ARIEL

Ariel is quite a character. He is definitely a bunny with an attitude. He lives indoors in a very large cage. He is allowed to be loose only with supervision due to his carpet eating tendencies. He is allowed outside with a human protector so that he is not injured by a wandering dog.

Unfortunately Ariel will eat anything made of cloth or yarn. He generally only starts on cloth objects for one of three reasons -

                (1) He is mad.
                (2) He is bored.
                (3) He doesn't like where it is.

Food is one of Ariel's favorite things. He will eat just about anything. His main diet consists of Purina Rabbit Chow, hay, and fresh vegetables. He would love to be able to eat potato chips, brownies, popsicles, candy, bread, pizza crust, chocolate ice cream, and just about anything else. He does not like anything that contains meat, tomatoes, or cheese. He loves fruit juice and soda.

Ariel dreams of visiting Hershey, Pennsylvania. He was very upset when Sasha got to visit the Hershey factory and he had to stay home with a bunny sitter.

With a few m&m's and a lot of patience Ariel will learn anything. He knows how to jump through a hoop (when he no longer wants to do this cute trick he grabs the hoop and throws it or eats it). He will go to his cage or come to me when asked. He knows from our tone whether he is doing something good or bad. He knows how to work a Yuppy Puppy Treat Machine. He can get treats out of a homemade gumball dispenser. He learned to use the dog door by watching the dog. He learns very fast but is usually not motivated to do many repetitions of a trick in a row.

Heeling is not something Ariel is fond of but he will walk on a leash with his harness. He knows how to actually heel off lead but will not do it for long distances. Rabbits are not physically designed to heel well.

Ariel is litter box trained. The only time he does not use his box is when he is making a statement. He will pee on which ever seat I sat on last in the car when he feels he has traveled enough. He will pee on Roger's head to show his dislike. He does not pee on people.

Sasha is his best friend. She washes him whenever he presents his head to her. They sleep together. She breaks up fights between him and Roger. She is also the one to discipline him for chewing on his litter box. By now she has done what we considered impossible and taught him not to chew on it. She simply stares at him. I wish I could stare at him to make him behave.

When we got Ariel we already had another bunny in residence. That bunny was a very friendly Holland lop named Casper (RIP). Casper and Ariel were best pals for a long time. They did everything together. Casper was a braver rabbit than Ariel. Casper was his protector before Sasha came along to replace Casper. They made a hilarious duo because Casper was about 1/3 the size of Ariel.

Now we have Roger. Ariel does not like Roger at all. Sasha broke up the few fights they had in the beginning of their relationship. Roger it seems sees Ariel as a lust/love interest. Ariel does not feel the same way. Poor Ariel begins to look hunted whenever Roger is loose. He is constantly either trying to hide or coming to Sasha or a human for help.

In their constant war Ariel has won one major victory. He was loose one day while Roger was caged for chewing on the wallpaper. He very casually sauntered up to where Roger had his face pressed up against the bars of his cage drooling over Ariel. He nibbled some hay, nonchalantly turned around, lifted his tail and pee'd all Roger's face!

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