Rabbits

Harvey: 1998-2004

This is Harvey, the first rabbit we ever owned and we enjoyed six and a half glorious years of his company. We did all our learning on this poor lad, who had to put up with the mistakes of a couple of stupid humans while they figured out how things work in a bun's world. Harvey taught us the hard way that textured wallpaper is a really bad idea, and that electrical and phone cables need covering with plastic.

It has to be said that Harvey was a bit of a prima donna, especially when it came to taking his medicine and trying new foods, but he did have a great sense of humour and thoroughly enjoyed the attention lavished on him by us and then Treacle in his later years.

Treacle: 2001-2010

Treacle arrived in July 2002 as company for Harvey. The little angel we chose at the RSPCA turned into a boisterous hooligan once she had her feet under the table.

She was too clever by half. One of the things she figured out very quickly is that you don't get your supper unless both you and your mate are in the hutch, so if he's taking his time about it you need to round him up and maybe give him a nip to get him moving.

She was also very confident and quite well aware that the world revolved around her. Her hobbies included throwing her toys, shredding newspapers (fresh ones, preferably) and pushing people if they were in her way.

Treacle the thief

Pippin: 2004-2016

Pippin arrived in November 2004 from the RSPCA. He absolutely adored Treacle and followed her around wherever she went, so we were very worried about him when she died as he wasn't big in the thinking department and struggled on his own. Luckily he perked up as soon as Isabel arrived, and although we kept them in separate rooms for the first couple of weeks, he kept sneaking off to try and find her.

He enjoyed shredding paper and cardboard boxes, though he had a real confidence problem that he never got over. He thought everything in the world apart from another rabbit and, for some bizarre reason, the vacuum cleaner was really scary.

Pippin finally passed away a week before his 12th birthday in June 2016.

Isabel: 2010-2022

Isabel was very friendly and confident and was adopted from York RSPCA in October 2010. She was another great paper shredder and destroyer of stuff...including carpets which she felt look better without any pile in them.

She got on very well with Pippin, but became a total grump when we tried to introduce her to the two who came after him. Eventually she accepted each but gave them a hard time in the process.

Isabel enjoyed being chased in her younger years and her favourite game involvee us chasing her upstairs, around the bedroom, then downstairs again where she flopped in the middle of the room for a cuddle and a fuss.

Bailey: 2015-2017

Bailey the mini tornado arrived from Pawz for Thought in August 2016.

He was unbelievably cute, and knew it, with a very positive and confident personality. It just never crossed his mind that anyone wouldn't find him adorable. Tiled floors were a particular favourite - he used to skid across them at full speed, often crashing into the wall at the other side because he underestimated his stopping distance.

Sadly he died suddenly after a short illness just a little over a year after coming to live with us and broke all our hearts.

Benji: 2016-2024

Benji joined us on New Year's Eve 2017 from Pawz for Thought. The nervy little lad who wouldn't go near us on our first meeting just loved attention by a week later.

Isabel finally gave him her seal of approval once he started treating her as the goddess she always believed herself to be, though she still got cross with him when he grabbed chunks of food and ran off with them.

When we came into the room Benji ran over to us for a stroke, making a low humming noise as he did so. It's been speculated that he actually had a battery-powered motor and he might have been a real Duracell bunny!

Coco: b.2020

Early 2023 saw the arrival of Coco from Pawz for Thought. Her and Benji hit it off straightaway - easiest bonding ever.

She is undoubtedly the smartest bunny we've had to date: she knows her name, coming when she's called, and also several other words, unsurprisingly all food-related.

She's definitely the playful type, and has discovered bouncing around and high-speed dashes are the way to get our attention and fuss.