'Oh...my...goodness,' she thought, 'that rabbit is HUGE! Where on earth are we gonna put her?!' *gulp*
But its cuteness and sweetness overshadowed the fact that the rabbit was waaaay bigger than she'd imagined. She smiled and assumed her 'bunny voice'--as all good rabbit owners do--and reached in to gently pat her little (or big, rather) fur baby. In that moment, she realized she knew absolutely nothing at all about rabbits. But in the next days to follow, she would learn, by golly, she would learn.
The Bunny Master (aka: her mother-in-law) would teach her everything she needed to know about these small, adorable, shy creatures. Like the Karate Kid, she would sit at Mr. Miyagi's feet and glean as much bunny knowledge as her mind could contain. Minus the waxing on and off and the crane move and the injuries and the roundhouse kicks to the side...
In the course of 5 short days, she learned rabbit eating habits, activities, and grooming techniques. They can't eat iceberg lettuce...they love bananas...they hate being picked up...they have fragile skeletal systems...they need their scent glands cleaned out (*throw up face*)...they have a special kind of fecal matter that they EAT (**double throw up face**)...her rabbit actually was skinny and needed to gain more weight (what?!). Bunny info danced through her brain like fireflies in an empty field. Bunny overload. Good thing bunnies are also cute. And sweet.
When it came time to make the trip back to the Windy City with Miss Daisy the Rabbit, she was a storehouse of knowledge...but she was not quite prepared for what lay ahead at the airport. In the long security line, she stood with her husband while holding a very frightened rabbit in an animal carrier. She tried to act natural (but secretly smiled) as other airport patrons occasionally did double takes into the carrier when they realized that there was a live animal inside. Little children would shyly inch closer and stand on their tiptoes to peer into the bag (she always discreetly lowered the carrier so they could get a better view). All seemed well and good until they approached the x-ray machines. Before she could stop herself from the nonsense that poured out her mouth, she heard herself saying to the TSA agent, 'I have a rabbit in here. She doesn't have to go through the x-ray machine, right?'
'Why, why on earth would they make you put your LIVE animal through an x-ray machine?' she thought to herself.
She was relieved, of course, when she was told no...she could just take the rabbit out and walk through the metal detector with it. Whew. But wait...
She had never picked up a rabbit before! Oh. My. Goodness. Eyes wide, she gazed off into the distance, envisioning what chaos would ensue if the pick up were to go horribly wrong. All she could see was a slow-motion version of Daisy leaping from her arms, accidently scratching her on the way down...her yelling, 'Nooo!!!' (in slow-motion, of course)...TSA agents tackling her to the floor as the rabbit goes charging off, running in between people's legs, tripping children, clawing feet...
'Unless you think she'll run away...' the TSA agent's voice broke her stunned reverie.
'Oh-h,' she stammered, 'Uh, yeah, I think she's too nervous to be taken out right now.'
'Ok, we'll just take you into a screening room instead," he said nicely, as he called out some information on his radio.
She walked with husband and rabbit through the metal detector and waited patiently until someone could take her back to a screening room. It was like waiting to get into Fort Knox. Different agents came over...then went to look for other people...then asked what the gender of the bunny was (why did that matter?)...asked who was the actual owner of the rabbit (she or her husband)...asked the rabbit's blood type (not really, but they might as well have). A male and a female agent finally took her and her scared bunny into a private screening room...and the latex-gloved man reached into the carrier and patted down the rabbit!!! Who pats down a bunny? What possible threat to the airport could she have even thought about hiding in or near a LIVE animal?! Poor, poor bunny.
After the search and (non)seizure, she had her hands wiped down for suspicious materials and was allowed to proceed with her terrified rabbit toward her airport terminal. Once man, woman, and bunny made it safely onto their plane, she breathed a sigh of relief that the entire traveling ordeal was closer to being over. If Daisy could just make it through this one plane ride, one train ride, and one taxi ride (oh, is that all?), they'd be home free.
She sat back in her seat and smiled as she watched her husband carefully slide rabbit and carrier under the seat in front of her. And suddenly thought, 'We had to pay $125 to stick a rabbit under the seat like carry-on luggage?!'
Good thing rabbits are cute and sweet."
In the course of 5 short days, she learned rabbit eating habits, activities, and grooming techniques. They can't eat iceberg lettuce...they love bananas...they hate being picked up...they have fragile skeletal systems...they need their scent glands cleaned out (*throw up face*)...they have a special kind of fecal matter that they EAT (**double throw up face**)...her rabbit actually was skinny and needed to gain more weight (what?!). Bunny info danced through her brain like fireflies in an empty field. Bunny overload. Good thing bunnies are also cute. And sweet.
When it came time to make the trip back to the Windy City with Miss Daisy the Rabbit, she was a storehouse of knowledge...but she was not quite prepared for what lay ahead at the airport. In the long security line, she stood with her husband while holding a very frightened rabbit in an animal carrier. She tried to act natural (but secretly smiled) as other airport patrons occasionally did double takes into the carrier when they realized that there was a live animal inside. Little children would shyly inch closer and stand on their tiptoes to peer into the bag (she always discreetly lowered the carrier so they could get a better view). All seemed well and good until they approached the x-ray machines. Before she could stop herself from the nonsense that poured out her mouth, she heard herself saying to the TSA agent, 'I have a rabbit in here. She doesn't have to go through the x-ray machine, right?'
'Why, why on earth would they make you put your LIVE animal through an x-ray machine?' she thought to herself.
She was relieved, of course, when she was told no...she could just take the rabbit out and walk through the metal detector with it. Whew. But wait...
She had never picked up a rabbit before! Oh. My. Goodness. Eyes wide, she gazed off into the distance, envisioning what chaos would ensue if the pick up were to go horribly wrong. All she could see was a slow-motion version of Daisy leaping from her arms, accidently scratching her on the way down...her yelling, 'Nooo!!!' (in slow-motion, of course)...TSA agents tackling her to the floor as the rabbit goes charging off, running in between people's legs, tripping children, clawing feet...
'Unless you think she'll run away...' the TSA agent's voice broke her stunned reverie.
'Oh-h,' she stammered, 'Uh, yeah, I think she's too nervous to be taken out right now.'
'Ok, we'll just take you into a screening room instead," he said nicely, as he called out some information on his radio.
She walked with husband and rabbit through the metal detector and waited patiently until someone could take her back to a screening room. It was like waiting to get into Fort Knox. Different agents came over...then went to look for other people...then asked what the gender of the bunny was (why did that matter?)...asked who was the actual owner of the rabbit (she or her husband)...asked the rabbit's blood type (not really, but they might as well have). A male and a female agent finally took her and her scared bunny into a private screening room...and the latex-gloved man reached into the carrier and patted down the rabbit!!! Who pats down a bunny? What possible threat to the airport could she have even thought about hiding in or near a LIVE animal?! Poor, poor bunny.
After the search and (non)seizure, she had her hands wiped down for suspicious materials and was allowed to proceed with her terrified rabbit toward her airport terminal. Once man, woman, and bunny made it safely onto their plane, she breathed a sigh of relief that the entire traveling ordeal was closer to being over. If Daisy could just make it through this one plane ride, one train ride, and one taxi ride (oh, is that all?), they'd be home free.
She sat back in her seat and smiled as she watched her husband carefully slide rabbit and carrier under the seat in front of her. And suddenly thought, 'We had to pay $125 to stick a rabbit under the seat like carry-on luggage?!'
Good thing rabbits are cute and sweet."
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