Mini Rexs fur grew backwards???

Question
When I was a young teenager I had a Mini Rex that I'd gotten from my 7th grade science teacher.  I fell so in love with the class pet that she gave him to me even though I'd never asked her to give him away...she was just nice and saw that the bunny and I had a connection.  I think she had purchased him from a pet store but as this was almost 10 years ago I can't remember.  I remember the teacher specifically instructing us (the class) to pet him backwards because his hair grew backwards.  At a county fair a few years later I was petting another mini rex whose hair did not grow backwards as mine did.  The owner said it wasn't specific to the Mini Rex breed, it was just a fluke.  It really did feel more "right" to pet him from tail to nose just as obviously as it feels "right" to pet a normal cat from nose to tail.  What is this odd hair-direction thingy called or were my teacher, parents, and I just duped?  And if if it was true did it really hurt or cause him any discomfort when we pet him the wrong way?  He really was the sweetest, best friend I had growing up.  When he got sick (Snuffles the vet said) the only way we could get him to eat his pills was feeding them to him with a syringe full of Dannon Pina Colada yogurt.  Thanks so much for your time!

Answer
Dear Samantha,

Don't worry.  If you were hurting your bunny by "rubbing him the wrong way," he would have let you know!  ;)  Unlike cats, rabbits tend to *enjoy* having their fur rubbed in every direction.  They don't seem to have the same type of sensitivity a cat has that way.

I've never heard of a Rex rabbit (or any other breed, for that matter) whose fur grew in the oppositte direction from normal (i.e., from the tail towards the head), but I suppose it could happen.  There is a mutation that causes the fur along the spine of a Rhodesian Ridgeback dog to grow the "wrong way," so that genetic condition can happen in mammals.  I just can't say for sure if your bunny had it because I can't see him.  It would certainly have been caused by a genetic mutation, but there is no special name for it.

In any case, your bunny loved being petted by you, whatever direction you chose.

Hope that helps!  If you're thinking of having another bunny some day, be sure to visit www.rabbit.org for all the information you need.  Rabbits are so special!

Dana