It takes a village to raise a bunny
Meet Owen Louis, an ambitious and determined 9-year-old on a mission.
Now I know the title is a bit off from the ordinary cliché of ‘It takes a village to raise a child’, but bear with me.
Owen, the middle child in a family of five, loves bunnies. Loves animals I would say as a whole, but bunnies seem to be his favorite.
“So, I've kind of wanted a bunny since I was like, four,” said 9-year-old Owen of Sauk City, Wisconsin. “I've always had it on my Christmas list. And it kind of surprised me that dad was just like, sure. I'll let you fundraise and I'm like, ‘What? What did he just say?’”.
Let’s back up a bit though. Owen’s mom Cassie, saw that a woman named Diane Anthony had put a post on Facebook with some really cute pictures of some bunnies, hoping to find them their forever homes. Diane had said anyone could come and pet the bunnies at her place, even if they were not looking to buy one. Diane, believing that bunnies are therapeutic, opened up her bunny yard to the community. Little did she know that her path, and that of one ambitious boy would soon cross. “I thought that, you know, for a young boy, he was very dedicated to showing that he was willing and able to take care of this rabbit which I worried about. I mean, I wasn't worried about selling him to a child because of Cassie being there. But it was going to be his rabbit and I was, you know, a little worried, but he has come through remarkably well and it has impressed me every step of the way.”
“Yeah, she has a lot (of bunnies) in her yard, so we went there. And obviously it's kind of how most stories go (I was impressed at how matter-of-factly he said this). When I saw them, I wanted to get one,” said Owen. At that time Diane had only two babies left. A bunny named Black Velvet, and her brother. They were of the Lion Head Teddy Wider variety, called so because of long fur around their heads that resembles a lion’s mane. I do have to admit, they are adorable.
After being wooed by the amazing bunnies, and having fallen completely in love with Black Velvet, Owen and his mother Cassie headed back home. “Um, well, we went home and I kind of told dad that now ‘I really want a bunny’, but this time, my dream actually came true. Maybe?”, he told me in a hopeful demeaner.
Owen proceeded to incessantly beg his dad Jason to let him get the bunny named Black Velvet who would eventually be renamed, Princess Rose. But dad had some concerns. “Between all the kids asking me for cats and dogs and just all the other animals, the cats and dogs have just kind of been out of the question, and we've just been a house full of fish and kids”. Cassie said that their youngest child Eric has severe food and animal allergies. “So, that day we visited the bunnies, and brought him with. We thought, for future reference, let's let him pet these bunnies and see if he is going to have a reaction, and he was fine.”
So, after begging his dad for the bunny, Jason thought about it for a moment, and told Owen that the bunny costs a lot of money, and are expensive to care for, not to mention it was a long-time commitment. So, Owen asked his dad how much would the bunny cost and the supplies to take care of it. Jason just pulled a number out of his head saying, “$350”.
Now most kids I know might think that number was astronomical, but not Owen. He went and spent some time thinking about his father’s number of $350 to get that bunny. He did not get upset, throw a tantrum, or cry around. Instead, in an almost mature manner, thought of how he could raise that amount.
Owen took time the rest of the evening to really think on the prospect of taking care of a bunny. He asked himself if having a bunny is really what he wanted. By morning, Owen was certain that he wanted that bunny.
So, he went to his mom and dad and asked if he could make baked goods and sell them to raise the money. In actuality, the cost to purchase the bunny was $40, that did not include everything the bunny would need, such as a hutch, food, toys, and vet care. Owens parents said, “Sure, good luck”. And just like that, Bunny Boy Baking was born.
Owen, being no stranger to the kitchen and baking previously with his mom, got to work right away. Within two or three days, Owen had raised the $350 dollars. With a little help from mom to get Owen’s mission out around the neighborhood, orders started rolling in. Owen started off baking banana bread, cinnamon bread, and Rice Crispy treats. Soon after, people raved about both, with some ordering whole sheets of Rice Crispy treats. “We had whole pans of Rice Crispy treats going out that first weekend,” Owen said with a big smile.
Business was great right off the bat, prompting Owen’s mom to set up a Venmo account to accept payments for his baked goods. “We had some people just give donations to him and write a lot of cute notes, like, ‘good luck and we hope you get your bunny,’. These were from complete strangers we didn’t know,” said Cassie.
The donations were not just in money form. A friend of the family said she had a brand-new hutch that was meant for their outdoor cat and never used. So, when Owen dropped off her order of breads, they loaded up the new hutch and brought it home.
Ambitious as Owen was in this venture, I would be remiss if not to ask him what were some of the things that he had learned. “If you want to have a business you need to work towards it. It's definitely on the trickier side. Putting all the work into a business is hard. Like, let's say, me baking. You have to put a lot of work into just stirring and baking, planning ingredients, and then shopping for the ingredients.”
Owen said he likes doing the work, and admits the work is not hard, but rather fun doing what he likes most, cooking and baking. He said he gets a sense of pride in this venture and admits his friends at school are proud of him as well. “They're definitely proud of me. I brought Princess to school and they all loved her.”
At 9, being responsible for another life is a pretty large responsibility, one that Owen takes seriously. “It's not very easy, because they don't just clean themselves. You have to vacuum and clean their cage, put more hay in their feeder, and refill their water bottle. You also have to take it to the vet and buy all of its essentials,” he said matter-of-factly.
Bunnies being social animals, Owen makes sure that he plays with Princess Rose as much as he can, which at times seems to find his siblings joining in on the fun of bunny play time. “It’s really fun to watch her run around,” said Owen. While Owen is at school, mom admits, that is her cuddle time with Princess.
Owen’s dad shared he is very proud of how Owen has taken responsibility for Princess saying, “I’m really proud of him, being able to manage taking care of the rabbit and it's definitely been a new thing for him. But he seems really excited about the prospect of having the rabbit and providing for it.” His dad said in the beginning, he was somewhat unsure whether Owen would keep up the interest or not once he actually had the rabbit. “We're both really proud of him though. He's done a fantastic job!”
Involved in 4-H, Owen plans to make Princess Rose one of his projects, eventually showing her. “We're also trying to train her to do tricks,” said Owen. He also hopes to bring Princess to the nearby nursing home to share her with the residents to brighten up their days.
Owen, having wet his feet in the business world, I had to ask what he might want to do when he gets older. His response was golden. “Um, I've thought about lots of jobs over my years, and now that I've turned baking into a really fun thing, now that I can do more with it, not just mush the bananas, I can man the oven, I can do lots more with baking. So, I don't know. I might get my own like bake shop or something.” Mom kept it real, sharing her son’s backup option is to be a therapist. Owen agreed saying, “I would want to be a therapist, because I feel like I could help lots of people.”
Owen has not waited to help those in need though. This past Christmas, Owen and his mom put out a post on Facebook asking for nominations of people that would benefit from some of Owen’s Christmas baking cheer at no cost to them. Flooded with nominations, both Owen and his mom said it was hard to choose. After a ton of baking, packaging 16 trays of cookies, and a few encouraging notes to go with them, they headed out on Christmas Eve to deliver good tidings.
Currently, now that Owen has his bunny and all of the essentials needed to care for Princess Rose, he is saving up for the summer, when he plans to purchase a full outdoor bunny set up to expand Princess’ world. Again, someone the family had a playpen they dropped off for Princess, so people could come and purchase Owen’s baked goods and see the bunny it ultimately benefits.
There never seems to be a shortage of just straight donations from the community and abroad, with people sending $5, $10, $15, or $20 to the Venmo account to help Owen support Princess Rose. People that may not be able to eat sweets have donated just to help. In kind, Owen sends them bunny pictures he draws to show his appreciation. Owen proudly pointed out he had drawn a bunny picture, for a woman in Florida that had made a donation. “It has literally been the entire community coming together to support Owen and Princess Rose,” said Owen’s mom.
Owen had a few last parting words for me before I left. In a very adult-like manner and tone of voice he said, “Definitely never give up on whatever you're working towards. And even though things might seem hard, if you put enough time and effort into it, your dreams can come true.”
Did I mention that Owen is 9 years old?
Follow Princess Rose and Owen, and see what latest baked goods are available, visit them on Facebook- Princess Rose The Bun Bun
Payments can be made in an honor system jar at the bake shelf in front of their house, or made on Venmo: @cassie-louis-1
