Evie desperately wanted a bunny for her sixth birthday.

Two brothers, two cats, six chickens, parents and a giant golden retriever with only two speeds – turbo and asleep – were not enough.

And so it seemed to Evie her prayers were answered when a bunny unexpectedly turned up in her life: A small long-eared rabbit was found in the family back yard.

Evie’s mother Laura did not share in her daughter’s joyful elation. The appearance of what was presumed to be an escaped pet rabbit boded little more than tears, as surely it was missed and would need to be returned back to its original owner?

Weeks passed. Flyers were posted. Facebook posts were… posted, all searching for the original owners of the bunny. The bunny remained unclaimed.

A bunny hutch was procured and installed alongside the chicken coop, cat-scratching post and dog paraphernalia.

Evie turned six. The bunny was now a permanent resident of the street, visited regularly by little girls (and some boys) from throughout the ‘hood.

It’s just that kind of street.

And then, the bunny had kittens. As in rabbit kittens, not kitten… kittens. That would be weird.

There were four of them.

Given the bunny had been in residence for well over two months by this stage, the sudden appearance of  baby rabbits was initially considered to be some sort of immaculate conception. This is because Google helpfully informed the family the average rabbit gestation period is 31 days – far shorter than the eight weeks the bunny had been in confinement.

To date, as far as anyone knew, the bunny enclosure was rabbit-proof and its resident had been restricted to company of only the inter-species (and platonic) kind.

It was at this point Evie confessed: She and her friend up the road had in fact facilitated a “bunny play date” without the knowledge of anyone.

“With a girl bunny, her name is Chloe,” Evie told her now-slightly-less-confused mother.

“They jumped on each other a lot.”

Thus one bunny became five bunnies, the house is looking a little bit The Good Life circa 1975, and never has the phrase “to breed like rabbits” been more relevant in suburban Perth.

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