I have had rabbits for several years of my life. I have bred rabbits or had a Rabbitry for 13 years, but not consecutively.

My first rabbit was a white New Zealand. When I was in early grade school a friend and I visited our neighbors so much we called them Mama and Daddy Creel. They lived down the Road and had all kinds of show birds. Pigeons, chickens, ducks, geese, peacocks, pheasants and more. They also had New Zealand rabbits and sold the babies for $2 each (it was the early 60's). I remember how I asked my parents if I could have a rabbit and my dad told me I did not have a rabbit hutch (we did have all kinds of cages and aquariums that my parents kept on hand for when my brother or I "drug" another animal home). Anyway, Daddy Creel sold me a rabbit for $2 and built me a very nice and large rabbit hutch at no charge.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s I bred rabbits for almost seven years. I raised nice pedigreed Holland Lops and Netherland Dwarves mostly, a few English and French Angoras and an occasional "bunny rabbit". I was known as "The Rabbit Lady". I also took in all the unwanted rabbits and either kept them for myself or found them new homes. When we moved I sold the rabbits.

In 2000 my husband Deron surprised me at a Horse Auction when he bought the cute little black Dwarf bunny I saw and said I would like to have. From there, we have started breeding rabbits again. We now have and breed Dwarves, Dwarf Hotots, English and French Angoras, Harlequins and a couple of English Spots.

My husband is really good about my love for animals. We met because we both are mushers and each had several dogs. When Deron and I hooked up he had more dogs then most people will own in a life time. The joke is I married the guy with the dogs and he married the Harness Maker. I am a sled dog harness maker by trade.

DogStar Kennel www.dogstarkennel.com is/was Deron's kennel name when he and I got together. I always used Marna's Menagerie www.marnasmenagerie.com for my animals, rabbitry, aviary, cavery, kennel, Harness Shop, everything. We kept and we use both names. Dogstar Kennel is for our kennel, Marna's Menagerie is used mostly for our fun and functional animal items we have for sale as well as my Rabbirty name.

We have "dubbed" our place Grasshopper Ranch. We use the name Grasshopper Ranch more for the Horses, Goats www.workinggoats.com and Llamas www.workingllamas.com that we also work here in WI.

We called the place Grasshopper Ranch because we would rather play then work... we both have made our livings out of what we love to do or "our play". Deron is a computer Programmer and has a desk top publishing program he has had and sold in many countries since 1985. www.pagestream.org I have been a sled dog harness maker since 1986 professionally but have made animals equipment most of my life. I make all kinds of items including but not limited to goat harnesses, goat packs, llama packs, rabbit harnesses, rabbit, guinea pig, rat, hamster and even mouse clothes, dog coats, llama tassles and much more.

Deron and I do all sorts of things with our animals. We have the sled dogs and we also backpack with them. Although it is not Deron's favorite sport, I enjoy weight pulling and have done well at competition. I have dogs that do frisbie www.upnorthdiscdogs.com and I used to compete. We have horses we horse pack with, as well as the goats and llamas that both pack and pull.

Deron breeds all sorts of snakes and reptiles, and I have small animals as well. I even do agility, but not just with dogs. I found out about Fancy Rat Agility www.theagilerat.com enjoy it and when I heard about rabbit agility and rabbit hopping, well, I had to give it a whirl. Deron, being the great guy that he is made my agility equipment. Rabbit Hopping is also known as rabbit jumping or showjumping or even rabbit show jumping.

At DogStar Kennel, as far as dogs, we mostly have AKC Siberian Huskies that we own, raise, train, race and backpack with. Deron and I are so proud of the lines of our dogs that we also have a website called www.seppalanews.com We also have Labrador Retrievers, English Shepherds, St. Bernards (only one now) and a few Cocker Spaniels... yes, they pull, pack, weight pull and many, including the Sibes, do a few tricks. I am learning to groom my Cockers (good thing we live in the woods).

I have been spinning with a drop and or a Navajo spindle, so the llamas, sheep and angora rabbits are also considered working animals. LOL

[center]Marna Kazmaier - marna@rabbitagility.com

Please visit often as this site, as well as www.theagilerat.com and www.marnasmenagerie.com, are STILL UNDER construction. Thanks for your visit!