The first time I saw Alvis to the last time, I was attached. Somehow the little guy had squirmed his way to my heart.


The first time I saw Alvis, he was inside a cage with three other of his siblings. All I saw was furry lop bunnies a little bigger than other bunnies. Alvis was tortoiseshell colored and he was nibbling on his sibling’s ear when I saw him. He looked like a troublesome bunny but he I knew he was the one. I remember that exact day as I was taking him home, I felt excited and nervous that I was getting a fuzzy little bunny.


From the day we brought Alvis, we figured out that he was a puppy in the inside. I am still not sure if it was a coincidence or not, but Alvis had came when called. And also when he was running, you could see his two floppy ears flopping on the side of his face just like dogs with floppy ears. Alvis also had a way with words. He had a variety of noises that he made, starting from the thumping noises he made with his foot when the neighbor’s cat was nearby, to the “barking” noises he made, as he felt unhappy to be carried around. Not only the appearance and the noises he made, but also the troublesome quality of a puppy showed in Alvis. Alvis would go behind our shed and dig. He dug a little everyday until we found out he had been digging and that he was almost under the shed. (We had to block the way to the shed but he eventually jumped over the obstacle.) Another time Alvis proved he was a puppy in the inside was when he ran away. I had accidentally forgotten to lock Alvis’ cage door and at about nine o’clock night, I remembered. I ran outside with my sister to find the cage empty, of course. Alvis had run away. We looked for him everywhere, calling his name, looking under the bush for about thirty minutes when finally, like a halo, the automatic light by the house turned on and Alvis came running along the sidewalk with his ears flapping! That probably was the most memorable moment of Alvis.


Alvis was silly. There was no question about it. He would sometimes run around and trip over my sister’s bunny. He would sometimes run into my leg. Other times, Alvis would look at a bird flying with his head turning to where the bird was going. (For those who never had the amazing experience of keeping a rabbit, rabbits don’t look at birds flying.) My sister and I said that Alvis surely was an oddball.


The last quality in Alvis was and is my favorite. It is the quality that every pet has- loving. I have heard of many stories of dogs and cats rescuing people from near death. But I have never heard of rabbits doing anything to people, except eating vegetables from people’s gardens. I must say, rabbits aren’t perfect but rabbits may be one of the best comforters. Alvis was there for me all the time when I was having a bad day at school to when I was just plain unhappy. I watched Alvis run around and feel free. I forgot all the bad things as I spent time playing with Alvis.


The last time I saw Alvis alive, I knew it would be the last. I saw the way Alvis reacted. I didn’t like it. All the times when Alvis was troublesome, I regretted on taking the big responsibility of having a rabbit as a pet. But as I saw Alvis being weak and unenergetic, I felt hollow. My mom had told me he would live. The next day, I found out if he really lived or not. I quietly snuck outside during breakfast to feed all of the bunnies. I found Alvis’ cage having the air of vacancy. I opened the door of the cage and felt the rabbit I have had for so long, and for the first time, I felt Alvis stiff and cold. I remember whispering a good-bye and feeling unusually comforted. I walked inside the house and washed my hands. That’s when I felt tears trying to flood out. I sat down on the chair and my mom had said, “He’s alive right? I told you he would be.”
I couldn’t bare it, tears poured out and I said shakily, “He died.”


People who never had a pet they were attached to that left, never would understand why pet owners cried when their pet left. It is the hollow feeling that makes the tear run. It is the feeling that you will never see him or her again that makes you sad. The day I found out Alvis had left earth, I only had felt anger and sadness of how every living thing had to die someday. Now thinking about it, I figured out Alvis had taught me one thing: You only have one life, make yourself a clown, or a puppy in his case, as long as you enjoy your life. I also felt that Alvis was such a lucky boy to be rescued from becoming rabbit meat and lucky to have somebody cry for him when he died. There were and are many animals euthanized without ever getting a chance of proving who they really were inside and no one to cry for them as they entered into eternal sleep. I knew Alvis had a great life- at least for a rabbit that could have become meat.
I will miss you Alvis, you are a bunny like no other.