Steven and Chris on CBC.

I don't have cable, so I typically have CBC on. I like CBC, it's fairly neutral in its media output and television shows. Considering its technically run by Canadian government that it would have *less* heckling of politics than any other channel rather than more. Rick Mercer is their king - if you ever need a laugh, youtube him. His rants are epic of the Dennis Miller variety.

Today I was watching Steven and Chris as I often do. It's a home design, cooking, fashion, etc show. I don't have much use for the information as I am NOT a home decorator type by a long shot, BUT, they're always interesting and entertaining. I was only paying half attention as I was filling out a form for a contest when I heard "..and this one is trimmed with rabbit fur!" (..) "Only $5.25!" and Chris started squeeing. You can probably imagine my reaction!!!

So I decided to write them an email. You can as well, if you wish, at stevenandchris@cbc.ca

* * *

Dear Steven and Chris,

I am a big fan. I am hopeless when it comes to home decorating, I could boil an egg for an hour and have it come out raw, and my fashion sense is permastuck in the 90s, but something about the happy, feel good, energy of your show keeps me tuning in. I think it’s that Chris is not afraid to try anything, no matter how good or bad he may be at it. But my heart skipped a beat and I got that plummeting feeling when you showed an item with rabbit fur on it today. $5.25 was the price. Yipes.

I am going to talk about bunnies; pet bunnies.

Rabbits are the third most popular pet in North America. They’re almost the second most popular in Great Britain, starting to edge out cats! They are friendly, affectionate; they have senses of humour, make lifelong bonds and can mourn just like other high intellect animal. They can be litter box trained and as long as you protect your delicious looking electric cords, they can be free range in your house. They may damage your furniture, but let’s face it, so do cats and dogs! It’s the price of animal love! I don’t think you’d squee over an item with cat or dog fur on it, and that’s how I react to something with bunny fur.

My first rabbit rescued me. I was living far from friends and family, I didn’t have a lot of resources and I was slowly circling the depression drain. I came home one day from grocery shopping and saw a couple of the large feral dogs of the area trying to get at something under my front steps. I hit my car horn, flipped the lights and slammed the car doors – fortunately for me, the dogs took off. I went to investigate what they’d been after and saw the cutest little brown bunny.

I looked at her, she looked at me, and I said “You’re safe, you can go!” I, foolishly, thought she was a wild rabbit. Now shen who would be named Scout, was no dumb bunny. She knew a sucker when she saw one. She took one look at me and hopped to stand between my legs, close to my right ankle. I looked down at her, “You can go!” I repeated. She just sat there. It was pouring rain, I had groceries in hand, I didn’t have much patience to muck about. Figuring the fastest way to get a wild animal to be gone is to try and pick it up. I did so and she let me. She promptly stuck her head under my chin and was shivering away. Oh, not a chance this poor thing was getting tossed out into the big, bad, cold, wild.. So, sap that I am, I took her into the house, put her in a box with some towels, left my groceries on the floor and went BACK out into the pouring rain to get rabbit supplies from the local Petcetera. She was still in the box when I got home, but it was suspiciously closer to the heater.

Over the four years I had her, Scout taught me a lot about patience, love and laughter. She talked to me, giggled with me, and was a quite vocal little bun. And like every small being ever born, she had a Napoleanic attitude. There was no where in my home she couldn’t get to. She had a four foot leap across and could leap five feet up. She only liked three males; my Dad, her vet, and Jethro Gibbs. As soon as he talked on NCIS, both ears would come up, she would run into the living room and periscope and stare at the TV until he was out of the scene. She would then sit down and patiently wait for his reappearance and repeat as soon as he spoke again. She had all sorts of health issues, she’d come from a very abusive place, but she stayed with me for four and a half years.

After I’d had Scout for about four months, bunny people on the net convinced me bunnies are happiest when they have a bunny friend, so I went and got her a pal. Sage, as she was eventually named, was a silver Dutch. She was probably dumped because she wasn’t of ‘breeding or showing pattern.’ Sage, the little five pound rabbit, taught me the true meaning of the word diva! She could be so wonderfully dramatic. If the house wasn’t as warm as she would like it, she’d gather up bedding (yanking it off my bed!) and drag it to the living room floor in a big pile and then with a teenage girl like sigh, flomp into the middle. If her food bowl was empty, she would pick it up and throw it at my head – and she had frighteningly good aim! After I wised up and got them crockery dishes, she once threw one of my shoes at my head because the water bowl was low enough she had to lean into it to drink. Apparently, this is completely unacceptable to bunny divas.

Scout, for obvious reasons, was terrified of the outside world. She didn’t want anything to do with it and every time I had to take her to the vet she would cry when I took her out the door. She was fine once in the car, but that initial step horrified her. I didn’t know bunnies could cry, and it is an absolutely heart-wrenching sound!  Sage, however, LOVED the outdoor world. She rescued an abandoned litter of kittens. She knew every kid in the neighbourhood. She took me for walks at the lake. She didn’t mind dogs as long as they didn’t lick her. (Any dog licking her instantly got the upset diva look.)  The kids brought her clover and grass. Unfortunately, November 13^th, 2010, bad wiring in my home resulted in a house fire and Sage did not survive. Bunnies are such tragically delicate creatures for all their personality.

So, when you say something has bunny fur trim – I think of a bunny that could have been someone’s beloved pet, but instead was slaughtered for its fur. I don’t expect you to fight the fashion industry – but maybe in counterpoint, have a member from a local bunny rescue on one day to help educate the masses. I’m sure the ladies at Rabbit Rescue, Inc would be thrilled to hear from you! (http://www.rabbitrescue.ca/ )

Thank you for listening,

[My Contact Info Removed]