My Bunny Journey

I started sharing my bunny journey because bunnies have brought an incredible amount of joy into my life. 🐰❤️ When they’re given the proper care, patience, and love, the bond between a bunny and their human is something truly special. It’s deep, unique, and unlike anything I expected.

I’ve loved rabbits my entire life and had them growing up, but back then, we simply didn’t have access to the information we have today. I loved my rabbits and did the best I knew how, but looking back now, I realize just how much I didn’t know—and how many mistakes I made without ever meaning to.

And then, two years ago, Jordan and Midnight came into our lives and changed everything.

It Started With an Impulsive Trip to the Store

My two boys and I were staying at our house in Vermont while my husband stayed home for work. One day, we stopped at Pick & Shovel, our local “everything” store.

And there they were.

Two adorable Rex bunnies.

Did I research rabbit care first? Nope.

Did I have a plan? Also nope. 😂

Did we leave the store with two rabbits? Of course we did.

We bought a tiny cage that an employee assured us was “perfect” for both boys to live in long-term. Spoiler alert: it absolutely was not.

We also bought pellets, hay, a little water bottle, and yogurt treats.

Yes… yogurt treats.

In my defense, there was a bunny on the bag! 😂

I look back at all of this now and laugh because I know so much more—but at the time, I genuinely thought I was doing everything right.

Then Reality Hit

For reasons that somehow seemed logical at the time, we put Jordan and Midnight's cage in my son’s closet.

That lasted about five minutes. 😂

The smell became unbearable, and when we let them out to play, they chewed everything, made a gigantic mess, and basically began redecorating the house according to bunny standards.

That was the moment I realized:

I was in WAY over my head.

So I started researching.

And yes, I know—I should have done that before bringing home two rabbits. I’m impulsive. I’m working on it! 😂

The more I learned, the more overwhelmed I became. I discovered that both boys needed to be neutered, and when I found out it was going to cost us more than $1,000, I panicked.

For a brief moment, I seriously considered rehoming them.

It actually makes me tear up writing that now because I can't imagine our lives without Jordan and Midnight. But at the time, I didn't know if I could do this.

Something inside me kept saying, just keep trying.

And thank God I did.

The Bunny Rabbit Hole Began

I started watching Lennon the Bunny videos with my boys, and that's when everything began to change.

One video turned into another…and another…and before long, I had fallen completely down the bunny-care rabbit hole. 😂🐰

The more I learned, the more I wanted to do better.

Jordan and Midnight moved into a large wire dog pen in our guest room.

I thought, Okay. NOW we've got this.

The bunnies had other plans.

It didn't take long before they figured out how to jump right over the pen and claim the entire guest room as their own.

Eventually, they were free roaming, litter trained, bonded, happy, and healthy.

I finally thought:

We figured it out!

Then came neutering.

And Then Their Bond Broke

Jordan and Midnight had to be separated while they recovered from their neuters.

Unfortunately, when we tried putting them back together, something had changed.

My sweet bonded boys started fighting.

Apparently, they had decided to behave exactly like their human brothers. 😂

Suddenly, we were rearranging the house—again.

My poor husband has probably lost track of how many rooms in our house have been redesigned around rabbits at this point.

Eventually, each bunny became roommates with one of our sons. Jordan has his boy, Midnight has his, and they each have their own safe spaces and plenty of room to roam. They can still see and interact with each other safely through a gate.

It wasn't the setup I originally imagined, but I've learned something very important during this journey:

Sometimes good bunny care means letting go of the picture you had in your head and figuring out what works best for the bunny in front of you.

Two Years Later…

We've tried just about every bunny setup imaginable.

Water bottles. Water bowls. Litter boxes. Hay feeders. Toys. Chews. Treats.

If Amazon sells something for rabbits, there is a pretty good chance it has made its way into my house at some point. 😂

I've spent more money than I care to admit, made plenty of mistakes, changed things a hundred times, and learned more about rabbits than I ever thought possible.

I've learned how to keep their spaces cleaner and easier to manage. I've learned what products are worth buying and which ones aren't. I've learned ways to care for rabbits without spending a fortune. I've learned how incredibly important hay and proper nutrition are. I've learned the warning signs of GI stasis and just how quickly a rabbit's health can change.

Most importantly, I've learned that I will never know everything.

I'm still learning every single day.

And that's okay.

Being a good bunny owner isn't about being perfect. It's about being willing to learn, change, and do better when you know better.

I'm So Thankful We Didn't Give Up

People don't always realize how much work rabbits can be—especially in those first few months.

In many ways, I compare them to puppies.

They chew things. They make messes. They get into places they shouldn't. They test your patience. And sometimes you'll wonder what on earth you got yourself into.

But then something happens.

You figure each other out.

They learn your routines. You learn their personalities. They start trusting you.

And one day, that little animal you impulsively brought home from a store isn't “the bunny” anymore.

They're family.

Jordan and Midnight have brought so much happiness into our home. They have taught my boys responsibility and compassion, and they have taught all of us patience.

For me personally, they've become something even more.

They're my therapy.

They're my joy.

They're part of my family.

And they're a blessing I never saw coming.

I thank God all the time that I didn't give up when things got hard.

Why I'm Sharing Our Story

There is a reason I want to be honest about the mistakes we made.

I'm not ashamed that I didn't know everything when we brought Jordan and Midnight home. I wish I had known more—but pretending I did everything perfectly doesn't help another new bunny owner who might be sitting there right now thinking:

“I can't do this.”

You can.

You might just need some help.

I truly believe that with better education, realistic expectations, and support, more bunnies could remain in their first homes.

Sometimes people don't give up their rabbits because they don't love them.

They're simply overwhelmed.

They weren't prepared for the chewing, the mess, the vet bills, the hormones, the litter training, or the amount of space rabbits actually need.

I know because I was that overwhelmed new bunny owner.

If someone had told me, “Hang in there. It gets easier. Let me show you what worked for me,” maybe those first months wouldn't have felt quite so impossible.

And that's one of the reasons I share our journey now.

I'm not a veterinarian, and I'm certainly not a perfect bunny mom. I'm simply someone who started with two rabbits in a tiny cage and knew almost nothing—and loved them enough to keep learning.

Jordan and Midnight changed our family in ways I never expected.

And eventually, my love for them—and everything they taught me—would grow into something even bigger: Happy Pet Box Co.

What started with two impulsively purchased Rex bunnies became a passion for helping pets, supporting other pet parents, giving back to animals in need, and hopefully spreading a little more happiness along the way.

All because of two little bunnies named Jordan and Midnight. 🐰🐰❤️

And if sharing our messy, imperfect, wonderful journey helps even one bunny stay in a loving home, then telling our story is worth it.

Sometimes the things you never planned for end up changing your life the most.

And Then Two Became Four 🐰🐰🐰🐰

Somewhere along this journey, something else happened that I never could have predicted.

The woman who once wondered if she could handle two bunnies somehow ended up with four. 😂❤️

After Jordan and Midnight taught me so much about rabbits and completely stole my heart, we welcomed two more bunnies into our family—Bailey and Willow, both rescues with stories of their own.

Bailey came to us after being rescued from a hoarding situation. She needed a safe, loving place where she could finally settle in and just be a bunny. She has brought her own personality, quirks, and plenty of sass into our home, and I can't imagine our family without her.

Then came Willow, our tiny Netherland Dwarf. Willow had been abandoned on the streets of Stamford, Connecticut. Just thinking about such a tiny, vulnerable bunny being left outside to fend for herself breaks my heart. Somehow, her journey eventually led her to us—and now she's safe, loved, spoiled, and very much part of the family.

Sometimes I look around my house now and laugh.

I went from standing in Vermont with two Rex bunnies, a tiny cage, yogurt treats, and absolutely no idea what I was doing…to having four free-roaming bunnies who have basically taken over our home and our hearts.

Jordan, Midnight, Bailey, and Willow have each taught me something different. They have completely changed the way I see rabbits and strengthened my desire to help other bunny parents understand these incredible animals.

And maybe that's the most unexpected part of this whole journey.

I thought I was bringing home two little bunnies that day. I had no idea they were leading me toward an entirely different purpose. ❤️🐰