This is a story about something small and unexpected that I didn’t want at first but ended up having a larger impact than I ever realized.
Here name was Lola. She was a bunny.
I got a phone call one evening while I was working late. My husband, Ed, told me that he found a tiny, black rabbit surrounded by the stray cats he was feeding (yes, he’s that kind of guy). He went on to tell me that he scooped her up and brought her to our neighbors and asked if the bunny was theirs. The man said it was but he let her go because he was tired of her getting out of her cage. By the way, the cage was crowded. There were already 2 (un-spayed) large females in there and this little one. Ed got angry, said a few choice words to our neighbor and brought her into our home.
We knew little to nothing about rabbits. Ed told me over the phone, he was feeding her CAT FOOD! I knew that was wrong. I had picked up a little bit volunteering at a small animal and cat shelter. When I got home and saw her, I named her Lola.
I should have realized then that she was ours. Instead, I insisted we look for a home for her because as I mentioned, we knew very little about bunnies. All of the local rabbit rescues were full. I was volunteering at a cat rescue at the time and asked the director if she knew of anyone who would want a little bunny. There was a volunteer who’s daughter was interested but Ed said no - she was in college and he felt she wouldn’t be a good fit. Then a nice couple called us and said they had a rabbit who needed a companion. She emailed us a picture of a beautiful enclosure and Ed was concerned Lola wouldn’t like the other bun. No matter the circumstance, the adopter wasn’t good enough for Lola. We eventually stopped looking for a home for her because she was HOME.
Lola was tiny - a whopping 2 lbs. But don’t let her size fool you. She had a personality! She was sassy. She’d box and grunt at you if she didn’t want to be picked up or petted. She was fast, she was fearless. She didn’t even flinch when Delilah our prey-driven lab mix would stalk her. Lola was like whatever - you can’t get me behind this fence you dumb dog.
That little black bunny was part of our lives for 13 years. She was there when we adopted Delilah our now 12 year old lab mix, fostered and adopted Beauregard, our cat Callie, Lily and all of the other cats we took in. She moved back to Illinois on a plane! That’s right an airplane. Got inspected by TSA, asked her name and stayed at my in-laws house while we were selling our place in Florida. She hopped into their hearts just like she did ours.
When we moved back to Illinois, Ed decided she needed a friend. So, we drove to Chicago and adopted Norm. Norm was a special bun. He was the sweetest, cuddliest rabbit and he loved Lola and she loved him. It killed me to admit it, but Ed was right. Lola needed a companion and Norm was perfect. Norm passed away about 2 years later. It broke all of our hearts. A hole needed to be filled so Ed went on a quest to find another rabbit. In hopped Oreo. He was only with us for a couple of months. He was sick when he came to us. Then, we adopted Georgie, a large white rabbit. Unfortunately, him and Lola never bonded and about a year later, Georgie’s time had come to an end. Then Ed picked out another rabbit, a dwarf, just like Lola named Harpo. He was only 2 years old. I was a little bit upset because he was 2 and Lola at this point was 11. The last thing I wanted was a revolving door of rabbits but once again Ed was right. Lola and Harpo got along so well. They cuddled, well sometimes. Harpo was 2 and pretty active and spunky. But for 2 years, Lola had a friend.
As Lola got older, we had to bath her, her legs stopped working, she ate but lost weight anyway. We had to ask again and again what kind of life does she have? Is she in pain? Is she happy? Ed worried about her and cared for her. On a Sunday, June 7, 2026, she wouldn’t eat her pellets. We decided it was finally time. The energizer bunny was finally running out of charge. It is so difficult to make this decision for our pets. You always question. You always doubt.
We brought her home and spent an hour digging her grave. We laid her to rest in our backyard next to our other pets that passed before her.
And that is the story of Lola. A very small bunny who I never wanted but who ended up having a very large, unexpected impact on our family and on my heart.
Sometimes the unexpected things in your life become the things you love the most.