This morning our family got up at 6:00 A.M. in order to take our DMD's pet rabbit to the vet for a procedure (Neuter). Zanipolo Emilio has recently begun spraying or marking HIS territory. We expected this behavior at HIS age and had planned on having to have this procedure done. HE was not happy with the car ride and definitely knew that we had left HIS home. DMD was nervous for HIM but we got HIM checked in and after explaining to the vet tech that HE would only drink out of HIS water bottle we left. We were scarcely half way back across town when my phone rang. The caller identified herself as the vet and after quickly reassuring me that Zanipolo was fine, informed me that she could not preform a neuter on HIM because HE is really a SHE! Why, she wondered, did we think that SHE was a HE? Well, honestly the breeder that we had purchased the rabbit from told us that SHE was a HE and having no reason to question it we never looked. Apparently little girls mark their territory just as much as boys so we gave the okay for HER to be spayed today instead of neuters. This is considerably more invasive than what we had planned for and after care will require more attention. Zanipolo EmiliO just became Zanipolo EmiliA. I am sensing a theme in our families failure to identify rodent sexes. See recent Hamster escapades as well as our DOD's guinea pig story.
