Priceless Memories - Bob Barker [57]
Nancy Burnet picked Winston up off the streets. She used the old dodge “Please keep him for a few days while I find him a home.” Of course, the idea is that you will become so fond of the dog that you will keep him. I have used the trick myself—and frequently, it works. I laughed at Nancy for trying it on an old pro, but I took in Winston and was happier for it.
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My house isn’t all cats and dogs. I have rabbits, too—Mr. Rabbit and his Honey Bunny. Mercedes, my house manager—she’s beyond housekeeper—found Mr. Rabbit one winter morning, shivering from the cold in a yard up the street. He was only a baby. When I couldn’t find where he belonged, it became obvious that he belonged with me.
I had just bought a big-screen television set and two recliners for what was to become a television room. I decided that room could be a temporary home for my new friend, whom I named Mr. Rabbit. Before I could buy more furniture or decorate what was to have been a television room, Mr. Rabbit destroyed it. He tore up the recliners, chewed the wires in the television, and chewed holes in the carpet and the curtains. You might say that he redecorated the room more to his tastes. Knowing that I didn’t really need a television room and that Mr. Rabbit was thoroughly enjoying himself, I just let him have at it. A man has to have his priorities.
I didn’t want Mr. Rabbit to be lonely, so I went to a rescue group and found a little black female friend for him. It seemed logical since he is white. I adopted her and called her Honey Bunny. Folks warned me that the two rabbits might not get along well at first—they might require a period of adjustment. Not so. It was love at first sight!
Somehow Mr. Rabbit broke his leg a few months ago. During his rehabilitation, he had to be kept in a corral to restrict his movements. Honey Bunny insisted on staying in his corral with Mr. Rabbit and nursing him. She would come out of the corral and romp around occasionally, and then she’d go back to the gate and wait for it to be opened so she could get back on duty as Mr. Rabbit’s nurse. Mr. Rabbit and his Honey Bunny are a darling couple.
My loyal house manager, Mercedes, adores Mr. Rabbit and his Honey Bunny. She does everything possible to assure that they are a healthy and happy couple. She is sure that they have every toy a rabbit might like, stools and a couch to jump up on—she even constructed a burrow for them. If you stepped into the room, you would assume some sort of disaster had occurred. Not so; it is a Mercedes-created rabbit heaven.
Dulce (which means “sweet” in Spanish) was a calico cat who came into the yard one day and meowed her way into my heart. Dulce was about ten years old when Mr. Rabbit came to live with us. Before I adopted Honey Bunny, Dulce would go into Mr. Rabbit’s room and groom him or just hang out. Even if Mr. Rabbit became too obstreperous in his play, Dulce never scratched or bit him. Dulce would just lift a paw and gently push him away.
Winston liked to visit Mr. Rabbit’s room, too. Mr. Rabbit would stand on his hind legs and examine Winston’s large ears. It was always very congenial, but I made it a point to be right beside them any time Winston visited Mr. Rabbit.
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For a short time, I didn’t have a dog living with me, which was unusual. At that time, my brother Kent went out to an animal shelter in the Valley once a week and took pictures of dogs and put them on the Internet to try to help them get homes. He saw a sweet mix of golden retriever and chow named Jessie out there. She was fairly big and she was certainly no puppy, but he