THIS WORLD WE LIVE IN

gosh you guys, ive never thought of myself as an activist - i dont like shouting

i like to quietly do my thing and try to make a difference where i can, as best i can, without stressing out myself and my family. eat less meat, choose the options with less plastic, recycle, re-use. teach this to my children. come to think of it, they are really amazing at spreading messages - they dont care yet who they offend, they will be quick to tell you when they think you are making a bad choice. im not really like that

But i do feel this is a place where i am allowed to say my piece. im not entirely sure what i want to get at, but i have some stories to unload:

so, my parents instilled in us an unflushable love for animals. and while this may not entirely be accurate, ive always equated loving animals with being a good person, even if that is your only redeeming quality. i had every imaginable pet growing up. i know this is a huge privilege, and ive always wanted to be able to give this to my children

ok so i was counting the months to when i thought our family was ready for rabbits. so when lockdown was announced i thought this would be a great time for us, a family project. we scrambled to get  rabbits while still allowed to get out of the house. somehow, by miscommunication i think, and a bit of bad planning, i wasnt able to get a rescue bunny so we did the bad thing and bought a bunny. while they were cute as hell ill tell you now, those little bunnies are stressful, they are soooo fragile. but luckily we got on the right track and were able to rescue some buns. so what i want to share here is in part a cautionary tale based on my experience: be sure you can afford a rabbit. while they cost next to nothing to adopt or buy - they are exotic pets and your wonderful regular vet will in all likelihood not be able to help them.

we learned this the hard way these past two weeks. our main rabbit got hurt in the eye, she needed stiches and several vet visits. it cost me over R5000 and i (stupidly) was entirely unprepared. but we managed. so my kids are coming to all the vet visits and im saying in the car, ok mamma will just save some money and then we will bring our next bun (Hoekie) for a check-up, we suspect she has a cold and the vet lady said we better get it checked. she had this snoring thing going on from the day we adopted her, so we just thought thats the way she was. 

so one night after dinner, its just us, me, the husband and the kids. he's playing music, we are dancing, having fun, when my little one (5,5jr) disappears and comes back all teary. she was looking for her tooth-fairy money. she wants me to have it so we can take Hoekie to the vet.

we did the very next day. turns out shes very sick. shes going to need a lot of care and treatment and we dont know how it will turn out, but we are doing it

so you may think, man its just a bunny. but you know what, it really isnt. its love and joy in a ball of fur and its my responsibility  to care for this little thing, no matter what it takes.

make sure you feel the same way before you commit

but when you do, know, as i do, that you are making a difference, in a small way - to a tiny animal. but in a big way by sending children out into this world who know how to love and protect the things that need protecting

1 comment

  • For all you put me through with all your pets, all in your bedroom outside their cages, I always said to myself: I hope she will have to endure this one day as well! But I did not expect you to enjoy it as much the
    second time around 😊

    I am so proud to see our values and love of anything animal installed in you and you have already passed it on to our grandkids. I always beleived if someone loves animals, it’s a testimony to their character. And you found your absolute perfect person your Hubby.

    You are making us SÓ very proud.
    😍

    Rene Marais

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