(Lapine) Kindred Spirits.

So, today I was in Petsmart buying Skip some new rabbit litter when an older gentlemen walked through the sliding doors.

I knew he was a rabbit owner the minute I laid eyes on him. He had that lapine way about him. I ended up in line behind him at the check out register.

"Do you have a rabbit, sir?"
"Why yes! I have 4 house rabbits, in fact."
Note: This explains the large cartload of hay, pellets, and litter.
"What kind?"
"Three Holland lops (not the mini kind but the full sized ones) and a Fuzzy lop."
Note: I've never heard of a "fuzzy lop" but I didn't ask.
He went on... "They're couples... the four of them, I mean."
Note: I wanted to ask if they were fixed but that was obvious. Otherwise he would have reported owning 20 rabbits.
I say "I have just one. His name is Skip and he's a Netherland Dwarf."
"You must have spent some time with him to make him a good house rabbit. That breed tends to get pretty skittish" he says.
"Yes. We've been working on that." I'm wondering what to say next... not because I'm at a loss of questions but because there is so much to say and chat about. And now he's finished his purchase... and now he's leaving... oh no! Do I ask for his phone number? That's weird. He's married and might think I'm trying to pick up an old man! He turns and says, "Have a Merry Christmas with Skip!" I wish him the same. He leaves. oh well.

Rabbit owners are hard to come by, at least house rabbit owners. I am sure that if circumstances had been different, we could have talked for hours. Lapine lovers are rare and special.