On a lazy summer day, Alicia, one of our faithful hay clients, texted me about a baby bunny needing a home. She had been living in the parking lot of a shopping center for at least two months. Cassy, one of the employees in the center, finally caught the rabbit and named her Benito assuming she was a he.
He (she) lived with Cassy in a mobile home—until the landlord found out and told her she had to “get rid of the rabbit” or she’d be ousted. Of course, Alicia thought of us. I was ready to say no and help find her a new home when Chris proclaimed we should adopt her—in a complete role reversal.
A very sad Cassy dropped Benito off at our vet clinic for a thorough checkup and a vaccination. Thanks to the bunny virus, she had to be quarantined for four weeks. After that, we would move her next to Snickers so they can get acquainted. We hoped that someday they would be roommates.
Then we got a phone call from her vet who let us know Cassy had tested positive for the scourge called E. cuniculi. Medication would help, but Cassy will never live with Snickers. We do hope they can be neighbors after her course of medication and spay.
Despite this setback, we believe that serendipity brought Cassy to us. She’s young, lively, funny and full of love (and mischief)—as if she’s always lived here and never had a bad day in her life. Yet again, we’re reminded of the capacity of companion animals to brush off their trauma and just live for the moment. Cassy has also injected youth in to our aging household and makes us all feel younger.