Ten Years of Tigger

Baby TiggerIt has been 10 years since Tigger first came home with us.  I have always loved rabbits and can’t resist checking out baby bunnies when I see them.  I dragged Blaine into a mall pet shop when I saw the big brood they had in the front window.  

There were more than a dozen really cute baby rabbits in the shop since Easter was just days away.  We petted little heads and were about to leave when an employee walked up carrying a cute tiger-striped bunny that he said was his favorite.  We talked with him for a few minutes and then left.  We had been thinking about getting a pet, but didn’t have intentions of bringing a pet shop bunny rabbit home since we don’t quite trust where shops get animals.

A few weeks after Easter, early in May, I was walking through the mall and noticed the pet shop had pushed a glass display case outside their entrance.  I could see a lone bunny in the case.  That pulled at my heart because it was after Easter now.  I knew the bunny didn’t have a great chance at getting a home.  As I walked closer, I was surprised to see the tiger-striped bunny.  Since the rabbit was so beautiful and favored by an employee, I would have expected this rabbit would have been one of the first to find a home. 

I reached out, put my hand on the glass and the bunny raced over and sat up on hind legs,  putting front paws against the glass right where my hand was.  I was toast.  I picked the rabbit up and instead of a chubby baby body, I felt nothing but sharp bones under that beautiful fur.  I knew right then that if I put the bunny back down and walked away, it would die.  I could not do that with an animal that was not only beautiful, but obviously intelligent and wanting to interact with a human friend.  I wasn’t sure why the rabbit was so thin.  I knew it was possible that something was really wrong and perhaps death was inevitable, but wanted to give the rabbit a chance.  

Since it was near noon, I called Blaine to see if he could take his lunch break and help me bring home our new bunny.  He is a great guy and home we went with our new bunny, rabbit cage and accessories.  My first answer as to what might be wrong with the rabbit came when we were purchasing food before leaving the store.  They only had food for guinea pigs.  We took a small bag to not upset the status quo and planned to find a vet right away to discuss the best diet to help a starving baby bunny.  

Blaine suggested Tiger as a name, but even then not being sure of the sex of the bunny, there was something quite delicate and feminine about our new friend.  I thought Tigger was a softer cuter version of Tiger.  Tigger has always been a favorite of mine in the Winnie the Pooh stories.  Since Tigger talks about all the other tiggers, a female tigger is obviously out there.  I figured boy or girl, Tigger was going to be a good name.  Little did I realize how good, since our Tigger has proved to be just as bouncy as her namesake and just as prone to causing trouble and then getting out of it by being cute and innocently unaware.

Later today, more about feeding a Tigger.

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