Lucky 13!

So, remember that little bargain I struck up with my husband? Where he could buy a new camera body and I could get two bunnies and a snake? (making a total of 12 pets) Which of course I said was an even dozen. And then my fellow blogger and good friend Julie (a different Julie, not my alter ego... but still an enabler nonetheless) left a comment on that post suggesting I go ahead an make it a "baker's dozen". Like I need any encouragement!

Anyway, the plan was to stick to the original two bunnies and a snake. I made arrangements for the snake... more on that later, but we still needed to get the bunnies. So we planned to head for the local animal shelter to pick out our bunnies on Tuesday. Right before we leave Marshall says, "You know, the camera body I wanted might end up costing a little more than I thought it would. I'll let you get a third bunny if I can spend the extra money to get the camera body I want."

And that, my friends, is how we ended up with a "baker's dozen".

So we packed up the family and headed over to the local animal shelter. They happened to have a large amount of bunnies available. And they were very eager to show them to us. Apparently no one goes in asking for bunnies, so I'm assuming that means they end up having to "escort" all of their bunnies to "the other side" if you know what I mean. You could imagine their delight when we announced we wanted THREE bunnies. Our criteria for bunny-picking... Too large for a hawk to carry away. We found three large bunnies who fit the criteria, and they were all spayed and neutered, so we were able to take them on the spot. Every staff member we encountered thanked us multiple times for taking bunnies. The fact that no one wants the bunnies made me want to take them all... though then I'd have to agree to let Marshall buy something really big, like a Nissan GTR, and I'm just not ready for that yet.

We brought the bunnies home and set them free in our bunny-proof backyard. Then we went to Petco to buy more hay and bunny food, and decided to buy a bunch of stuff the shelter needed for their remaining animals. (there was a list at the shelter of donations they needed) When we returned to the shelter, one of the staff members who helped us was scared we were returning the bunnies. Nope. Just dropping off donations.

I bet you want to meet the bunnies, huh? Ok... now for introductions. If you're a Harry Potter fan, you will understand the names. If not, then... well... you won't.

First off... "Hedwig". She's a very nice bunny who recently gave birth to a litter of bunnies and then was spayed by the animal shelter.

And next, we have "Fang" who is also a very nice, male bunny. Neutered as well.

And last, we have "Crookshanks". You may have noticed this is not an actual picture but is more of a representation. Of course she doesn't really look like this. 'Cause she's brown. Turns out Crookshanks is a bit antisocial and slightly less reclusive than El Chupacabra. So I didn't get a chance to take a picture of her because she won't stop hiding in the bushes. But I think you get the idea.
So two out of the three new bunnies are now fully acquainted with our other bunny Spike, who seems to have accepted them well. Though he does keep trying to mount the other male, Fang, which is a little weird. Probably some alpha male thing and everything will be rainbows and sunshine once he asserts his authority.

Now... on to lucky 13. I finally am getting my snake #3. And his name??? Drumroll please...

"Severus SNAKE" also known as "Professor SNAKE". (obviously he's the head of Slytherin) I don't actually have him yet. He's still at the house of my favorite homeschooling snake breeder. She's waiting until he's old enough to go to a new home. If he's ready to go on September 6th, she'll give him to us at the Anaheim Reptile Expo (Oh yes we're going!!!), but if not, she'll mail him to me later. But for now, she was kind enough to send me a picture of him. I'm already in love! He's the same kind of snake as my other two, which you can see here, but obviously very different in coloring. And he'll change a bunch by the time he's an adult.


In about a year, he should look more like this one....


And so now we're up to 13 pets, which I think is a very good number. You may think we're crazy (and you'd be right), but I still think all 13 of these pets combined are still less maintenance than having one dog.