Cow

Cow is a big goof and seems to redeem me in the eyes of the world. Most people think I'm nuts to have house rabbits, but when they meet Cow they understand a little. She is a 14-pound Flemish Giant who comes when I call her and greets anyone who visits as if they might be her new best friend. She gets on the furniture and hangs out with the dog. <More story below the pictures>

What? I wasn't chewing on that...	Ho Ho Ho
Hanging out with the pigs in the giant litterbox	Cow loves Craisins
So happy I have to flop	Watching Conan
Edith Ann	Um...no comment
Hanging out on the couch	Cow and Casper

Cow... here is the one rabbit who redeems me in the eyes of the world. Most people think I'm nuts to have rabbits hopping around my house and to spend my time rescuing them. They don't know why I put up pictures of them at work and on the Internet or why I want to talk about them all the time. But when someone meets Cow, they suddenly come around my way just a little. Imagine a 14-pound rabbit bounding in to see you when you call her name. She is huge and beautiful and acts more like a dog than a rabbit. Of course, those of us with rabbits know they come in all personalities, but the general public relates better to Cow's personality and amazing size, and so I get a little bit of credibility for my strange rabbit habit.

Cow was an Easter bunny who turned out to be too much for her owner. When I took her in, she had a bad case of fleas and terrible sores on the bottoms of her back feet. The sores had feces stuck in them and were infected. This is a very common condition in large rabbits who are kept on a wire cage floor. Cow's sheer weight pressed her into the wire and it cut into her feet; she had nowhere to rest that wasn't wire that could have protected her from this painful condition. While she did have opportunities to hop around her previous owner's house, she was primarily kept in a cage, and it's next to impossible to provide a cage large enough for this breed of rabbit, a Flemish Giant, to have enough room to live healthily and get enough exercise.

It took several months and a lot of antibiotics and ointments to get Cow's feet to heal. Fortunately, my vet and I got the infection under control. Once it gets into the bone the foot must be amputated. Cow now has calluses on both rear foot pads, and since she spends her life on plush carpet, she should not develop the condition again. In the meantime, she has managed to get herself in a fair amount of trouble. Last summer she busted through some boxes that blocked a lamp cord, bit it, and zapped her tongue. While the vet's prognosis wasn't very good, Dr. Sue and I worked very hard with medicine and love to bring Cow back around. She recovered completely from her electricity incident, unless you count that she drinks a little sideways and dribbles. This winter she had a romp with a three-pound foster bunny and apparently crashed into a wall or some furniture, because she gave herself blunt head trauma! It manifested in a pretty serious eye injury and she may be having surgery soon, but she's ok for now.

Cow just LOVES to be petted and will plop by you for hours for your attention. She comes running for anything that sounds like it might be food or excitement. She gets along fabulously with her collie pal, Casper. I took Cow on "dates" at shelters to pick a dog who would fit in our family. Casper is great with her bunny and they are really amusing to watch. Cow is fearless and this can be a hilarious contrast to shy Casper, who is afraid of her new raised water dish and prefers to drink Cow's water. Once that's gone, Cow just climbs up on Casper's tall dish and gets her refreshment there! When Casper wants to play she will bring Cow a toy, but Cow just thinks she'll be petted or licked so she plops right down and waits for the loving. This can frustrate the dog sometimes but it's still funny to watch.