I Would Like To Introduce You To Tinker....

She was a Lilac English Spot who had no spots on her sides. She was a lovely pet during my teenage years and I treasured her company. I could hold her in my arms.... upside down.... and she stayed.... She drank beer, chewed gum and wore sunglasses and I could dress her up...She sat on the couch stretched out watching the goings on in our livingroom. My father made a beautiful hutch for our rabbits - all girls - with a pull out drawer we could hose off and each rabbit had a nesting box with a lifting lid for protection from the elements... Their cages sat under the apple tree at the back of our yard facing south to the back of our home..I recall an especially delightful moment in the middle of a cold winter when we had a rare snowfall... My sister and I set our alarm clocks for 3 am and went outside in our pajama's and boots to change their water, as we knew it would be frozen...We let our bunnies out and had a wonderful time playing with them in the snow.

Tinker was never to be a mother... We returned to the farm on two occassions to breed our rabbits and she wanted nothing to do with her suitor. She had a wild streak as well... When on the ground, she was hard to catch and put back in her hutch. She took to digging a hole by our fence and we watched her for a week or so... it was very entertaining and she was determined and focused... Eventually Dad collapsed her burrow and it had extended into the neighbour's yard in and around the oak tree roots... She also caused me a very embarrassing moment when some aboriginal children came, with their family, for a visit. They were collecting a fishing trophy my parents won, from the year before, and we knew the family from putting our boat in the water at their boat ramp. I was so happy to show the children our rabbits and my Tinker chased them...I had never seen her be aggressive like that. I quickly caught her and put her in her hutch.

She was my special friend and confidant through my teenage years and she died quietly one Sunday when I had been invited to church with some friends... I received the sad news after that service and I will never forget my sorrow... but rejoiced in the comfort and support from my friends, who had taken me church. Even now, I feel the Love I felt for my beautiful rabbit as I approach my senior years.... Thank you for giving me an opportunity to write her story.