--- title: Bunny Business: LIFE With Horace the Housebroken Irish Hare description: In 1956, photojournalist Carl Mydans memorably captured Horace the housebroken hare. canonical: https://time.com/3754404/life-with-horace-the-housebroken-hare/ author: Ben Cosgrove article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2013-03-22T15:26:18.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:04:55.632Z og:title: Bunny Business: LIFE With Horace the Housebroken Irish Hare og:description: In 1956, photojournalist Carl Mydans memorably captured Horace the housebroken hare. og:url: https://time.com/3754404/life-with-horace-the-housebroken-hare/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1248a7b69cf24b33/698784cb5f570f84c7b15e0c/150323-horace-hare-01.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Irish Hare, 1956 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Bunny Business: LIFE With Horace the Housebroken Irish Hare twitter:description: In 1956, photojournalist Carl Mydans memorably captured Horace the housebroken hare. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1248a7b69cf24b33/698784cb5f570f84c7b15e0c/150323-horace-hare-01.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # LIFE With Horace the Housebroken Hare by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Mar 22, 2013 3:26 PM UTC  Caption from LIFE. Pulling tenaciously on carrot Mr. Webb is holding tightly in his teeth, Horace tugs until he jerks tidbit free. Caption from LIFE. Pulling tenaciously on carrot Mr. Webb is holding tightly in his teeth, Horace tugs until he jerks tidbit free.Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Mar 22, 2013 3:26 PM UTC Carl Mydans belongs on anyone’s short list of the 20th century’s finest photojournalists. The Boston native chronicled downtrodden migrant farmers in New England and the American South during the Great Depression, covered the Soviet invasion of Finland in 1939, documented Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s legendary “return” to the Philippines in 1945 and was aboard the _USS Missouri_ when a Japanese delegation signed surrender documents, ending the Second World War. He photographed Hiroshima survivors, the Korean War, card sharks, William Faulkner, dancing bears, Gertrude Stein, Basque shepherds, royal weddings and the mysterious giant stone _moai_ of Easter Island. He shot for LIFE, first as a freelancer and then as a staff photographer, for virtually the entire time that the magazine published as a weekly, and brought a reporter’s eye and a compassionate heart to every assignment he worked. In 1956, Mydans also memorably captured the mercurial essence of an utterly compelling figure who, in his own time and in his own way, was as fascinating as any that ever graced the pages of LIFE: Horace the housebroken hare. The notion of a wild hare (distinguished from a mere rabbit by its longer ears, longer legs and other physical traits) living in one’s house does not sit well with a lot of people. Men and women who are perfectly content to let a cat or dog roam around their homes will shiver in something like revulsion at the idea of a virile, bright-eyed hare hopping blithely through the kitchen, hanging out in the bathroom or sitting quietly on the living room sofa. Judging by the mood of Mydans’ photographs, however, Horace and his people — the Webbs of Dublin, Ireland — appear to have come to an amicable agreement about how to get along under the same roof. In fact, in most of these pictures, it’s evident that the hare holds sway in the household, and the humans are there, for the most part, simply to do Horace’s bidding. In its March 12, 1956, issue, LIFE shared the housebroken hare’s tale — and Mydans’ pictures — with the magazine’s readers: --- > “” --- --- > “” --- --- > “” ---  Caption from LIFE. Pulling tenaciously on carrot Mr. Webb is holding tightly in his teeth, Horace tugs until he jerks tidbit free. Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. When he wants to get in, Horace drums his paws against door. Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Horace the hare sprawled out on the kitchen floor in home of Cecil S. Webb, director of the Dublin Zoo, 1956. Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Horace the Irish hare takes a drink, 1956. Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Horace the Irish hare, 1956. Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Horace the hare and Cecil S. Webb, director of the Dublin Zoo, 1956. Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Horace the Irish hare, 1956. Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Horace the Irish hare, 1956. Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. When the Webbs play table tennis, Horace takes his place at midcourt and watches the ball flash by. Sometimes he catches it and runs off with it. Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Horace the Irish hare in midair, 1956. Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Horace likes to sit on a rug while Webb pulls him rapidly around the room. He is seldom thrown from the rug, balancing cleverly as it makes sharp turns. Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Horace the Irish hare in mid-snack, 1956. Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Horace the Irish hare, 1956. Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. When bedtime comes, Horace usually acts as if he's asleep and forces Webb to pick him up and carry him to outside run. Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Portrait of Horace the Irish hare, 1956. Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Horace the Irish hare navigates the stairs in home of Cecil S. Webb, director of the Dublin Zoo, 1956. 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