Frankie

For the past ten years, I have had a blast raising and showing rabbits. I've had at least a couple dozen rabbits, but there were a few that hold a special place in my heart, and this is one of them: Frankie.

Frankie was one of the kits (baby rabbits) from my 4-H leader's last litter of the French Lop Breed. He was originally named Frannie (I love the show "The Nanny") due to the fact that I was oh so certain that he was a she...but as she got older, well...let's just say I felt rather stupid...she was indeed, a he :).

So now that you all know my rabbit's gender, let's move on.

Most French Lop rabbits are known for being "overweight beasts" as I've heard people call them as they poke their fingers into the cages at rabbit shows, as I secretly hope for one of those fingers to be mistaken as a carrot for calling my rabbit a beast. Frankie, though, was a little different. Oh I'm not saying he wasn't large. He was, but it was hard to keep his weight on him. The poor guy suffered from hair balls, so I had to create my own recipe for him containing dry oatmeal, alfalfa pellets, rabbit pellets, and tasteos (an off brand of cheerios that really helps their coat remain silky smooth) with an occasional piece of fruit. Mmm...now that's what I call yummy goodness.

I took Frankie countless times to nursing homes for pet therapy. He amazed me. He had such a way with the elderly. I would have expected it from one of my dogs...the ability to sense when somebody is down, but never a rabbit. He would actually lick somebody's face! Again...expected from a dog, right? No offense Frankie, but most of the time, you just sat there like a big white pile of fur. His true colors really began to show at the nursing home (get it...true colors...he's pure white!) Ok ok...it wasn't that funny. In the photos above, I'm in 7th grade :) you've got to love those braces.

Most French Lop rabbits live an average of five to six years. Frankie lived to be almost seven years old. It was very sad, no doubt about that, but Frankie had a good long life, and brought so much joy to so many, including myself. I'm sure of the fact that he's in bunny Heaven. :)

Hope you enjoyed reading about my big furry therapy rabbit,

Toodles,

Jess