Living with a Dominant Rabbit (Part II)

For the first few weeks after Dusty came to live with me, I was still uncertain if I was going to keep her. My sister (who was also working at the same hotel) wanted me to keep her but I was not convinced.
I had to go to the store the first day and get all the supplies. Rabbit pellets, a corner bucket for litter, wood shavings and water bottle. I studied everything I could about diet and care of rabbits. When I was at home, Dusty would stay in the kitchen/hallway. I would shut the door to the living room, bathroom and bedroom. She settled in very quickly and made herself right at home.
At first I would just sit on a chair and look at her in amazement. She did pee on the floor a great deal and the mop was never far from my hands. Finally the litter bucket was used more and more (or Dusty would have gone to the human society). I can deal with the bunny poop, but the pee has to go in the litter bucket!
At night and when I was at work, Dusty had to stay in a large dog kennel. She was never very happy to go in, but I did not know what a rabbit could do when no one was looking. It was good to be cautious because she could jump higher than I ever imagined. She even managed to jump on my counter when I was in the other room.
After a few weeks I decided that Dusty might be happy living on my balcony (4Th floor) at night and when I was away. I bought some chicken wire and blocked off half the balcony (approx. 4 x 18 ft total size). She never tried to go under the glass railing but she would try everything to get under the chicken wire. I had to find new ways to keep her in the contained space. It was a perfect solution. She was happy on the balcony and when I was home, she would come inside.
It took a few months to for us to establish a relationship, but eventually we became friends.

How Thomas became Dusty E. Bunny (Part 1)

Hello. Since I enjoyed reading about all the other wonderful bunnies out there, I decided to tell you about Dust E. Bunny (aka Dusty) and her hus-bun Mr. Bean.

About one year ago, I found Dusty hopping around a busy downtown street. I was working at small hotel and the doorman spotted her eating the flowers at the Cartier Jewllery store (Dusty has expensive tastes!) To make a long story short, the cafe next door caught her and I took her home after work.

Since she was the first pet I had ever had, I had to learn quickly about what care rabbits would need. First we needed a name. The street she was found on was call St. Thomas, so we named her Thomas.

I needed an expert to help me so I called my good friend Ana Maria. Ana Maria is a native of Peru and raised rabbits (for food) in her homeland. She came the next day and told me many things about the care and feeding of rabbits. At the end of the night she checked out the business end of the rabbit (she picked Thomas up by the back legs) and told me I would need a new name. Thomas was a female, so I decided to rename her Dust E. Bunny.

That was in June of 2007. Thomas was a girl so I was now sharing my apartment with a big, beautiful 10 pound female rabbit.