My first ever rabbit was a huge black buck called Mr Blobby. My family refused to accept this as his name and suggested Albert, Thumper, Floppy and many more. But Mr Blobby he would remain. He was very big, loving and not so clever. He loved to be hugged and was the first ever pet I had to take care of myself.
Britney (bottom right) became my pet under very strange circumstances. I was trying to break up with an ex, but my ex wasn't taking it lying down. I was presented with a tiny, golden rabbit in a cardboard box on the bus. I named her Britney Ears. I fell in love with her clever brown eyes and white tummy. I grew worried about a small lump growing on Britney's belly one day and took her to the vets. It turned out that Britney was actually a boy. He'd been Britney for so long I decided to keep the name. Britney moved with me when I fell in love with the boy next door and moved in with him, becoming our first ever pet. He's very soft and loving towards me, and fiercely protective.
Fliss (top right) joined our family after we visited a local garden centre and fell in love with the tiny, runty rabbit in the corner pen. She matured into a beautiful, plump doe. Hugely greedy and lively Fliss is our most energetic rabbit, and enjoys sitting on my shoulder and snuggling. She also likes to snuggle up to her hutchmate...
...Felix (bottom left) is the child of Britney and Fliss. Fliss gave birth during the night, but sadly one of the kittens was born outside of the next. I woke in the morning to find a cold little body pressed against the wire of the hutch. I rubbed the body between my hands, and it moved. It was still alive! Tiny and squirming I placed the kitten back into the nest with it's siblings and hoped for the best. Sadly the baby rabbits became ill and we lost all but one of them. The one that was out of the nest. The vet told us that because he'd been born last he'd retained immunity that the others had lost. We named him Felix, which means lucky.
Star (top left) was the last to join our family, and sadly the first to leave. We adopted her from a local rabbit rescue. She'd been abandoned on their doorstep with her siblings when they became too big to be deemed cute by a petshop. Quiet, elegant and loving she fitted into our family quickly. The most delicate of our rabbits became very ill after living with us for a year. I went to check on her one morning and found her head almost twisted backwards. A vet diagnosed her with wryneck, caused by a brain parasite, research indicated that euthanasia was normally the correct way to proceed. But I didn't want that. I nursed her back to health, syringe feeding her water every two hours, medicine twice a day and neck massages. She slowly recovered and became a happy, healthy rabbit again. But then a few months ago she got very ill. There was nothing we could do for her, so I held her in my arms as she slowly slipped away. I put her back in her hutch for the last few moments and she left us quietly and gently, just as she'd lived.
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