Storytime: Bringing home the new baby (if I can just get him in the car)

Good morning to wherever you are. It is a mercilessly hot Monday morning in Florida, and I am seeking the sanctuary of the guinea pig room while I write this. 

In my last post, I talked about meeting Cullen Bunhannon at the humane society. I filled out adoption paperwork and was approved to take him home. 

Unfortunately, it wasn't that simple.

The day I was to pick up Cullen, named for his crazy hair like my favorite character from AMC's 
"Hell on Wheels," he was also scheduled to be neutered. I assumed since I had called every day to check on him that he would have his surgery in the morning and be ready to go in the evening. I was scheduled to pick him up at 5 p.m.

At 2 p.m., I called the humane society. "Hi, this is Cullen's mom. I am calling to see how his surgery went," I said from my dining room table.

"Oh yes, he's doing wonderful! You should be able to pick him up between five and six, but call back an hour before you leave to make sure."

"Sure!"

An hour before I left, I called again. "Hi, this is Cullen's mom. I'm about to leave to pick him up. I'm about an hour away. Is he good to go?"

"Yes, he should be fine. See you then!"

"Great, thank you!"

I hung up and drove in terrible traffic over to the human society. It was about an hour drive, and I pulled into the parking lot a bit earlier than 5. I waited in my car until it was 5 then walked in the door with my carrier. I was eager to take home my new boy and get him settled, especially because it was January and still got dark fairly early. I didn't want to drive in the dark with a new rabbit in the car.

I walked into the humane society and things started to go awry.

"Hi, I'm here to pick up Cullen. I'm adopting him."

"Cullen?"

"Yes, the black and white lionhead rabbit." 🐰

One receptionist glances over at the other. "Do we have a rabbit here?"

I blinked.

"Yes, I think there's a rabbit here," the other replied.

"He got neutered today," I prompted. "I've been calling about him all week."

"Right, ok, let me check on that," she said.

I stood and waited with my carrier. 

Employees or volunteers came in and out of the front desk area. Phone calls were made. Finally, a guy in scrubs approached me.

"Hey, so they are actually finishing up his surgery right now. We don't think you can take him home tonight. They really want to keep him overnight for observation," he said.

I blinked again. "I'm sorry, I called twice today and was told that he was out of his surgery and doing great. You're telling me he's still in surgery?"

"Um, who called you?"

"No, I called you and was told by two different people that he was fine and ready to go."

"Well, he just got out of surgery and we're waking him up. It would be best to come get him tomorrow."

"I live an hour away. I can't just come by here tomorrow," I said. "I have some animal medical experience. I can handle post surgery treatment."

"Ok, let me go talk to someone."

The guy disappeared, and I just stood there. When he returned, he told me to give them another half an hour to let Cullen wake up. I said fine and returned to my car. 

I was able to take Cullen home with my that evening, but my goodness... what a mess! I was given strict instructions about his care then we drove home in the twilight in some nasty traffic. He recovered perfectly from his surgery, eating and drinking that night when we got home. He spent the night quietly recuperating in his new hutch. 

He wasn't quiet for long, though. I learned quickly that Cullen Bunhannon has a wild outlaw personality just like the character he's named after. While he's a sweet, affectionate bun, he also needs lots of exercise time outside and is a notorious escape artist! There have been many occasions where I was chased him around my yard or sat in the grass waiting for him to re-emerge from under the house. Still, Cullen loves a good adventure. He is a wonderful companion on a car ride and doesn't mind being carried around. He visited my classroom many days, and my students loved him. He liked them, too, and enjoyed racing around their feet during my lessons. I think he actually missed going once the quarantine started and seemed confused as to why we weren't getting in the car. 

It has definitely been an adventure with this boy so far. At first, I was concerned that we weren't going to work out with the escaping and the naughtiness, but I wouldn't trade my outlaw bun for the world. He's a sweet bunny deep down, and we were meant to find each other!