Taz's story

I need to post about my first bunny since I wrote about Oscar (Cokie) and Babs. I got Taz from a petstore, knowing nothing about bunnies. I wasn't even planning on getting a bunny when I walked in. I was getting food for my fish. This is SO bad, bad, bad! I always look around the petstore when I go. I saw a room with bunnies in it. They had just gotten a bunch of baby bunnies.
Petstores are bad b/c they usually don't take very good care of their animals. They want to sell them as quickly as possible and spend as little on their care as possible. It's a business. If they get sick, they usually put them down instead of paying for a vet bill. They don't always euthanize, and some of the ways the animals are destroyed are inhumane. Plus, if the pets get too old, they destroy them because customers want baby animals. Not only that, they don't always know how to care for their bunnies and they give customers inaccurate information. The bunnies are sold at too young an age and often come home with an illness. They are often kept in crowded plastic boxes with poor ventilation. When possible, always adopt a pet from a shelter or rescue group. These animals need homes, and they have been cared for properly and socialized. You know what you're getting.
Okay, I'm stepping off my soapbox now. All the bunnies were black and white (Dutch bunnies) except one. He was soft brown and stared up at me quietly with liquid eyes. The others jumped around and played, but he was the only one that seemed to have noticed me. I picked him up and held him. I'm allergic to cats and dogs, but I discovered that I'm not allergic to bunnies. He was unbelievably soft and sat very still in my arms. That was it.
I brought him home, surprising Jason and knowing nothing about how to care for him. He was 4 weeks old. He taught me that bunnies are affectionate and love to play and exercise. We named him Taz after the Tazmanian Devil b/c when he was a youngster, he tore through the apartment with gusto. He got into everything. He is so precious. He used to run circles around my feet and then Jason's feet, alternating and doing little figure 8s. I have a video of him doing it. He loves Jason and plops down by his side every chance he gets.
One time, I had such a bad migraine, I was lying on the floor because I couldn't make it to the bed without the room spinning and overwhelming nausea. Taz came over and began licking my temple, in the exact spot that my brain was pulsating out of my skull. It felt amazing. He took care of me. It was precious. He still takes care of me. He jumps onto the bad and cuddles with me when Jason is out of town. He waits by the door when I come home late.
I lucked out with Taz. He made me want to help other bunnies and learn more about them. He is turning 6 in June. Bunnies can live from 9-12 years old. He is the sweetest little guy (4 lbs). He is still luxuriously soft. He purrs when I pet him. He is the only bunny that grooms me. He licks my face, my nose, my eyelids--verrry carefully. He makes happy little grunts when I pet him and whimpers when I trim his nails. He is very good at putting me on guilt trips. He plays the poor little victim when Babs bullies him. He runs up to strangers and runs to the door when the doorbell rings to see who it is (he scared the pizza guy one time). He begs for food by standing on his hind feet like a dog. He loves popcorn. He licks the refrigerator and the dishwasher. I've taken him to Wisconsin and he ran around my in-laws house and played with the dolls in the living room, dancing with them and looking up their skirts. He is my little bunny. In a way, he is kind of my favorite b/c he's my first.