An Adoption Tale: Ethan & Skippy
As Told By Ethan Matchinski
I am a twelve-year-old boy who wanted a pet that would be lively but affectionate. My family and I had considered dogs or guinea pigs as pets, but at least one of us was allergic to these animals. We then started researching rabbits and found the website of the House Rabbit Network. We liked the idea of adopting a rabbit that needed a home, and contacted Cherryl of the House Rabbit Network. She invited us to see the rabbits. Since she had several rabbits at her home, we also thought it would be a good way to see if one of us had allergies to rabbits. Luckily, it turned out that none of us had a problem.
My parents and I spent almost two hours checking out all the rabbits. I had just about decided to adopt a pair of mini-lop bunnies when a young New Zealand white male, who had been sleeping, stood up against his fence as if to say, “You can’t leave without checking me out!” He had been given the name Skippy because he liked to hop and was curious. I went over and he nudged a ball toward me. After I rolled it back at him and he rolled it back at me, I knew he was the rabbit for me!
Skippy joined our family in late November 2004. It took him only about a day or so to get comfortable in his new surroundings. Skippy has his own room where he can run around uncaged. He stays in a large animal pen (not a cage) when we are not at home, and I built him a wooden house that he likes to sleep in while I am at school. If he knows we are home, he will either start chewing on the metal gate to his pen, or scratch on the wood door if he is outside of his pen, to let us know he wants to be around us. He loves to be petted and will come over and flop down next to one of us. He even gives “kisses” with his nose. He can also run fast, and I love it when he hops and clicks his heels. My dad says it is the sign of a happy rabbit! We quickly discovered he likes to chew, as most rabbits do. Thank goodness for apple wood bark! The hardest time we have with Skippy is trying to get him back in his pen when I go off to school, so I bribe him with carrot tops. As first-time rabbit owners, my parents and I have been pleasantly surprised at how friendly and gentle Skippy is. I think Skippy is the best pet a person could have!
Editor’s Note: Skippy was one of the relocated Williamsport rabbits rescued in July 2004, from a closing meat farm in Williamsport, PA. His good-fortune tale illustrates the significance of everyone’s effort in rabbit rescue, and that no one’s contribution is too small.