Click here to play music "Wild Child" Our Daisy was purchased at a local pet store. Now, I would know to seek out a shelter in obtaining a pet. Then, I didn't know and I'm glad I didn't. Otherwise I would have never met Daisy! My daughter and I had been to the pet shop three times in three days to visit the "bunny who licked my daughter's hand." We had asked the pet shop employee about the little rabbit and we were told that she was a 6 week old "Dutch" and a "female". She could leave the shop to come home with us as soon as we wanted. Now it was time to spring the idea of a rabbit companion for Shannon upon my unsuspecting husband. Seated at the dinner table that evening the subject was broached. "Dad," my daughter began, "Mom wants a rabbit." I raised my eyebrows and looked at her. "Well," she confessed, "I want the rabbit but mom wants her too!" We then told him of our recent visits to the pet store and the meeting with the bunny who licked my daughter's hand. My husband balanced the mashed potatoes on his fork. "Now what would we do with a rabbit?" he wondered. "I would keep her as a pet," Shannon replied. "You can't keep a rabbit as a pet," my husband concluded. "They are outdoor animals." "Besides," he continued, "we have Josh. You can't have a rabbit with a cat." "But Dad!" my daughter emplored. "She likes me! She licked my hand! I'll clean the cage and we can keep her in the living room." "A rabbit in the living room??" my husband said disbelieving. Now it was my turn to interject. Shannon was right. I had fallen in love with the pet shop bunny as well and DID want the little rabbit as much as my daughter. To my husband, "pets" equaled "dogs"...and now "cats" because of Josh. But a rabbit? I explained to my husband about domestic house rabbits that were kept IN the house as pets. I had done my homework and was well armed! And as for Josh our cat, he wouldn't harm a flea on an anthill! My husband finished his forkful of potaoes and thought to close the discussion by saying, "I'll have to think about it." Shannon and I both flew to the rabbit's defense. There wasn't TIME to think about it! It was March! Rabbits were going like hotcakes at a church breakfast! There will always be other rabbits?? Yes. But Shannon wanted THIS rabbit. Tears were filling her eyes. "Dad," she implored, "out of all the bunnies she is the one who came up and licked my hand!" The water works began. My husband defended himself through submission. "Well, I suppose it's alright. How big do they get?" We assured him that this breed did not usually get any larger than 5 or 6 pounds. The issue was settled. Tomorrow we would go to the shop and bring the bunny home! The next day Shannon and I excitedly made our way to the pet store. Upon seeing my daughter the tiny rabbit ran to the side of the cage and stood on hind legs to greet us. After purchasing the required trappings, and the bunny, we headed to the car with our new companion snuggled into a box I held under my arm. My daughter had already named our new friend. "Daisy!" she had said with a smile. "That's the name I gave her the first time I saw her." And so Daisy "she" was! ???Mr Daisy??? We had had the privledge of Daisy's companionship for a few weeks. Housed in her cage in the living room, the little rabbit had quickly become a family member. True to my vow not to keep her caged, I let her out several times a day to explore. And explore she did! Every nook and cranny was sniffed and every object stationary and not stationary was given the customary "chin rub"... including our cat Josh who tolerated well his new admirer. I smiled to myself seeing how easily bunny life had been settled into until...The Day. "Wheeeee!" "Mom!!" my daughter's distraught cry as she came running into the kitchen where I was busily preparing dinner. "The bunny's being a fountain in the living room!" The words had a familiar ring, spoken in the same tone she had used last summer when she informed me that the "red stuff I used to sprinkle on the potatoe salad" was moving in the cabinet. I immediatley set the salad bowl on the table and headed toward the living room to check on our long earred friend.... arriving just in time to see Daisy fly by with a jump, a squirt from "her" backend and a leap of pure bunny joy. The artificial white roses that graced a corner of our living room now sported a yellow tinge. I set out on a run to retrieve our spraying friend who clearly thought that I had joined in the game. I called the vet. Amused, the vetinarian told me that my sweet little girl bunny was in reality a macho male beginning to feel his oats. I would want to get him neutered. NOW I know that neutering is the best thing for a rabbit but THEN I thought it was some kind of an act against nature. "I'll have to think about that," I told the vet. "Ok!" came the reply. "I'm sure I will be hearing from you soon!" Good days were said and I hung up the phone to find my daughter standing in the doorway. The bottom of her pantsleg now wore the same color and scent as the artificial roses. "He got me," she said. Instructing Shannon to change her clothes I called the vet. "How soon can I bring him in?" I asked. The evening following his surgery I reminded my daughter that she had never changed his name. "I want him to stay Daisy," she informed me. "That was the name I gave him when I first saw him and he licked my hand." Well," my husband thought aloud, referring to the surgery, "I guess it doesn't matter now." So Daisy he stayed even though at nine years of age we added Mr. to his name out of respect for age! Neutering didn't change Daisy's macho male attitude in the least. Although we were dry once again, he managed to display his manhood in other ways. Click on the text link! "Daisy and...The Chiropractor's Hamster" (Mr.)Daisy January 1994-January 3,2008 Memorial Link Poem: "Please Stay With Me Awhile" (The Heartbreak of Euthanasia) (A guardian's struggle) My Daisy passed to the Rainbow Bridge from old age and kidney failure. Thank you Daisy for 14 amazing years. I love you. Mom NEW: (Mr.) Daisy's Gift Photo link A precious gift Daisy gave me AFTER he passed to the Bridge. Main Website