Bunny Bugzie has everything but the bark
LIKE all good animal owners GinaMaree Nicholl (17) takes her pet for regular walks, plays fetch with it and even used to take it for rides on her motorcycle.
The catch? Her pet is not a dog but a Flemish giant cross rabbit.
Miss Nicholl said she began taking Bugzie the rabbit for walks down Kaikorai Valley Rd when her pet was about 3 months old.
‘‘I needed to get out of the house and Mum wouldn’t let me get a dog, so she started coming with me.’’
Equipped with a leash and a bundle of bribery hay, Miss Nicholl had taken the fearless bunny on visits to the park with friends, dogs and into local stores.
‘‘Every day she is out and about somewhere.’’
Bugzie’s diet of pellets, rabbit muesli and carrots was her only true rabbit feature, she joked.
‘‘She thinks she’s a dog.
‘‘She loves cats and dogs, chases ducks and loves taking baths.’’
Her pet’s fearless streak had also been displayed on numerous motorcycle trips when she sat happily in a cat cage attached to the bike, she said.
Bugzie was also a fan of the beach, but preferred to stay in the shallows.
The ‘‘oneofakind’’ rabbit was Miss Nicholl’s first pet.
Although she was still not allowed to get a dog, she now believed she had an even better pet, she said.
margot.taylor@odt.co.nz