Now this rabbit has a cat friend, named Betty Boop. She loves Betty Boop really. Tries to groom her constantly, wants to play. But it’s “Betty who?” when Gus comes over. She’ll push her out of the way to go hop around that old rottweiler in circles, put her front paws on him, groom him. Here, let me tell you how it all started.
Gus is my father’s dog, who lives up north. It’s a very long drive to get here so we don’t see him often. Now Gus is a professional chicken wrangler. We can take him outside up there and he’ll very nicely heard the chickens into their pen without hurting them. And when we had a very violent rooster one time, who attacked my grandmother, Gus came crashing out of the house and chased him away. Noble defender really. And if we lose a chicken or cat outdoors, we can take Gus out and he’ll find them for us.
But, I know he happens to start after a cat if it takes off running around him, not that he bites or anything. It’s just in his nature to chase a tad.
Him being such a big scary dog, I was not interested in any quick meet-and-greets with the Ms. Ma’am (a nickname I have for Mopsy- who incidentially’s full name is Mopsy Flopsy Cottontail until I get my own place and the coordinating other rabbits to keep her company). When I was dog sitting him at the house, for a few weeks, we already had a baby gate up to keep her from coming in the living room with all it’s scrumptious looking wires, so Gussy had to stay in the living room side.
He’s an old man, and we don’t have a couch for him to lay on (don’t worry I got him a bed) but he was sore at the time and would just lay down and watch the rabbit, like he was feeding the birds or something. He just really enjoyed watching her hop here and there and snack and such. And she took to taunting him from the other side of the gate. She’d go right up to it and stamp her little footy or kick dirt, which for those who don’t know is “fuck you” in rabbit. But I knew she was just playing because she wouldn’t leave him alone and would actually try to push the gate down constantly.
Or ya know, find a bag or something left nearby that she could climb up on and hurl herself at the top of the gate kamakazi style like a flying squirl. Ask me how I know.
Pretty sure she wanted to meet the dog. And every once in a while he’d cry at the gate and paw at it asking me to move it. I’d go over and pick her up and hold her while he got a snif and a smooch in. And then one day I gave up and took the gate down while Gus was laying the in the middle of the room.
I believe I have this next part on video, with a few pics, though I have yet to be able to find them. If I do I’ll make sure to edit them in because they are stinking cute.
So enter the first time Mopsy got to love on Gus, who very quickly realized he had no idea what he’d been asking for. He looked back at me nervously crying while she hopped around him as fast as she could in circles, pretty sure she binkied even, put her front paws on him, put her whole self on him, groomed him. Girl was paws over ears for the rotty, and he was so confused.
So I started leaving them together more, they both really liked it, and it definitely improved Gus’s mood. His health was declining though, but after the bed and some joint medicine, and going back up North where he had an entire couch he could easily get on with no problems, and could sleep on aaaall day if he wished, he is now right as rain, and was back down just the other day to visit his tiny fluffy girlfriend that fusses over him constantly. And outright harrasses him really.
Here’s a pic of them together at another time. It was really hot this day so they weren’t laying right next to each other, but they were both happy as clams.
Mopsy and Me 