The Fine Art of Slave Training

Yesterday, I was late bringing His Majesty his food. As all bunneh slaves know, that is a transgression that cannot be overlooked. As punishment, I was given a thorough snubbing last night.

(Apologies for the blurry pic--cell phones do not handle distance well.)

Checking out of the corner of his eye to see if I have been punished enough.

The snubbing lasted for about a half-hour or so, since His Majesty is generally a benevolent despot and doesn't like to overdo the punishment. Afterwards, he came over to check on me:

"Now don't go doing that again or I will have to snub you even harder next time.

Yes, you can pet me now. I forgive you...this time."

Yes, I do believe I am forgiven. (Note to fellow bunneh-slaves: a good ear rub will melt even the toughest bunneh.) 

I may have overdone it, though; I ended up with a big fuzzy puddle of melted bun in my lap. Do you how hard that is to get off your pajamas? 

To Tide You Over

Hi all--it's been a crazy month, and it's not getting any less crazy any time soon. I've been doing a lot of stuff for the House Rabbit Connection , and there have been birthdays, appointments, and all kinds of things keeping me hopping lately. Hubby and I will be going to visit The Boy at college the first weekend in October as well, so any major updating will have to take place once we get back.

Until that happens, though, here's a bit of Mick to tide you over until then. As you can see, he's definitely not being neglected (although he might tell you otherwise, of course...)  Enjoy!

Mick says fleecy pants are great for snuggling.

A few words from Mr. Mick

Hello all, Mickey here.

Just wanted to personally thank everyone and everybun for all your good thoughts while I was under the weather. I am doing much better now; Mum says I have one more day of medicine after this and then I'll be done--which is a good thing because I'm tired of stuff being stuck in my mouth. Sure, it tastes pretty good, but I'd rather eat a hay cookie.

Seems there's been a lot of rabbits who haven't been feeling their best lately, so I want to send a shout-out to my buds Speedy and Jensen, and my cousins Harrington and Hannah as well--hope you guys are feeling good soon, 'cause I'm overdue for some adventuring and it's no fun adventuring alone (well, unless I have some solo business to do--like munching on wires or something...that is, if I was the type of bun who would munch on wires...which I'm not...that anyone can prove or anything...)

Anyway, just wanted to let all my fans know how I'm doing. Now, I'm overdue for a snack and a nap, so I'll catch up more with you later.

Nose bonks to one and all,
Mr. Mick

Guess who's home again?

HE'S BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!

Brought Mr. Mick home this afternoon; he's eating well, and almost completely back to normal. He got his last dose of Cisapride today and has 5 more days of Baytril to go, and hopefully that will take care of it.

Thanks much to everyone for the well-wishes, good thoughts and prayers. They were very much appreciated. :D

Somebunny is not well

Note: Updates below post...

Hi all--Mr. Mick has been diagnosed with pneumonia, and is currently spending the night at the vet's. He had been acting oddly over the past three or four days; he was doing everything he should, just not the way he normally does. He was eating, but not with his usual gusto, and doing a lot of picking at stuff. He was pooping, but poops were smaller and not as well-formed as usual. Even his "sick" behavior wasn't the same; when Mick is not well, he tends to hide and avoid contact--this time, he was parking his but right next to his cage door and wanting to be petted more than fed. Even for a lovey-bun like Mick, this wasn't normal.

I figured it was his teeth giving him fits, and fortunately, he already had an appointment on the books to get them done, so I called the vet and asked that an exam be added to the usual work. Monday, I brought him in and the vet looked him over; everything appeared normal, but we decided to do some x-rays just in case. His Majesty not only got his teeth done, but also his ears cleaned, his nails trimmed and his butt fur trimmed. The vet said there was one spot on the x-rays that she wasn't sure about so she was sending them out for consult. I brought Mick home, and he tucked into his greens like he hadn't eaten in weeks...and generally snubbed me for the rest of the night. Back to normal, right?

Not quite.

His vet called this morning, and let me know the x-ray results: the spot was pneumonia, and it was likely worse than it appeared in the picture. There was also evidence that his gut system was sluggish, likely because of the reduced appetite. She said it was her day off, but that she'd talked to the other vet at the practice (also a rabbit-savvy vet) and everything was set up for treatment for him as soon as I could bring him in. It was agreed that injectable antibiotics were best, so that he could get a stronger dose, so he is getting Baytril by injection, and Cisapride for the gut motility. I didn't realize he would need to spend the night, so I've been a bit of a wreck all day. The last time I brought a rabbit to the vet's for an overnight stay was with Mick's predecessor, Karnage, and Karnage passed away before I could bring him home. This was not the fault of the vet, and I know the two aren't related, but I really don't need to lose another bun without being able to say goodbye properly, and I'm really not ready to lose my Mick. Right now, it's normally his out-and-about time, and it's really strange not to have him bopping about and bugging me for hay cookies.

I'll be calling his vet first thing in the morning to see how he is, and hopefully I can bring him home tomorrow to continue treatment. Wish us luck.

UPDATE, 8/7/13: Went to visit Mr. Mick at the vet's since his vet wants him to stay one more night--she says the drugs appear to be working, but his appetite still isn't great. I brought him one of his favorite thrones, his pellets and hay, some kale and baby romaine, his hay cookies and some willow leaves. He was all kinds of happy to see me--I got kisses and toothpurrs galore. I did get him to eat some kale and some hay cookies with coaxing (and if you need to coax Mick to eat kale and hay cookies, he's definitely not well), and spent over an hour with him before the vet techs needed the exam room for other patients. It was so hard to leave him there again, but hopefully I will be able to bring him home tomorrow. 

UPDATE #2, 8/8/13: Called the vet's this morning and spoke to one of the vet techs. She said that Mick is eating well (the food from home definitely did the trick), but it's his vet's day off and she wants him to stay one more night so she can reevaluate him when she's there tomorrow. So glad to hear he's eating, and I'd rather he stay than go home too early and have things head south, but I SO miss my grumpy furball. 

Snuggle Time, and the livin' is easy...

Hi there from both of us!

It was a very snuggly night last night. We had just come home from dinner a short time before, and I was sitting at the computer planning on a long night of doing nothing, when The Boy appeared in the doorway...and he was holding a familiar orange puffball.

Me: What are you doing with Mick?

Him: I'm bored. This is how bored I am; I'm so bored, I'll even let the rabbit shed on me.

Me: I didn't hear any commotion. You mean he actually let you pick him up out of his cage?

Him: Yep. Do I have his feet right?

Me: Yes. I need to take a picture of this.

Him: No. No pictures.

Me: Dang!

Apparently His Majesty was caught completely off-guard by this maneuver, and was sitting completely still in my son's arms, a very confused look on his face. I made sure he was being held properly, and then went to change into an old shirt in case things changed. Sure enough, after a while, Mick started to fidget a little and The Boy got bored with holding him, so I took over and brought Mick into the living room so I could sit down on the couch and watch boxing. His Majesty promptly snuggled up against my neck and fell asleep, waking up for brief moments to reassure me that he was not at all sleepy with a few kisses and toothpurrs before falling asleep again. The Boy took some pictures of us for me, and this was the best of the bunch. All in all, Mick spent a little over three hours parked on my chest getting pets, ear massages, butt-scritchings and tummy rubs, and I got toothpurrs, kisses and a fur coating from neck to navel in return. Didn't even have to bribe him with a hay cookie, either.

A few words from Mr. Mick

"Just to let you know, Mum was going to post some more pictures of those foo' babies, but I knew you humans wouldn't be able to handle it. Honestly, there was so much *squee*-ing going on the last time, I couldn't eat my hay cookies in peace. Therefore, I have deleted them. Maybe if you can contain yourselves, I'll let her post them at a later date. Honestly, foo' humans...always fussing about after silly babies when there's perfectly cute rabbits of *ahem* slightly more advanced years being ignored...and unloved...and maybe if there were treats in this tin, said rabbits might feel somewhat better about themselves...Just a thought..."

WARNING: Lethal levels of *SQUEE* detected!

WARNING! The following post has been loaded with more *squee* than humans should be allowed. Please take the necessary precautions--failure to do so may result in fainting, brain explosions, and melting into a puddle of goo. You have been warned. 

As you may or may not know, I was recently elected Vice President of the House Rabbit Connection, and part of the reason I haven't been able to blog so much is because I've been doing my part to help find homes for rescued rabbits. In late June, one of the rabbits that HRC took in turned out to be pregnant, and on June 30, she brought 5 adorable little kits into the world. I figured you'd all enjoy a look at them:

3 days old

6 days old

"Excuse me?! Trying to sleep here!"

9 days old

"Pssssst...we're making a break for it after naptime. Pass it on..."

First eyes open--9 days old

12 days old

13 days old

"I hear you *squee*-ing out there."

"Is it dinner time yet?"

This is mama Grace. 

She and her babies will be available for adoption once the babies are old enough (about 7 or 8 weeks). 

"Hmph...I'd better be getting some treats for sharing my blog like this..."

And now, a word from Mr. Mick...

"...Humph..."

(What? "humph" is a word!)

Happy, Hoppy Independence Day!

(thanks to Lorna for the picture!)

Five years in a row!

Look at this--posting again so soon?! Good heavens!

Yes, amazing, isn't it? Bunspace has decided to help inspire more blogging from us--Mr. Mick has won a spot in their 2014 Calendar, which benefits the House Rabbit Society. This is the fifth year that he's been chosen, so we are all kinds of thrilled as always. This is his winning picture:

Sums His Majesty up pretty well, don't you think?

Still here!

Hi there!

Yes, we're still here. Things have been very busy for me these many days; either I haven't had the time to post anything or I haven't had enough brain cells to come up with anything to post. I have been lurking for the most part; reading everyone's blogs, but not always commenting on them, so even when I was around, you wouldn't necessarily have known it.

"Hmph...just lazy if you ask me."

The Boy is home from college for the summer, and has been gracious enough to perform his duties as Official Photographer to His Majesty, so I have a bunch of pictures to share (and a few videos as well), but I may spread them out over many, many days so that I have something to put up even when I don't have time or brain function to post.

 "My adoring fans deserve nothing but the best."

As for Mr. Mick, he has been doing as well as can be expected under the circumstances. His slave is a slacker, his Boy is always harrassing him, and there's never enough hay cookies to satisfy him, but somehow he manages to maintain some dignity despite it all.

"You just can't get good help these days..."

He's still miffed that I didn't post on his 6th birthday, which was June 20th. He says my failure to chronicle his day of celebration resulted in a loss of potential gifts, although he does want to thank everyone who sent him well-wishes through Facebook. 

"Honestly, my needs are simple.

Servitude and hay cookies--is that too much to ask?"

Thanks much to one and all for being patient with us--we're not gone yet!

Hugs and much love,

Jade and Mr. Mick 

Happy Hoppy Easter!

Mr. Mick and I wish everyone and everybun a Happy Hoppy Easter and Joyous Passover (and a Hoppy Bunday for those who don't celebrate either of those). Mr. Mick got two treats for Easter gifts: 3 pots of fresh oat grass and kale in his veggie bowl. His Majesty deemed the oat grass "too much grass, not enough oats", but he was delighted with the kale, as you can see here:


 He was less than impressed with the other part of our Easter day: getting his cage cleaned.

"Really? You thought this was necessary?"

"Hmph..."

"Well, you did manage to remember the oats..."

"Kale? Mmmmmmm, kale..."

"Well, I suppose I can live with it...but don't expect it to last."

It never does, Mick...never does...

The Petco Post

Hey all, Mickey here.

No, you haven't interrupted me in the middle of me doing anything, this is a picture of me at the local Petco in my unofficial duty as unofficial House Rabbit Connection spokesbun, helping to educate people about rabbits and get some of my fellow buns adopted. Mum and I and our friend Amy were there; they talked to the people and I got petted and fed treats and told how adorable I am. It's a tough job, but somebunny's gotta do it, right?

Here I am with Mum at our little table. Mum made the posters, which have pictures and descriptions of all the HRC buns looking for furever homes.

One of them has already been adopted since we did the event, and hopefully more will follow.

Of course, a lot of people were hoping *I* was available for adopting--and who wouldn't want to bring me home? I'm a superstar.

This is our friend Amy; she loves me, so I let her hold me for a while. She has a bunch of rabbits and some other animals, though, so I couldn't go home and live with her, either. (Not that I'd want to leave my Mum, y'know, but a bun has to consider his options just in case...)

Yep, it was a really good day. I got petted, got treats galore, got all kinds of love from everybody--even the Petco staff came over to say hi and scratch me behind the ears. They're good people, I like them. Mum says maybe we can do this again later in the year as well, so we can get the good word out about rabbits to even more people. I told her as long as I get paid in treats, I'm there.

Now, I have to go and supervise Mum--she's making me some extra hay cookies to make up for the fact that she's abandoning me for a week and a half in order to spend time with The Big Guy and The Boy in that Florida place they like to go to. Sure, I have my Alternate Slave coming to tend to my needs, but it's not exactly the same as traveling to warm places and lounging by the pool and watching baseball, is it? *sigh* I suppose I have to let her go have some fun once in a while--after all, she doesn't get to travel via closet-hopping like I do, she's always stuck at home.

Hmmmm, that reminds me...while she's gone, I can go visit my friends when Alternate Slave isn't around--and there's a certain foo' gerbil that needs to be taught not to insult his rabbit superiors. I think it's time Mr. Freddie learned the story of Little Bunny Foo Foo...the REAL version:

*clears throat, sings*

Little Rabbit Mick-Mick
Hopping through the closet
Scooping up foo' gerbil 
And BOPPING him on the head!

*turns and hops away, mumbling under his breath*

"old as Mickey's breath", my fuzzy butt...

Mr. Mick makes some picks

Hey all, Mickey here.

It looks like we're a day late and a carrot short around here, as always. It seems yesterday was a special day of sorts; on that day, three years ago, Mum started this foo' blog in order to let everyone know just what a spectacular rabbit I am ...and to tell people her rabbit stories and show off her rabbit stuff, but no one really reads all that.  

Because of this special day, we had a contest, and Mum was supposed to be announcing the winners of said contest yesterday. As you can see, nothing happened yesterday, and so I am forced as always to take matters into my own paws myself. Mum has no one but herself to blame for this, which is a sad thing, really (Frankly, I would love to blame The Boy for all this, but he's not around.)--she says she had a bit of a mental fogout, just couldn't get anything done on the computer. Of course we all know that's human-speak for "impending senility", but we'll let it slide just this once.

Apparently I was supposed to choose three winners for this contest by picking slips of paper out of a box or something like that. I told Mum I was doing nothing of the sort; why should I have to go to all that work when I can just get on the computer and use a random number thingie? (Besides, she wasn't giving me nearly enough compensation for the task. A few dozen treats was all I asked for--is that so hard to do?) 

Mum finally agreed, and so picks were made; there were 13 people in all who entered the contest, and I personally want to thank everyone who entered. It does my fuzzy heart good to know how much I am loved.

The winners of our Candle Giveaway are:

1. Juliet of Crafty Green Poet
2. Friend of the Animals of Life with Reno Rabbits
3. SixBunnies of ... (dangit, SixBunnies, you should have a blog!)

Congratulations! Please email Mum at jade@jademyst.com and let her know your mailing address so she can have your candle shipped to you. Also, please let her know what kind of candle you would like; the ones with the picture of me are Cotton Fields-scented, but there are other scents available as well as unscented--they just don't have my picture on them.

Now, it's time for my nap, so come back again another time--Mum still has to tell you all about our appearance at Petco this year...assuming she still remembers it...

Hoppy Valentine's Day and a Giveaway!

Hoppy Valentine's Day to everyone and everybun from me and Mr. Mick (who says that he is available for hugs, smooches and pets for anyone who doesn't already have a Valentine this year).

Hubby and I tend to keep things low-key for Valentine's Day; our gifts to each other usually involve a trip to our local chocolate shop, Catherine's Chocolates, for sinfully yummy goodies. Mr. Mick gets goodies year-round, so his treat this year is some particularly nice dill mixed in with his usual baby romaine (the local grocery store had some really good produce for once).

Another celebration coming up soon is our blogiversary; as of February 25, we'll have been (hopefully) entertaining you for three years. In honor of this momentous occasion, we are having a giveaway!

As some of you may know, Mick and I have been very involved with the House Rabbit Connection, which is the MA & CT chapter of the House Rabbit Society. Recently, HRC has been partnering with Charity Wicks to offer candles for sale with a portion of the proceeds to benefit HRC. These candles are soy-based, come in an assortment of scents (including unscented) and have pictures of adorable HRC rabbits who have found homes--and one unofficial HRC spokesbun:

Yes, that is Mr. Mick in his blue scarf--and his scent is (get this)...Cotton Fields! How funny is that?

Now, since this is going to be our 3rd blogiversary, it only makes sense that we will be giving away three candles--one to each of three people. The winners will each get to choose what candle they want; you can choose a Mr. Mick candle, or you can choose one of the other scents available (which have other adorable buns on them). To see the available choices, you can go to the HRC Charity Wicks page and check them out. 

To enter the contest, simply leave a comment here, or you can email me at jade@jademyst.com with the subject line "Candle Giveaway" and let me know that you want to enter the giveaway. Mick will be choosing the winners on our blogiversary, February 25, 2013. Good luck, everybun!

Battening down the hatches (again)

Hey! It's us!

Taken with my crappy cell phone, btw.

Yes, we are fine, although Mr. Mick is currently getting icky ointment put in his eyes in the hopes of relieving the mild leakiness that has been going on. I keep telling his vet that all that stuff does is make his fur greasy, but I'm giving it one more shot and then after that, I'm going with some herbal tea washes instead to see if that makes things any better without all the grease. 

You can see a little of the greasiness here, 

although I actually tried to keep it from showing for picture purposes.

He'll be done with the ointment on Monday, which is good because we have another public appearance coming up. If you live in the western MA area, we will be at the Petco in Pittsfield, MA on Sunday, February 17th from 2pm to either 4 or 5pm to spread the good word about rabbits and rabbit care and encourage people to adopt rabbits from shelters and rescues (and to learn about rabbits before adopting them, too). Of course, this is all "weather permitting", since Mother Nature keeps tossing all this stupid snow in our direction. 

"Don't care about no snow--as long as I've got enough oats and hay cookies to eat

and furry thrones to snuggle on, I'm all set."

We're supposed to get well over a foot of the junk over the next 24 hours, which completely messes up our plans for tonight. As long as the power stays on and I have internet, though, I can deal with it. Otherwise, it's gonna get mighty ugly.