Before you judge this video in a negative way, please note that Brownie isn’t a “normal” bunny, and he’s only actually gone swimming once. Nobody forced him to. That was apparently his choice, since he was the one who jumped into the pool with no one near him. He’s a bit of a daredevil, even if he doesn’t have the face for it. I’ve seen his “scared” face and know it better than anyone, since I’ve calmed him down from unknown sounds and animals over time. This is NOT his scared face nor body language. His fur is wet, causing his eyes to “bulge out” and appear bigger. Why do I keep bringing him back to the center of the pool? I don’t want him bumping into the pool wall and damaging his little sniffer. Thin whiskers don’t help blind spots in water. He doesn’t swim directly toward the steps either, like some people claim. He swam in the direction he was pointed toward. If he wanted to get to the steps, he wouldn’t have avoided them at 0:48. Believe me, he’s bold enough to jump into things unexpectedly, and it’s surprised us many times over! Don’t believe me? I can’t blame you.
IF YOU THINK BROWNIE’S LIVING A CRUEL LIFE, WATCH THIS:
I used to have an overly-wordy description explaining all the little details about rabbits and water, but I’ll make it brief. Rabbits ARE capable of swimming and they’ve adapted to water. If they hadn’t, they wouldn’t have webbing on their paws, fat to keep them buoyant, nor the natural instinct to paddle. Marsh rabbits swim to escape predators in the wild all the time. HOWEVER, Brownie was bred to be a PET, which is why I never let Brownie go swimming again. (This video was recorded 2 years prior to upload.)
I DO NOT ENCOURAGE ANYONE TO PUT THEIR PET RABBIT INTO A SWIMMING POOL. DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME.
Taking care of a pet is like taking care of a child. They need lots of love and care, and remember that they can have faith in you until you do something cruel. An animal can’t speak what it really feels, so have an open mind towards their body language. It’s not your rabbit’s fault if they don’t obey or scratch/bite.
In our case, it was hot out, the pool was heated, and we were very careful while washing/drying him after we got him out of the pool; which was right after the video ended. This video was recorded 10+ years ago, and Brownie hasn’t gone swimming since. I appreciate your concerns, but Brownie’s in caring hands. He has way more freedom than the average pet bunny.
Here’s what happened the day of this video:
During a party, we were all eating dinner on the other deck and heard a splash, then noticed Brownie was in the water. I dove in to get him out, but everyone else wanted to see him swim and crowded around the steps so I couldn’t really get out. Meanwhile, my parents got the bathroom ready to wash the pool water off with the “bunny-bath” shampoo bought at the pet store. I was 12 at the time and someone handed me a camera to record him swimming up close. Of course I made sure he didn’t drown, but as a kid listening to your elders, even if they’re guests who don’t own rabbits of their own, it’s hard to speak up, risking being called a fun-ruiner. I myself was curious to know what he’d do if we let him swim. When he was going for the jump at 1:41, he thought I was telling him to jump up because that’s typically how I positioned him during training. (I let go because I stubbed my toe and was stretching over the steps while trying not to drop the camera into the water.) I couldn’t exactly let him jump out either, otherwise I’d get in trouble for getting their kids’ dry clothes wet and not doing as I was told. I also didn’t want to end the video struggling, so my only option was to end it with him still swimming. The video ended shortly; the moment I saw my mom coming outside with a towel. Keep in mind that this is a recording of only 2 minutes of his entire life. It doesn’t show how he’s taken care of at all. There was nobody on the deck where he jumped from, so there’s no way anyone pushed him in. I can’t expect viewers to know all the details that happened outside the video, but it does no justice to scold me in the comments section while my parents and I were the only ones there who had intentions of getting him out of the water soon. (Also, recording a video makes it less likely for the guests to ask me to do anything stupid that they may see as “play,” because they see me holding a camera and know my actions are limited.) Why keep open comments? I have nothing to hide. Freedom of speech. Ratings are disabled because people rate before they even watch or read. If you’ve read this far, thank you kindly.
Brownie’s latest vet checkup was on 7/10/2019. He’s gotten slower and tires easier. He’s an old bunny even though his spirit’s the same. We can’t ask for more. Don’t worry; he’s still happy and healthy. 🙂
