Brownie Went For A Swim (Read description!)
Like 0 Dislike 0 Published on 25 Jul 2009
IF YOU THINK BROWNIE'S LIVING A CRUEL LIFE, WATCH THESE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnMTx-87V04&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BMnppZyWj0
I DO NOT ENCOURAGE ANYONE TO PUT THEIR PET RABBIT INTO A SWIMMING POOL. DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME.
Before you judge this video in a negative way, Brownie only actually went swimming once, and nobody forced him to. This was uploaded 10+ years ago and recorded a few years before it was uploaded. He was the one who jumped into the pool while everyone was seated at a table eating during a family party, and the splash ripples were not near the edge, so we know he didn't slip and fall in. He's always been a bit daring, and not many rabbits are like this. I know his "scared" face and this is NOT it, nor his fearful 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 won't help the blind spots in front of his face in water. He swam in the direction I pointed him toward before he jumped. If he wanted to get out, he wouldn't have ignored the steps at 0:48. When he did look up at the rim of the pool like he was preparing to jump up, it was because I'd trained him to look up and jump to things such as the couch, so he thought I was trying to tell him to jump.
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 domestic PET, which is why I never let Brownie go swimming again. The animal that can't get wet is a chinchilla, not a rabbit. Chinchillas take dust baths because their fur and skin are not adapted for water at all.
Taking care of a pet is like taking care of a child. They need lots of love and care. They can have a lot of faith in you until you do something cruel. An animal can't speak what it really feels, so have an open mind toward their body language. It's not your rabbit's fault if they don't obey or scratch/bite.
On this day, 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. Brownie hasn't gone swimming since. I appreciate your concerns, but he's ok.
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. :)