a field trip with a group of people to Half Moon Bay, California, and we were just walking around, window shopping when I had this inexplicable urge to go into a feed/pet store. I walked in and walked directly to what turned out to be the bunny cage. At the very front of the cage were two baby bunnies, one, black and white, and the other, I have no recollection what it looked like. They were fighting over a peanut! The black and white one "won" and sat there munching on the peanut. I had a week before I was to return home, and animals weren't allowed where I was staying, but I just had to have that little bunny. So, for $55 I got the bunny, a carrier, some food, a water bottle, and by the end of the transaction, a name. She was black, with a white nose, and a white ring around where her shoulders and front feet met. It looked like a bagel, hence, her name, Bagel. She was so sweet. From the minute I got her, she was docile and sat quietly in my hands. She was really small then. I put her in my pocket and she lifted her head to look out, but seemed content and comfortable.

When I got her to my room, everything changed. My kids had had rabbits before, but I had never "bonded" with them. They were cute, and we took care of them. They lived outside. When I got Bagel, I learned that it really wasn't good for rabbits to live outside. So, I planned to keep her inside. How, I hadn't figured out yet. I was just glad to have her. I had a large, walk-in closet, and that's where she lived, in her little carrier when I wasn't in the room. When I was there, I let her out to exercise, and that was when she surprised me. She had a "personality." I put her down on the floor and she took off at a dead run. I couldn't catch her! I just had to wait until she tired herself out to pick her up, when she once again became very docile, and over the course of the week, cuddly. Her antics were funny to watch, because she'd run in one direction and then suddenly change direction. She'd go under the bed, run back and forth under there, and then suddenly shoot out and run under another bed. She was so fast! Other people in the house where I was staying came to visit her. We had to keep her a secret. Everybody knew but nobody was telling. It worked. When I took her home, I was still recovering from a long illness, and our little relationship grew more trusting. Holding my soft, little bunny was healing for me, and taught her to be friendly. People who came to visit remarked that she was like a cat. They'd pet her, and she'd nuzzle their hands. And over all this time, through some injuries and illnesses of Bagel's, she's become a beloved pet.

^_ Peculiar Habits.

From a human perspective, Bagel's reactions to sound and mechanical objects defies my understanding.  The telephone startles her.  She'll run, or at least freeze, if she hears one.

Then there's the fan...  There's nothing so exciting than to see my bunny with her fur blowing back, cooling in front of the fan in the summertime.   Since we live in a hot climate, I have several powerful fans around the house that go nonstop all summer.  These are favorite places for her to stretch out and sleep, too.

But then there's the vacuum cleaners...she is curious, follows them around (when they're on!), nudging and bumping and sniffing them as if they weren't the inanimate objects that they really are (to us.)  So, when I vacuum, I have a buddy that I have to be careful that I don't run over.  The roaring sound that sends my seventy pound dog running with her tail between her legs doesn't seem to faze my seven pound bunny!  Even cleaning up her litter area takes on a more pleasant aspect for her when I do it with the vacuum.  She doesn't seem to be bothered by the fact that a couple of times she's accidentally gotten her nose in the way of the hand vacuum, which one would think would be alarming, but not for her.  And to top it all off, when I leave the shop vac out, with its long curling hose, I've found her nestled into the curves, sleeping peacefully.            << Back

^_ Poem About Bagel

House rabbit and all ears. Expert at chewing.
Beware! Affinity for telephone and ethernet cords!
It is possible to "Bagel proof" the area.
She gives back more love than can be given to her. 
Loves wheat grass, bark, sweet corn, and parsley.
Friendly to cats and dogs who are not hostile to her.
Loves children and adults alike.
Loves to snuggle.

Rides in a baby sling.
The best pet ever!