by Betty Ann Cassano

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Tiny R

Who Is Tiny R and Where Did He Come From?

Tiny R is a small, black, mini lop bunny that came to live with us about four months ago. Even the circumstances connected with his arrival are part of his adventure. And that's because he almost got run over by our pickup while he was wandering around on the road one night. Being a very black bunny, his fur blended with the asphalt of the road in the dark. If Eric had not seen him in time, Tiny R would have become a flat, lifeless little bunny right then and there.

But fate was looking out for Tiny R that night. He escaped certain death because of Eric's sharp eyes, two halogen headlights and a set of good brakes. As the pickup swerved to miss him, Tiny R was spared. Eric parked the truck off on the shoulder, got out and went back to find out what he had almost hit. There sat Tiny R.

Tiny R didn't hop away into the grasses beside the road or offer any resistance when Eric leaned down to pick him up. He was just a little rabbit, not even fully grown. Where had he come from? How long had he been out in the world on his own? It was obvious that Tiny R was not a wild bunny. He had been someone's pet. But no one was there to take care of him now. And if left out in the wild, he was certainly destined to become some bigger animal's dinner before the night was over.

Eric took Tiny R back to the pickup and put him down on the floor mat. Tiny R was obviously frightened so it wasn't any surprise when he had a small urinary accident on the mat as he rode along on his way to a new home and a new life.

Tiny R, our "Handsome Little Hopper"

How Did Tiny R Get His Name?

Tiny R must have had a name before Eric found him. But since he can't talk, he couldn't tell us what it was. So for a few days we tried out a lot of different names to see which one would fit him best. One name that didn't work out was "Micro". We thought it might fit because he was so small. But it didn't.

Next came "Ninja" because the little bunny looked like he was wearing black pajamas and he liked to sneak around the house. But that name didn't stick either.

We tried and tried but we just couldn't come up with a name that seemed to fit him. He simply wasn't a "Peter" or a "Thumper"or any of the other regular rabbit names. So we kept calling him "The Tiny Rabbit", which eventually became shortened to "Tiny R". After a while it didn't seem odd to call the little black bunny, "Tiny R". So we quit trying to find a name for him. He had a name now. And it fit him just fine.

A Home for a Bunny

For the first day or two, Tiny R spent most of the time in the bathtub. It wasn't that he was dirty and needed a bath or loved to swim. It was a matter of practicality. Tiny R didn't have a cage yet and needed a place to crash for the night. So the only place in the house that we could think of that would keep him safe from the dogs and out of mischief until permanent accomodations could be arranged was the bathroom. And what better place than an easy-to-clean bathtub.

Tiny R did fine in the bathtub. He was too small to hop out and even if he did, the door could be kept closed to protect him from an accidental meeting with the dogs. Tiny R made himself comfortable on his bed made of an old bath towel and settled in. He had his meals at one end on his towel and confined his execretory functions to the end near the drain. We thought it was a very civil and thoughtful thing for him to do since it made easy to keep the tub clean while he was "in residence".

As an added precaution, we made sure that the toilet lid was kept in the down position just in case Tiny R should manage to hop out of the tub and get curious.

Within a day or two, we bought a regular rabbit cage with a wire floor and a metal catch pan underneath. Tiny R thought it was quite nice and set out to make it his own right away. After a thorough inspection, he made two crucial housekeeping decisions: where to sleep and where to locate the "bathroom".

Right away we could tell that Tiny R was a logical thinker. He staked out his "bedroom" on the side of the cage that was nearest the action, where he had a clear and unobstructed view of what was going on around him. The "bathroom" was located in an opposite corner. His "kitchen", where his water and food dishes were located, occupied another corner. The area in the middle was free for playing with his toys, thumping and chewing his sticks. And, it was obvious that he was a boy rabbit because once the rooms and furnishings were layed out, he was through with the project. No more moving things around. He likes his things left just where they are. In other words, "Leave my stuff alone, please".

Odor Control: Priority 1

Tiny R appreciates a clean, fresh cage. And so do we since Tiny R's cage is located in the corner of our living room. Believe me, the smell of stale rabbit urine is extremely strong and is not pleasant for anyone, including the bunny who produced it. So odor control was one aspect of rabbit care that we focussed attention on right away.

Eric cleans his litter pan every two days, then lines it with newspaper. At first we used a heavy layer of kitty litter in the bathroom corner to keep the ammonia odor under control. And that worked very well. But we no longer use kitty litter because we've found something better. I'll tell you about that in a minute.

We were worried about letting a rabbit loose in the house at first. But Tiny R has been absolutely meticulous about his bathroom habits. And now that Tiny R has proven himself to be completely toilet trained, he gets to run around the house as long as we watch him closely. We leave his cage door open and he goes back into the cage whenever he has to void. So far he has never had a urinary accident in the house.

I Hate To Complain But . . . .

We have found out that all rabbit pellets are not the same. And freshness does count. Not too long ago, I bought 5# of rabbit pellets from an open bin at a local feed store. Up until then I had been buying Tiny R's food from the pet store, a couple of pounds at a time. I had purposely been buying small amounts in an effort to avoid having the food go stale before it was eaten.

Well, that 5# bag of rabbit food turned out to be a very bad investment. It was so stale and awful right from the beginning that Tiny R simply refused to eat it. If Eric hadn't noticed, the poor little guy might have become malnourished. The bowl always looked full so I just thought Eric was refilling his food dish when I wasn't around.

When we finally realized what the problem was, we removed the offensive rabbit pellets and replaced it with fresh food from another source.

I feel very sorry for all those other bunnies out there who are forced to eat that nasty-tasting food to avoid starvation simply because their owners don't realize that the stuff has gone bad.

Bypassing the "Middleman"

The old bag of stale rabbit pellets didn't go to waste, though. We used it in Tiny R's litter pan to absorb and eliminate the odor of his urine. We have found out that the rabbit pellets work just as good, if not better, than that expensive cat litter stuff we had been using. As long as we change his litter pan every 2 days, which is what Eric had been doing anyway, you can't tell that we have a rabbit living in our house with us. At least not until you spot him sitting in his cage watching you.

Next time we buy rabbit pellets we will feed Tiny R from it for a limited time and then use the rest of the pellets in his litter pan. Buying the 25# bag is a lot cheaper, too. In fact, it's a real bargain when you have a good use for the left-overs.

Just One of the Family

Tiny R doesn't have any other little rabbits to play with but he does have the company of three dogs. Only one dog has earned the trust to be inside the house when Tiny R is out of his cage. Her name is Chamois (pronounced Shammy). Chamois is an older yellow lab female who is a little grouchy at times but is smart enough to respect the rights of the "little people" in our family. She has had to adapt to a number of new additions to our pet family over the years and pretty much knows the score by now.

Chamois knows that her position as Queen of the Pack is not jeapardized by the rabbit so she has accepted him into the family. She even allows Tiny R to play with her tail and hop over her muzzle when she's lying on her dog bed. The one thing she does not tolerate is when Tiny R gets rambunctious and scratches Chamois' stomach with his sharp front toenails. All Tiny R wants is to get Chamois play with him. But he definitely goes about it in the wrong way.

Chamois responds to the scratching with a tremendous warning bark/growl that lets Tiny R know that this activity is a definite "NO, NO!!!" Tiny R reacts by scampering off a foot or two, stopping, turning around to face Chamois with a look that seems to say, "What's the matter with you, old girl? How come you don't want to play with me?". Then he wisely turns his attention elsewhere and finds something else to do.

Our two male dogs, Rags and Shovel (Shovel is an expert at digging out), are very interested in Tiny R. Much too interested. I have a feeling that they would like to "play" with him and possibly taste him if they ever got a chance. That's the reason that Tiny R is restricted to his cage when Rags and Shovel are in the house.

As long as Tiny R is in his cage, the male dogs watch but they don't make any threatening gestures toward him. And Tiny R hasn't the slightest idea that Rags and Shovel wouldn't be just jolly playmates. So we protect him from the folly of his own innocence and keep him safely caged when "the boys" are in the house.