# Not so sure if I should be upset by this..but...



## CookieNCream (Feb 13, 2007)

My homeschool teacher is a big, big dog person.She has lots of dogs, and her daughter has lots of dogs, too...thedaughter's dogs gave birth to lots of puppies.

I was going to get one, but they were too expensive and I also had Cookie&amp;Cream already, so I decided not to.

When I told the teacher today that I had rabbits, she was like, 'Whywould you get rabbits?' and she said something about rabbits not beingpets.

Sure, rabbits may not be as affectionate and right-out as dogs, but that doesn't mean rabbits are not pets...:X

I didn't want to offend her so I didn't say anything...she said she'shad rabbits before but I guess it didn't work out that well.

Yes, I love dogs, and I do appreciate the great happiness you get whenyou receive the right-out affection...but I think rabbits are great,too, because they are pretty smart if you ask me  and ADORABLYADORABLE.

Just wanted to share that with you  and hopefully someday more people will realize that rabbits can make great pets.

When Cookie&amp;Cream grow up and get used to me more, I bet they will be a bit more affectionate, too. :bunnydance:


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## AngelnSnuffy (Feb 13, 2007)

I and many of us on here know exactly what you mean. 

I wasn't gonna mention this but, since the topic (sorta) is up, why not? May be kinda long...

The night we got back from vacation I went to the bowling alley wherewe hang out and a few acquaintances of mine were there. Well,I started saying a bit about my vacation and then it was all about oneof their vacations and been here, and there so I just sat there anddidn't say anymore. It was all about him sowhatever. He had also been drinking which makes itworse. Then after a bit I said something to one of them aboutSnuffles. Let me just mention that two of them are marriedand one is a mutual friend, the mutual friend was the one I said thisto. Then the other one (the all about me one-the husband)asked "what, what's that"? I said "my rabbit". Thenhe started saying how he'd throw it in a pot and what not. Ididn't say anything yet. So he went on and on about how heeats rabbit, squirrel and duck. I mean on and on and on forlike 10 mins and a bit graphic on top of it. The mutualfriend said to him "She's gonna strangle you!" kinda but notreally, jokingly, thinking he's get the hint and stop-NO. Hedidn't say anything and just kept on. 

After she left he asked me something or said something to me and Ididn't say anything and he was like "Why didn't you just stay in AZCrabby." I turned and said "You're an ***hole." Hejust said Thanks. Then after a few mins, he proceeded to pushme on my shoulder like 6 times and I told him to stop it. Hecalls me crabby again. I repeated that he was an ***hole,thinking he'd get that I was upset.After like 5mins he asked me who we went to see in AZ my family or my husband's andI said, very snotty by the way, "His". His wife says "WowCrystal that was bi*chy." and "that was bi*chy" Isaid snotty again "It was meant to be".

I mean when he started pushing me I was just about in tears.He and her are supposed to be my friends, sorry, but that was just verydisrespectful and it hurt my feelings. Needless to say, theywent off to play a machine and came back she finished her beer and hejust left his, they said nothing more to me. They think *I*was in the wrong. :whateverThat was just wrong on hispart. His wife should've at least hit him on the arm andmention that he should stop, but no... I mean I have a fewother friends-men-that are racers and they would eat stuff like that,but if they did, they would never, ever disrespect me like that, plusthey don't drink, maybe he would never have done it if he weren't,don't know but I was po'd! :tantrum:

Hope that all made sense.


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## CookieNCream (Feb 13, 2007)

It really does...:sighsome peopledon't know how to respect others, especially when it collides withtheir own ideas of what is so called "normal". 

UGH...


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## Michaela (Feb 13, 2007)

Crystal, that is unbelievable:shock:, but I knowwhat you mean, people are like that at school to me, sure my dad saysthings about putting the rabbits in the pot etc. But he is joking,because he was genuinely sorry when Berri died, (no I'm sure he isn'tgoing to miss her but ya know, he was respectful)

A lot of people are not like him though, and they do mean it:X

Rabbits are affectionate as dogs, more so in my opinion, I would ratherdie than have a dog:? (no offence to anyone but I can't stand them)


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## AngelnSnuffy (Feb 13, 2007)

I know, no offense, I just don't care fordogs. They smell sometimes, I don't like to be licked ordrooled on by them, and the hyper ones really drive me crazy. :?


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## ahri22 (Feb 13, 2007)

I know just what you guys mean!!

After my bunny died, my husband was telling people at work that I wasin mourning (well, I was!! I was devastated!!) and they didn't get it.His friend, when I saw him, made cracks about having rabbit stew andstuff...

I know they just don't *get* it about bunnies, so I try to ignore it,but it really hurts me that SO MANY people have these attitudes aboutrabbits!!

Even my dad, who is a huge animal lover, didn't understand why we letLittle Hoppy Hoppy in the house, he said, "Rabbits are outsideanimals", as if they are somehow "lesser" than cats or dogs. I wouldtry to explain to him how rabbits are clever animals, how he used alitter tray (and although he would poo and wee on the floor, it wasonly EVER in the laundry, where the litter tray is!!). 

I also pointed out how it took my parents MUCH longer to toilet traintheir dogs, and how their dogs still have the occasional accident...

I am not a big dog lover. We have a dog, but after he killed a bunny I've never really forgiven him... I would rather have pet bunnies thandogs any day!! (No offense to dog lovers, I don't hate dogs, just notreally that keen on them...)

I told my dad he just didn't know bunnies the way I did! (They've hadbunnies before, but always in a cage outside...so the bunnies werenever really tame, and never got the chance to show theirpersonalities). To be honest, before when I had bunnies they wereoutside bunnies too, and I never knew how wonderful bunnies could be! Ithought they were cute and cuddly, sure...but I'd never experienced ahouse bunny... Back then, I'd never even HEARD of house bunnies and Ihad no idea they could be trained!!

Anyway, I wish everyone would learn about bunnies the way I have, andwould know what gorgeous, intelligent little creatures they are!! Andhonestly, I wish people could get just a BIT of sensitivity!!! I'm sureno one would make jokes about cat stew if my cat died...

My little guy has been gone just over two weeks, and I still cry forhim. I don't think I've EVER been this devastated over the loss of apet before!! (My darling kitties all died of old age, so it never hurtso much that they were gone...I loved them and I missed them, but theyhad a good, long time on earth...my little boy never had that!!)

Fiona


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## AngelnSnuffy (Feb 13, 2007)

Fiona, I know. My BIL used to joke(and he was joking) about my last rabbit BunBun, he called him Haus asin Hosenfeffer or however you spell it. He would tell myhubby he would bring the carrots and potatoes.

Yeah, a lot of people are blindsided when I tell them mine are litter trained and all.


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## ahri22 (Feb 13, 2007)

Well, my husband used to make jokes too...OnceLHH did something silly and my husband said, "Well we could call himStu...or Stew..."

Which was sort of funny...but it's when people really think rabbits belong in stew I get upset!!

My husband didn't really mind our bunny (except he kept going for myhusband's computer cord...as my husband has a laptop his cord wasn'trabbit safe...), but he was raised on a farm, and here in Australiarabbits are huge pests for farmers, so of course, he grew up withpeople who shot rabbits as vermin...

The only time he's ever shot rabbits since he's been with me is whenthere were rabbits with Myxo on his parents' farm...and I told him thatit was better he put them out of their misery...

Many, many people's opinions here seem to be coloured by the fact that rabbits are seen as vermin...

I remember driving with my husband and his parents one day, and arabbit nearly ran on the road in front of us, and I just screamedbecause we nearly hit it, "Watch out!!" Or something, and they all gotupset with ME because I didn't want him to hit a bunny!!

Fiona


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## Haley (Feb 13, 2007)

At Christmas, I was telling my aunt and uncle about pet insurance and how I have it for Basil and Max. 

My cousin (who's a grown man)said something about how if hehad rabbits and they were sick he would just cook them and eat them. Icame back with, "Oh, and since your dog is sick (its dying of cancer)maybe we should fry him up as well!" I think they got the message.

I went in the other room and started crying. It really hurt me becausethey know how much my bunnies mean to me and how much Ive done for Maxwhile he's sick. 

Some people have no clue.

I like this poem, I think it sums up what we're saying:http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=16182&amp;forum_id=1&amp;jump_to=267988#p267988


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## CookieNCream (Feb 13, 2007)

*Haley wrote: *


> Ilike this poem, I think it sums up what we're saying:http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=16182&amp;forum_id=1&amp;jump_to=267988#p267988




:great:


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## AngelnSnuffy (Feb 13, 2007)

:zoro :thanks: :bigtears:

It really hurt my feelings! I just lost BunBun in Sept andtook another in. He is so cool and he is weird! Heblends right in I'll tell ya. He loves my hubbylike crazy.


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## Maureen Las (Feb 14, 2007)

A LOT of people DO NOT understand rabbits. Iunderstand it andat this point don't get offendedbut no one has ever been really mean to me about it. I think that asmore rabbit become house pets they will be accepted but right nowtheire is a primitive mentality about them. People do not understandthem


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## TinysMom (Feb 14, 2007)

I've been breeding for almost 2 years now and I tend to come across three attitudes about rabbits.

a. Rabbits are livestock...good for eating.

b. Rabbits as pets? Well...maybe but I can't picture it.

c. Rabbits? Oh - they're so cute and cuddly. Can I have one?

Even among breeders, I have noticed that some look at their rabbits as"livestock". In fact, I was recently talking to another breeder whohandles some sensitive topics nonchalantly (or so it seems to me) andshe pointed out that she grew up on a farm and they started out raisingmeat rabbits like 30 years ago.

My point?

I think we need to remember that the idea of the rabbit as a domesticanimal has only really come about in the last century (at most). Idon't remember hearing of folks having a rabbit as a pet when I wasgrowing up (and I'm almost 47) and when I had a rabbit as a pet - itwas like "why would you do that?".

There were no toys for rabbits...there were no pellets for rabbits atone time....there were no specialty cages or hay for rabbits. 

To some people - the idea of having a domestic rabbit is as foreign asif I told you that I had a pet skunk (I did once) or a pet bobcat(sorry - never had one of those). Or it might be like saying you have apig or a cow in your house.

Art's best friend here loves to eat rabbit...and I know it. He's grewup hunting rabbit and he frequently teases me about Tiny and calls him"Roast" or "Stew". HOWEVER...he's also sensitive enough to watch myfacial expressions and know when to back off. Meanwhile, I know he'sArt's friend and I don't want to hinder their friendship - so I've toldhim that if he ever tries to steal Tiny - I'll make sure his 'stew'gets poisoned. (He would never do that). But I do it in a kidding way -just as he does it in a kidding way.

You see - I could get angry...but that would hurt my husband and he hasvery few close friends. I could get defensive (and have done that attimes)...but that just puts a wall up. But I've found that by jokingback and leaving the doors of communication open - he now is startingto talk about rabbits as more than just "meat"....

I guess what I'm trying to say is that we need to remember that somefolks just don't get it yet - about rabbits. It isn't like rabbits havebeen domesticated as long as cats and dogs...they've probably nevergrown up around them. I think sometimes they might say something aboutcooking them because they have no other way to wrap their minds aroundthe idea of having a rabbit as a pet.

For instance, people are shocked when I tell them that many of myrabbits are litter-box trained. They find it hard to believe that Tinycan free-roam areas of the house. To them - this is a totally foreignconcept...

I'm sorry you got hurt by the comments that were made. I am findingthough that one by one, I'm able to educate some people about rabbitsand I'm hoping that in a few years - we'll see the tide turning towhere more people accept them as pets.

Peg


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## CookieNCream (Feb 14, 2007)

I didn't know that so many people ate rabbits in the U.S. until recently. I was actually thinking that it was illegal...

When I was living in Korea, I remember going on a ski trip and having asip of this stew. I later found out that it was rabbit.:shock:I didn't eat any meat, though.

I think more people here eat more rabbits than in Korea now...0-0;;Because when I was in Korea and said I've eaten a rabbit (which isn'treally true..hehe), everyone was like 'whoa!', though Koreans eat somereally wilder things :eats:

Now you'd know my amazement and horror when I randomly typed inwww.rabbits.comand found"Cooking Rabbits" when I scrolled down. :faint:


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## Maureen Las (Feb 14, 2007)

I think that rabbits were domesticated to someextent in England but once the settlers hit the eastern shores of theUS all of that went out the window.

When I look up rabbit rescues and sanctuaries etc. I find the mostsites and most sophisticated sites on the east coast and particularlyin California on the west.

In some parts of the country I think that it is trendy to have a houserabbit.So we can think of ourselves as trendy people surrounded by theclueless ones.

Here in Wisconsin ,Peg, they do things like have a deer hunt for the disabled...duh!
Can you imagine being disabled and having the desire to disable and kill something living
Last weekend this town had some sort of rabbit hunt for seniors or someother idiotic thing like that. People are clueless on how tocatergorize rabbits. They read a child a story book about the mommarabbit and her three babies and yet the family ate rabbit for dinner.
In the Midwest its going to take people a long time to catch up to the East and West coasts.


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## CookieNCream (Feb 14, 2007)

*angieluv wrote:*


> They read a child a story book about the mommarabbit and her three babies and yet the family ate rabbit for dinner.




Wow..ironic...0-0;;

No wonder we don't have a lot of stories about cows and pigs.

But I did hear that after the movie Babe was released bacon/other pork type sales went down for few months.


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## Maureen Las (Feb 14, 2007)

there should be more movies like Babe


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## CookieNCream (Feb 14, 2007)

Yeah, like Bunny the Bunnylike Bunny. =)

Or it might just give innocent kids the thought that some people eat rabbits...lol


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## Butterfinger (Feb 14, 2007)

Seriously! 
I remember when I was a kid, before I watched Babe, I was like"Whatever.....pigs are nasty and dirty", but after I watched it, I waslike "Aww!Don'tkill thepiggy!" 
A rabbit version of that would definitely be good. Eventhough Thumper from Bambi has made a little impact....a movie justabout bunnies would be better. (I havea cute hoodiewith Thumper on it  Spread the bunny cuteness, all.)


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## Maureen Las (Feb 14, 2007)

Is their a Disney bunny movie like Bambi or Dumbo etc. I would sure get that one ina hurry as I buy anything rabbity.


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## CookieNCream (Feb 14, 2007)

seriously!

they make movies about mice (mickey), ducks (donald), deer (bambi),elephant (dumbo), not to mention cats(aristocats) and dogs(too many).but why not rabbits?

We already talked about pigs (babe), and I know there are tons of horse movies. 

I mean, if movies like Flushed Away is on, a bunny movie should be here, too.


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## Maureen Las (Feb 14, 2007)

there are rabbit characters in some of thosemovies like Bambi............ but I WANT A MAIN CHARACTER rabbit and ahouse rabbit at that,,not one running loose outside unaltered LOL


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## naturestee (Feb 14, 2007)

So no Watership Down for you then?

I like the Wallace and Gromit movie, even if the bunnies do have pig noses.:lol


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## Maureen Las (Feb 14, 2007)

I didn't see watership Down


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## naturestee (Feb 14, 2007)

It's an older movie, based on thebook. I haven't seen the movie, but the book isgreat! It's about wild rabbits in Britain.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watership_Down_(film)

Tagline:[/b] All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a ThousandEnemies, and when they catch you, they will kill you... but first theymust catch you.


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## JadeIcing (Feb 14, 2007)

Ok recently on the phone with my grandma and sheask me how are the rabbits doing. I go to answer her but I hear my auntin the background go "How many does she have?' My grandma tells her. Ihear "She has to many tell her to send me one for soup." My response"Tell her to stop eating she can survive on her fat for a few years."What does my grandma do...tells her.


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## CookieNCream (Feb 14, 2007)

*JadeIcing wrote:*


> Ok recently on the phone with my grandma and she ask me howare the rabbits doing. I go to answer her but I hear my aunt in thebackground go "How many does she have?' My grandma tells her. I hear"She has to many tell her to send me one for soup." My response "Tellher to stop eating she can survive on her fat for a few years." Whatdoes my grandma do...tells her.




Hahaha I love your grandma!!! :laugh:


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## Maureen Las (Feb 14, 2007)

:roflmao::tongutwo::babyhaha:Thats really funny...does your aunt still talk to you??


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## JadeIcing (Feb 15, 2007)

Yes.


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## NZminilops (Feb 15, 2007)

Oh boy - I can totally agree with everything said on this thread!

In New Zealand we have a buying and selling site sort of like ebay, andit has a message board (like a really cheap looking forum, but with nofeatures to speak of). There is a Pets and Animals section and we havea thread in there called "Rabbit Lovers Annonymous". It's gettingpretty big, it's at 16 pages now with 50 posts to each page. Every nowand then someone will come along with a nasty comments, like "you'dwant to remain annonymous of you like rabbits..." and "mmm I likerabbits, yum!", "you should call him Stew...then eat him!"

I try not to let it annoy me but it does. In another thread aboutsomeone who's neighbours rabbit keeps escaping and walking around,someone else pipes up "eat it!". I got furious when I saw that -something just snapped and I offered to take a nibble of their baby andsee what it tastes like. I know it was silly but I am sick of hearingthe eat-it thing all the time.

There are always heaps of threads about feeding rabbits to dogs etc,and some get very graphic. When I say I find it disturbing, they justsay "oh but it's not like they are cute cuddly pet ones, these are wildscum". But the wild ones here are the European rabbit which our cutecuddlers came from, they themselves are pretty adorable. And what's tostop these dogs from eating someones pet rabbit? Will the dog know thedifference?


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## Starina (Feb 15, 2007)

Watership Down is the only book to ever make mecry. I cried like a baby at the end, :tears2:and I didn't even have abunny in my life. I just wish the movie was truer to the book. That isa movie I would love to see remade, with the Jim Hensen company ofcourse! My BIL, who always tries to pet my rabbit when he thinks I amnot looking (he can't seem like too much of a softy), saw us watchingit and it was the big fight at the end with Bigwig and Woundwart, hewas shocked. He said, "Those rabbits are F-ing eachother up!" Now hewants to read the book. 

I also LOVEWallace and Grommit, wererabbits or not!:inlove:



~Star~


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## RunRabbitRun (Feb 15, 2007)

Usually whenever someon makes a crack aboutbunnies, I say "that's funny the first 100 times I hear it."They usually get the message.

What's really in poor taste (no pun intended) is when they serve rabbit at the concession stand at rabbit shows!


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## CookieNCream (Feb 15, 2007)

*RunRabbitRun wrote:*


> What's really in poor taste (no pun intended) is when theyserve rabbit at the concession stand at rabbit shows!




Are you serious??? :shock:


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## missyscove (Feb 16, 2007)

*naturestee wrote: *


> So no Watership Down for you then


I'm almost done reading Watership down, finally. I've had itfor like 3 years now, but I haven't had time to read it.Mostly because I have so much homework. I have two otherbooks I'm supposed to be reading now... ugh. 

I love that I can read things and then think, hey, Fiona andTimmy do that too!


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## Starina (Feb 16, 2007)

The ending is great, try not to cry.

~Star~:tears2:


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## TweedBunny (Feb 17, 2007)

I'll tell you what really upsets me.

Around here, its kind of popular for groups ofteenage boys togo out 'bunny-bashing', which, if you're not familiar, is the practiceof driving down a dirt road at night with a bat or club in hand, andchasing down jackrabbits through the brush trying to club them todeath. Just for fun. The trophy is loading their pickup bed full ofrabbit bodies, and then taking a picture to show how many they got. 

The alternate version is to go out on BLM land or down any dirt road,and shoot as many as possible, and load the back of the pickup up, takea picture, and post it on the local Sportsmans Warehouse bulletinboard. The board is littered with lots of these pictures, pickups fullof bunnies. JUST FOR FUN!

My 17 year old brother participates in the shooting version and itreally bugs me. I don't understand peoplekill just for thesport of it. Maybe Im just sensetive to rabbits, becausedeerhunting doesn't bother me too much. Maybe its just the fact that theycan kill so MANY and fill a truck bed with bodies. My little bro likesto come back from his hunts and tell me how hechasedrabbitsdown, the killing, the dying noisesthey make. Usually I ignore it, but the other day I walked out of theroom and wouldn't say much to him. I think he felt bad cause he hasn'tsaid anything since. He was just doing it in teasing but I think herealized it made me upset.

Am I overly sensative to killing - or does this hurt anyone else too? Imean, hunting is a sport, but... there are laws andlicensesprotecting most other types of animals from beingslaughtered - even down to fish - so why not rabbits?


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## CookieNCream (Feb 17, 2007)

:XThat's horrible!

I do NOT think you are overly sensitive. Killing any animal for the FUNof it is wrong. Even fishing...many times people do so to cook/eat thefish and sometimes they even let the fish go. And what are they doingwith the innocent rabbits?

I don't think that is right at all. Hunting anything is illegal where Ilive, so it really upsets me to hear about those people hunting rabbitsfor the fun of it.

If they want to "show off", they should think of a better way to do so;like catching a big coyote that endangers different places and sendingit off to a zoo or something.


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## Maureen Las (Feb 17, 2007)

I don't think that that is legal hunting..really horrible


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## AngelnSnuffy (Feb 17, 2007)

I don't like it either. They justupped the anty for does (deer) here in hunting season b/c there are toomany of them and people are hitting them w/ cars.

Hunting is a fact of life I guess. For food not forfun. I don't agree w/ that at all. People like thatare just down on themselves and make themselves feel like theirsomebody when they do things like that.


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## Spring (Feb 17, 2007)

I understand completely.

My mom is great and loves the rabbits, but my dad and brothers see themas stupid pets I waste my money on. I just laugh it off, but it hurts.

Another thing I don't get is every time I see my relatives they ALWAYSask if I still have my rabbits. I guess they think they are just petsthat once you get tired of them you get rid of them. Do I ask them "Oh,do you still have your cat or your dog?" Of course I still have them! 

Rabbits are so misunderstood it's really quite odd.


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## AngelnSnuffy (Feb 17, 2007)

From some people I've talked to, they seem tothink rabbits only live a year to two :shock:. When I tellthem 8-10 years or more, they can't believe it. :disgust:

Spring, my brother has a python, did have two. He jokes w/ mesometimes, but never says mean things about my rabbits. Helaughs at me when he hears the voice I talk to mine in when I'm giddyabout them and he says "Oh boy..." Hee Hee.


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## Maureen Las (Feb 18, 2007)

Spring I agree so much with what you are saying.My husband doesn't think rabbits are stupid only that he doesn'tunderstand why I want them when they cause me so much worryand anxiety (When they are sick etc.)

My dad doesn't think a rabbit is even a pet ..only a rodent

My mother is kind and would never tell me that she thinks rabbits are astupid pet but I think that she thinks that I am "unusual" because Ihave so many and love them so much.

Rabbits as pets are truly misunderstood.


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## Starina (Feb 18, 2007)

My aunt, who passed away 2 years ago, had arabbit named Thumper. So no one in my family thinks I am weird. My MILseems to think that my TinkleBunny is out to get her. When she isstarting to fall asleep on the couch, my rabbit jumps up on her andscares the hell out of her. She swears that the rabbit is trying togive her a heart attack, and make it look like an accident. I think itis hilarious, my bunny is trying to sneak some couch time in, when shethinks I am not looking, and oops, someone is on the couch. Now my MILcalls my rabbit, "The Killer"



~Star~


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## AngelnSnuffy (Feb 18, 2007)

That's funny Starina!


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## AngelnSnuffy (Feb 21, 2007)

So, my Angel is having surgerytomorrow. An Agent calls while I'm up front and we're havinga banquet tonight for work which I didn't do to and she was asking me(this was before hand) if I'm going. I tell her that mybaby's having surgery tomorrow and I have get some thingsready. She was like what "for"? So, I knew at thatpoint that she thought I talking about an actual baby, not any sort ofpet at all-NO!

When I asked her, she answered me, "No, I didn't know you were talkingabout a rabbit." But, the conversation totally changedsubject afterthat...


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