What’s Your Name Bunny Rabbit?

Baby Tigger Bunny RabbitOur little Tigger bunny was unforgettable.  Her looks were  unqiue, but she also packed a truly big rabbit personality into her little bunny size.  The vet she saw the longest summed it up when she said, “Tigger is many things, but stupid isn’t one of them!”  We had many nicknames for her over the years because of the oh so many sides to her looks and personality. 

We had read that it helps a rabbit to get to know their name by hearing it in every sentence to associate that name as being theirs.  We talked to her a lot all of her life. At first, we ended almost every sentence with her name.  However, Tigger might have thought at times that her name was “No, Tigger!” or “Tigger, No!”.  We found ourselves saying that a lot as she taught us a whole new level of bunnyproofing.  We didn’t shorten her name or call her anything else until it was clear that she recognized that when we said Tigger, we were talking to her.  In the decade with her, we embraced every possible variant of her name: Tig, Tigs, Tigster, Tiggers, Tiggery, Tiggirl. 

It always surprised people who weren’t familiar with rabbits that she knew her name.  She actually came to know a whole lot of words and phrases.  We were certain without doubt she knew her name, because when we had both rabbits and would yell “No Shadow”, Tigger would ignore us.  She knew we weren’t talking to her.  When we called her name, she would react.  It wasn’t always the reaction we wished, but she would react to her name.   We could be across the room and if we started to say, “Good Tigger, Good Bunny”, she would start to tooth purr.  We would be able to see her jaw gently moving as she purred.

There were a couple of nicknames she earned by her size and shape:  Half-Pint Harley, Little Bit, Hipless Wonder, Weasel Bunny.  Most nicknames we called Tigger were based on her personality:  Princess, Lady Bunny, Tasmanian Devil, Air Bunny, Wiggle Worm, Freakazoid, Squirrel, Tiny Terror, Little Stinker, Pretty Bunny, Model Bunny, Kitty Bunny, Velcro Rabbit, Baby Girl.

How did one very small rabbit come to have so many names? All these nicknames have a story.  By telling you her nicknames now, I am giving a preview of some stories to come.  Tigger packed an awful lot into her decade of life.  She so rarely looked to be really resting.  Most of the time she seemed to be plotting and planning her next move, the next thing she would try.  She was energetic beyond belief for the bulk of her life, right up until just the last few months.  It was like having a living breathing Energizer bunny rabbit who would just keep on going and going.  It was amazing to know her!

Coming Next on Wednesday, meet the Tasmanian Devil bunny.

 

6 thoughts on “What’s Your Name Bunny Rabbit?

    • It does seem to us like the boy bunnies are a bit calmer than the girls. We would love to hear about others experiences too.

      • Oh my word… I’ve had Moshi for almost five years and he is an absolute brat! It has gotten to the point where he actually got into the trash once because he sniffed out a banana peel and some old grapes. I don’t know how much of that he ate before I found him (it suddenly got too quiet for too long), but the next day I could tell he was not feeling well… Thank heavens he was fine a couple of hours later (he spent that morning at the vet)! But thanks to him I know how to fix electrical cords and who to call to fix my carpet before I move out…

        Mia Jamili came to our home about year ago after I picked her up from a family that didn’t want her anymore (she “scratched”). From the beginning I could tell she enjoyed rearranging her quarters frequently. Her boxes didn’t last… When she had running space it was all about the running and the binkies, especially when Moshi was around for bonding time. (It was love at first sight for her!) She wasn’t nearly as destructive as Moshi. She was my good bunny. Key word: “was.”

        Nearly one year and now that she has a forever home, a bunny friend, and hoomin slaves, she owns the place. She still runs more than Moshi, and is perhaps more destructive than him. When I don’t think she can surprise me any further, she does. Today I found her, not within the plastic tunnels I have for both buns behind the furniture, but on top of them… On top of cylinders! I have no idea how she stayed up. I swear, she must have been swaying from the wall to the back of the couch. Silly bun… 🙂

        • Ah two of the things I think every longtime rabbit buddy comes to know. 1) Silence with rabbits is not golden, but needs an inner alarm to question where is the rabbit and what are they doing? 2) As long as they live, they will continue to surprise with the things they think up to do.

          Your bunnies sound bunderful!

  1. Pikachu is kind of a shy bunny. Not like his Dad, who would actually come to greet our guests at the door. Pikachu has just recently decided to leave his “lair” to come join us in the rest of the house. He is free to come out whenever he likes, but usually does this now around 10 p.m. Sometimes, i am literally just getting into bed, and as i pull the covers up, i hear him jumping over his cage. Little sneak. He waits until we are all safely tucked in! I had to put something to block him from getting to the rest of the house while we’re sleeping, because of course, he explores with his teeth!

    I am curious to learn what “Velcro Rabbit” means.

    • Ah yes, Shadow too explored with his teeth which was a reason he could not be a totally 24/7 free range rabbit. His unsupervised chewing habits would have killed him off long before eleven years if we hadn’t kept tabs on him. Pikachu sounds like a sweetie!

      You can meet the Velcro Bunny in Friday’s post.

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