We are the Wilson family (Jeff, Cameron and Tyler). We have several pets, but one worth highlighting is our rescue bunny, Maybeline (aka Maybis or May May)! The rescue had named her Maybeline because it looked like she was wearing eyeliner around her eyes. Based on Maybeline’s larger-than-life personality, Tyler and Cameron jokingly tout that May May craves “fame,” and this magazine is just the route for her to find it! At least in Rolling Hills! Tyler, Jeff and I have created elaborate bedtime stories about Maybeline’s pretend world of adventure, excitement and fame. She seems to enjoy it quite a bit. At some point, I’d love to work with Tyler to write fictional stories about Maybeline.

We have had Maybeline for about three years. She is a rescue bunny so we are not completely sure of her age or breed. Tyler decided that Maybeline’s birthday is Christmas Day and that she is 4 years old. We got Maybeline to try encouraging some happiness in our daughter (Tyler) after losing our beloved Golden Retriever, who was omnipresent in Tyler’s life from the moment she was born – from midnight feedings to tummy time.

While my husband, Jeff, wasn’t a fan of the idea of a pet rabbit, it is easy to fall in love with Maybeline. She’s more like a dog or a cat than a typical bunny. She’s extremely loving, loves to be cuddled at all times, sits quietly with Tyler as she does her homework, loves Tyler to read her books at night, charges up to us when we enter the room to command attention and more cuddles. She will fall asleep in our arms as we walk around the house or do a work call. I knew that Maybeline had won Jeff over when I came home one night to find May May asleep on his chest as he watched sports.  

Maybeline can be a bit of a diva as well. During a recent Christmas, she really enjoyed her time under the tree playing and chewing, which was fine until she kept severing the Christmas tree lights. We put a gate up to block her from the room with the tree. She threw a temper tantrum like a toddler, thumped her hind legs loudly at me for several minutes, and used all of her six-pound might to try and move the gate. Unfortunately, she’s not able to hop over it, and that really made her mad. I swear she was glaring at me as she gave one last “I’m angry” thump, and hopped away.   

May May is also quite a decorator. When she is on Tyler’s bed, she likes the stuffed animals to be placed to her liking and enjoys straightening out any lumps in the comforter. If you move something, she will fix it right away and let us know she’s annoyed. She loves to groom Tyler’s favorite stuffed cat, Tiger.

Dinner time with Maybeline is very funny. She will dive into the bag of kibble before you can even get a scoop out. Her favorite treat is a banana. She’s also been known to sneak up on Tyler’s snacks and snatch her fruit and hop away to munch it. May May is an indoor/outdoor bunny, but truly prefers time with her “sissy” Tyler inside. Maybeline loves to lounge under a bench in Tyler’s playroom, and that is when you truly see her “full figure” as her chubby flaps spread out. Tyler calls that move “flapping.” As in, Maybeline is in a “full flap.” She also enjoys naps in the garage of one of Tyler’s dollhouses.   

Probably Maybeline’s most endearing quality is her incredible love for Tyler. They are tightly bonded and I’m pretty sure Maybeline thinks Tyler is a bunny, as May May will groom Tyler’s face and arms like she does her bunny friend, Charlie. In my wildest dreams, I never thought a bunny could have so much personality and bring so much joy, but she has done all that and more.