Bunny's Secret Passion

If you have been reading the blog much, you know that Bunny has one particular love in life. That is being petted. Give her a room full of people and she is more than thrilled to work the crowd. However, there is something else that Bunny loves -- her dark mistress as it were. Every morning she stalks us for, dun dun dun, yogurt. She lies on the floor, pretending to be asleep, or sometimes on the other side of the couch if Blueberry hasn't gotten there first, and feigns sleep. However, soon, as you begin to get near the bottom of your yogurt cup, you will see one of her delicate little ears begin to twitch. An eye might pop open even, if she hears the rattling sound of your spoon on the bottom of the cup. As soon as you move to set it down, she springs into action. Magically, she will appear beside my husband or me, sitting and practicing all her skills of cuteness. Her doe eyes will look up adoringly, she'll give a gentle, graceful wag of her golden tail, and then curl up into a very pretty little sit. If this doesn't elicit immediate results, she will quickly lay down on the floor beside us, looking for all the world like a regal sphinx. As soon as we set the cup down for her, she goes to work.

She seems to have been working on improving her technique over the past weeks. At first, she was content to lay on the couch and lick the rest of the yogurt out in a leisurely but efficient manner. Of course, she always has to be dainty and ladylike about it. Here she demonstrates the wrap-your-paw-around-the-bottom-of-the-cup technique for keeping the yogurt cup in place. I thought this was working pretty well for her, but apparently it wasn't enough solitude for her to properly enjoy the yogurt in peace.

She learned to pick the cup up in her mouth and carry it to the dog bed. I wish we had pictures of her carrying the cups, but she has been very elusive and refuses to do retakes. Eating the yogurt on the floor seems to be her preference, but the cup kept tipping on her while she was licking it. Still, she was very proud that she'd managed to make the cup mobile. I think it's possibly just her little show of Independence -- eating it where she wants to, instead of where we set it down.

After she mastered moving the cup, it began to bother her that a drop of her ambrosia might be left in the bottom of the cup. She learned that if she put her entire bottom jaw into the cup, cleaning out the bottom was much easier. This must have come from her discovery of how to carry the cup to the bed. I can just imagine how proud she was when she discovered this technique. It must have been better than finding gold. Now it doesn't even bother her if one of the other hounds comes over for a taste of yogurt. She knows that what's left in the bottom is all hers.

Still, keeping the cup still on the floor while she was working on the rim proved to be a problem. That is, until she discovered the art of using her paw to hold it still. I find myself relieved that she wasn't born with opposable thumbs. There would be no stopping her in any endeavor that she undertook. Despite her innocent looks and the fact that she's a natural blonde, Bunny is extremely smart. She could be a mastermind of any criminal organization and be very successful, but fortunately, she uses her powers for good -- and being petted.

On some occasions she works her incredible powers of cuteness to get two cups of yogurt at one time. There are not too many foods that she doesn't like, but I haven't seen anything that she craves like the yogurt. At least she's eating light yogurt to keep her svelte, girlish figure.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end. Usually, she will lie on the floor in denial that it's all gone. She will hang on to the yogurt cup for a few minutes afterward, basking in the glow of yogurt in her tummy. Her favorite flavor seems to be pineapple upside down cake, but she's also a fan of raspberry cheesecake, strawberry shortcake and apple pie flavors. Actually, I haven't seen her turn her little nose up at any flavor so far, but she doesn't go nearly as crazy for key lime pie and boston creme pie as some others. She will lick the cup completely clean, and we let her keep the cup until she starts to chew on it. That's when Husband intervenes and takes it away from her. I've also had to start being careful to look because she's taken to hiding the cups in strange places, like our bed. She always looks so crestfallen when I find them and throw them away that I almost feel guilty. I can't complain, though. As far as secret passions go, hers isn't too bad.