He was just a rabbit, a small black Netherland Dwarf rabbit to be precise. How exciting could his life be? His day consisted of mainly eating hay, pellets, and sometimes his own poop. His owners were two very un-extraordinary people — just myself and my husband. We were blessed to have George in our lives for over 14 years.

You read correctly….over 14 years (average life expectancy is 6-8 years) and, in those years, George’s life was anything but boring.

George was the reason I married my husband. Well, he was at least one of the many reasons. My husband and I didn’t have too much in common when we first met during my first year of college. However, we did share a deep love for animals. George was my husband’s illegal dorm rabbit and was named after the Bugs Bunny cartoon titled “The Abominable Snow Rabbit.” How could I not fall in love with a man that owned a rabbit and loved Bugs Bunny?

George was with us as we graduated college, got engaged, got married, and got our first cat followed by our first dog. He saw other pets come and go while he still remained. He was taken outside to enjoy the new grass of spring, and we amused ourselves (not him) by dressing him up in costumes for Halloween.

In his younger years, he was the fastest rabbit at destroying any and all electrical cords. Televisions, phones and radios were all left dead thanks to George’s ability to sever an electric cord in 0.5 seconds. George enjoyed the other pets in the house, and they enjoyed him. As he got older, he particularly liked to sit next to the dogs, likely for warmth and comfort. He was a very affectionate bunny who was easy to handle and truly enjoyed our company.

As George reached the age of 8-years-old, we started to think about the inevitable. Unfortunately, all living creatures pass away at some point, and we knew that one day we would have to say goodbye. When he reached 10 years of age we thought we were really lucky to have him around. When he was 11 years of age he lost his eyesight because of a parasite rabbits can carry around with them their entire lives, called E. cuniculi. We treated him for the parasite, but it left him blind. Even though George was completely blind, he still knew who we were, where everything was in the house and still enjoyed munching on new grass.

At 12 we started to joke that George was going to make it into the Guinness Book of World Records and by 13 we started looking into it. At 14 years of age George successfully became the Oldest Living Rabbit in the world.

Making it into the Guinness Book of World Records is a big deal. It requires extensive paperwork and proof of whatever your claim is. First we had to email Guinness to find out if George was even a candidate for the claim, and when we found out he was, it took us over two months to compile pictures and letters from friends and veterinarians. We put together a giant packet of information and sent it with our submission to Guinness. We then waited another 10 weeks until we finally received the news that George had been approved as the Oldest Living Rabbit!

George was an instant celebrity. We had a reporter come out to the house, and newspapers contacted us asking about George. For about two weeks, George was busy with interviews, photos and petting engagements. It was quite an exciting time for a rabbit that was the age equivalent of a 130-year-old human.

Eventually the fame subsided, and George went back to leading a life of eating lettuce and being petted. George had some arthritis, but what 130-year-old human doesn’t? We put him on some anti-inflammatory medication to help with his arthritis, and we spoiled him with his favorite bunny treats.

Six months after his induction into Guinness, George started having a very difficult time getting around. Within a period of only 12 hours, George was unable to move one of his back legs. It was then that we needed to make the dreaded decision that pet owners must make. We had to say goodbye to our famous Netherland Dwarf.

You would have thought that we would have been better prepared. George was, after all, 14 years old. He was a very very old bunny. However, when the time came the tears wouldn’t stop. When we came home from the veterinary clinic our house felt so empty. Such a small creature had left such a big empty hole. My husband stood where his cage use to be, and I watched the tears cascade slowly down his face. I realized all over again why I had married him.

Above the spot where George’s cage used to reside hangs his Guinness Book of World Records certificate. George led quite a life, more than most rabbits, and we were blessed to have him in our lives for as long as we did. The certificate makes us smile and think about George’s moment of fame and all our happy memories with him. After all, how many people can say they once owned the Oldest Living Rabbit in the World?

Think Your Pet May Have A World Record?
Go to guinnessworldrecords.com for information on how to break a record.

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This entry was posted on Monday, September 29th, 2008 at 9:35 am and is filed under Amy Breton, Pet Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.