I’ll probably never know Lur’s origin story, why or how he escaped from his previous human companions, or what he may have learned about or experienced of Terminators in his early life, or why he was chasing that orange cat. What I do know is that he was seen by several persons patrolling the neighborhood for over a month in late summer 2008. He apparently had a route, stopping briefly in selected yards along the way. On several occasions he spent a little more time in my yard, visiting my guinea pigs, who like to spend warm days eating the lawn, enclosed in a fence. Rabbit would run laps around their corral and stop to sniff noses. He seemed friendly and not really afraid of me, but wouldn’t let me get close enough to touch. By the end of September it was starting to get cold, and even though he seemed quite happy with his independent lifestyle when I saw him, I was beginning to get concerned about him (not to mention impressed that he hadn’t been a casualty of hawks, cars, dogs, terminators, stupid kids, or cats – though it appears he has no fear of cats). I decided I would try to catch him.
So on one warm day, the pigs were out doing their mowing duties; Rabbit showed up. It was easy enough to catch him – I just opened one side of the fence, he did his laps and of course went inside. I had me a rabbit.
I did some reconnaissance (er, talked to the neighbors) shortly after catching him and found out that the people who owned him were less than desirable humans (a sad story about a sick dog they never took to the vet) and my neighbors bluntly told me I should keep him and not return him to these people.
At first Lur wasn’t too thrilled about being captive. He seemed healthy, had a flea or two, which was easily taken care
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of. He ended up getting neutered, so that he could be a free range rabbit in my house (after rabbit-proofing) without worries of spraying behavior – he had immediately proved he was litter trained the first night he moved in. In addition to having run of the place, he spends a little time most days outside (even in winter – he’s doesn’t mind cold too much) in the fence. He likes to train (play) by being “scared” with various pieces of dirty or clean laundry being waved over him, which makes him run away under the bed, returning about 2 seconds later to be “chased” again. Lur provides protection services much in the same way as “watch dog” except that he makes no vocal warning; rather, his ears will reveal the presence of friends or foes approaching our home. He also gives warning by stomping his foot if something is truly scaring him.
I can tell he’d still like to take off some days (who knows what he used to do out there in “the wild”), but he seems pretty happy in his new home too.
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*My brother informs me that “Lur” is a character on the animated tv show Futurama. The origin of Rabbit’s name was totally independent, and any resemblance to any other animals, humans, aliens, machines, machines or aliens disguised as humans or animals, fictional or otherwise, is purely coincidental.
Leave’s Attack Piggies
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House Rabbit Society Local Chapters
