Cottontales

A week of hare-raising adventures with the rabbit people and the bunny lady

A A A Comments By Silke Tudor Wednesday, Apr 10 2002

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"I have a sixth sense about this stuff," says Jensen as she brings Teddy and his favorite bunny pal, Abigail, into the pen. The strange animal friends play in the kitchen as Jensen tells a story about Teddy's last pal, a crippled rabbit named William P., whose dying wish was to lie in the yard.

"Teddy and William were laying in a pile of stuffed animals when I took a shower," says Jensen, showing me a picture of the two animals curled up on a blanket together. "When I came out, they were laying side by side in the grass outside. At first, I was really mad at Teddy. Then, two days later, William died. I told someone at the shelter how angry I was, and they suggested that William might have asked to go outside. I asked Teddy and, sure enough, it was William's last request."

Kathe Hashimoto

One of Donna Jensen's 24 houseguests.

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We bring Charlotte outside, and she teases the other rabbits by running laps around their exercise pens. Most of the rabbits ignore her, docilely tossing their baby toys about, nibbling on grass, watching the songbirds visiting at the bird feeder; Sabrina tries to bite Charlotte's nose.

"Rabbits are unlike any other animal," says Jensen. "They're very, very special. But people who own rabbits have to let them be rabbits. You can't pick them up and get mad at them when they chew things -- that's just what rabbits do. You have to let them be themselves, and everyone will be happy."

Folks interested in rabbits or the House Rabbit Society should visit www.rabbit.org.

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