Thistle

It is amazing to think in 2011 Tansley and Thistle were nearly indistinguishable from each other. One thing is for sure, even if the resemblance has melted away a little over the years that Thistle has been unwell, the brotherly love endured.

We knew that Thistle did not have long left- having suffered from E Cuniculi for many years, his body was beginning to fail and his weight dropped drastically. The only thing stopping us from letting him go earlier was his continued zest for life. Even in the last week I saw him in his grass enclosure more than his brother, dining al-fresco and sunbathing. We knew an ethical decision was looming, but on Wednesday little Thistle took it away from us and passed away naturally during the night.

Goodbye little man.

Thistle In The Sun

Thistle is very sick. Quite apart from his recurring head-tilt and respiratory infections, he has recently become just a bag of bones, a fraction of his healthy weight. Although I didn't get all the details off Caroline before she went on holiday, I believe the vet found something serious and sadly Thistle probably doesn't have much time left with us.

So, he is very sick, as anyone who sees him up close can easily tell. The only one who doesn't seem to know he's sick is Thistle himself...

"Dude! I totally beat Tansley to the grated carrot again! I'm gonna scoff the lot!"

Knowing he probably doesn't have long, it's really great to see him happily enjoying life and racing about making the most of it. Which he does right up until nap time which, just to scare us, he takes wherever he happens to be at that moment...

"Dude! I'm catching some rays here! Can't a bunny take some z's in the sun without being stared at?"

A Thistle In The Grass

"You know what makes this particular patch even better? It's mine."

Straight Out The Handbook

A little known fact about rabbits is that when a young bunny gets to a certain age, its fellow lagomorphs throw him or her a big coming-of-age party at which they present the big-eared bounder a book. The contents of this book are to be kept secret from humans, so I can't tell you too much, but the general structure of what fills the pages is a manual of sorts, the collected wisdom of those who came before, a guide on how to live as a little fluffster.

Sitting between the chapter on how to decide which cables to chomp for maximum attention and the chapter about how to turn a human garden into a rabbit paradise through a sustained campaign of digging is a chapter entitled "How To Frighten Your Humans". Within that is a large, illustrated section on "Sleeping Positions To Induce Panic", where a whole host of positions are shown that give the sleeper an appearance of lifelessness.

Thistle has studied his copy well. Here we see him demonstrating position 7, one of the more advanced of the set, throwing in variation 4, "Eyes Wide Open".

Well done Thistle, a perfectly executed manoeuvre. Now, if you'll excuse me, while I reflect on your obvious skill I'm just going to have a sit down and see if I can convince my heart rate to drop below a drum roll...

Brotherly Snuggly

Into The Tub

"I know I could reach that tub before the slow old human, but would I get the lid off and the snacks out in time? Oh wait, I forgot how dumb they are..."

"HEY YOU! THERE'S AN ATTRACTIVE HUMAN BEHIND YOU, OF AN APPROPRIATE GENDER FOR YOUR ROMANTIC TASTES, WITH THEIR SHIRT OFF!"

"Ha ha ha, what a fool, there is no such thing as an attractive human! Right, time for some snacks..."

The Saturday Morning Munch

[...nom-nom-nom...]

[...nom-nom-nom...]

The Brothers Nom

The Prince's Pride

"Hello. My name is Inigo Buntoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

Brothers

"Quit it Thistle, these are my breakfast noms!"

"OK Tansley let's share the noms."

Long time residents Thistle (left) and Tansley (right) enjoying some tasty veg snacks together. An all too common story, they are the result of an un-spayed doe who escaped from her garden and "got it on" with the locals before returning with a surprise for her parents. Sadly not many people want rabbits with wild genes in their mix as they tend to be more cautious of humans. But after so long with us these guys are pretty bold, especially when you're holding the snack bucket!