Bunnies At Bunnings

The world has gone mad. Chaos and crazy events seem to be happening at lightning speed almost everywhere. But in spite of that or maybe because of that, I’m happy to be in the slow lane rather than in a more tumultuous setting. That said, I would have never expected to see how much people have changed. When was the last time you saw a man wheeling around three enormous bunny rabbits in a shopping trolley at a big box store? Personally, this was my first time.
They’re called Flemish Giants. I know why, firsthand. Did I ever expect I’d see anything like this inside there? Nah. Never, actually.
Why is this year and the last few so different from past times? Well, folks have seemed to have gone off the deep end. There was also a man in there with a large dog on a leash. Why would anyone have to bring their dog to a gigantic hardware store? Emotional support? Are you kidding me? For who? The man? The dog? The other customers?
One wonders. John told me he saw two dogs in there. Perhaps the next time we’ll see a whole kennel of canines. Or rabbits needing to be exercised while being pushed around in very large industrial sized carts. These bunnies look more like bedroom slippers to me, which I of course, being my typical obnoxious Type A self, I had to blab that to their owner. He was a rather quiet soul who most likely got some attention pushing that furry trio around. It certainly was a unique conversation opener.
Me: “Um. What breed are they?”
Him: “Flemish Giants.”
Me: “I know why (haha) (a stupid joke) What are their names?”
Him: This is Lola, 7 months old. And the middle one is Chunky (Hmmm,
I know why again) And on this end is the mother, Buddy. “(must have some gender dysphoria I thought).
Me: “How much does this middle one (the fatty) weigh?”
Him: “At least 6 kilos or more at one year of age. She’ll get bigger as she gets older.”
It was at this point that I pictured a cross between Godzilla and this oversized bunny rabbit, eating through the roof of someone’s house.
Me: “I’ll bet they like to munch on flowers and vegetable tops at dusk.”
Him: “No. They eat pellets mostly and sometimes I give them the tops of carrots.”
Me: “’I’ll bet they love those.”
Him: (looking a bit ready to walk away while I’m petting one of them) “Yea.”
Seeing his face, I asked if I could take a few shots for my blog. He agreed. Probably pleased with this outing (he probably felt he’d hit one out of the park with onlookers looking at his bunnies). And I rushed around like a headless chicken looking for my phone in my purse, which my husband had left for me in another shopping cart, a good distance away from where we were talking, unsupervised, with my wallet in it. That’s a man for ya. Meanwhile, he was already at the car packing it down with the goodies I just bought. Nevertheless, I was ecstatic. What a discovery and just as we were leaving. A thrilling end to a shopping trip to see those passive, almost comatose rabbits filling up that shopping trolley almost completely as they laid there in splendor. They are gorgeous creatures but they’re also quite placid and most likely would prefer to be chewing a nice soft bit of fresh clover than inside with fluorescent lights beaming down on them. I know how wonderful animals are but it strikes me that being shown off to strangers/shoppers inside of a retail outlet the size of a small town, would not be their preferred place to hang out, big ears and all.