Skye, meet Lola

We had acquired a bunny. I won’t go into detail how we came to have a bunny but let’s just say that I bullied a mother with two children who are now interested in the opposite sex and driving and not so much bunnies. I immediately got online to check out bunnies. Uh oh. Time and effort would be required. Along with a vet who deals with exotic animals. Exotic animal - give me a break.

Lola was much more cuddly than Skye, our Cairn terrier (Toto), especially when you held her really tight so she couldn't move or possibly breathe. The first few evenings we had her, she spent either in her cage or jammed against our chests which both satisfied a maternal kind of experience and protected her from Skye who watched her intently, drool occasionally glistening at the corners of her mouth. Remembering Toto, the word predator doesn’t come to mind. But Cairns were bred in Scotland to ferret out small rodents. We had certainly seen Skye chase after squirrels with more than playful exuberance. It was, however, only time before Geoff would want to see the two nose to nose. I agreed on the condition we each held onto one animal and after Geoff proved too permissive while holding Skye, we switched so that he held Lola and I smothered Skye. Their noses did in fact touch and Skye even licked Lola which Geoff found adorable and I assumed to be simply taste testing. I was hoping that this little encounter would satisfy Geoff’s curiosity but really, I knew better. A day or two later Geoff called to me from the bedroom to “come and see”. As I walked to the doorway I was not surprised to see Geoff lying on the bed, Lola plopped next to him sniffing this and that, and Skye looking like she was about to wet herself. Geoff beamed with pride, his two little girls together, no blood spilled. Yes, very cute. I couldn’t help but think of those predators who for whatever reason do not strike their prey unless the prey takes off running. The next evening, Geoff, Skye, and Lola once again retired to the bedroom. After a little bit I could make out some sort of activity followed by the hum of a fan. Someone had peed. Geoff later confessed it was Lola. Could you blame her, her only weapon being cuteness? If I found myself face to face with a tiger, I can imagine the bodily functions that would suddenly switch on.

 Despite the pee incident, Geoff was determined to take his social science experiment to the next level. Skye was in the living room with me when, to my horror, Geoff set Lola down on the floor next to Skye. Again he beamed as the two sat quietly checking each other out. And then it happened. The bunny took off running with Skye shooting off after her, Geoff scrambling to get Skye, while I tried to snatch up Lola. Fortunately for Lola, we didn't have our new carpet intalled (this was a new house we moved into before being completed - but that's a whole other blog) so that Skye’s initial few steps were much like those of a cartoon character running in place before making forward progress. Seconds later Geoff and Skye sat on the couch looking at Lola and me on the loveseat opposite them. For a moment all was still and quiet except for heavy breathing by all parties.

After a few days, I must admit I got a little cocky. Noticing Lola lounging under the dining room table, I left Skye alone on the couch to get a drink, throwing a few “stay stays” in her direction (she always looks so attentive when you talk to her). I turned my back, Skye jumped down from the couch, and Lola shot off – in Skye’s direction! Skye responded by crawling under the coffee table – followed by the bunny! I ran to the coffee table and then felt paralyzed as to what to do next, waiting for sounds of gnashing teeth and tearing flesh. To my surprise Skye immerged from beneath the table, albeit tail between her legs, and jumped up onto the couch next to where I stood. Oh my god, our dog was scared of a bunny. How could that be? Perhaps it had something to do with the previous evenings when Lola, being extremely curious and apparently having the street smarts of road kill, would hop up next to Skye causing me to let out a scream, flip Skye to my other side, and shoo Lola off the couch. If I didn’t act quickly, Lola would springboard off Skye’s back to hop onto my lap followed by more screaming and shooing. Then again, perhaps Skye still wasn’t herself since trying to jump through the glass in the French doors leading into the sunroom. In Skye's defense, Geoff hung the doors several months ago but installed the glass only a few days ago and we apparently neglected to tell Skye.