Bunnies Part II

I am having to add an P.S. to the other bunny post. Why? Bunny Drama ensued a day after the bliss of bringing bunnies home. After having been kept in a cage together to make sure they would get along, we naively brought our bunnies back thinking all would be perfect in our newly minted Bunnyville. And it was, for about 24 hours, until they settled down from the stress of relocation and an hour car ride and realized they actually hated each other. How we could tell was the bite out of Gray Tail's ear, the constant chasing of Gray Tail out of the hutch by Herbert, Herbert sneaking up and pouncing on Gray Tail even while being held by his owner. If left to their own devices, we would have been a one bunny family in no time. And that bunny would probably be maimed and injured. We arrived at a very heart-wrenching decision. Herbert Nenninger needed to join a family with no other bunnies. I had the horrific duty of taking my child's new pet to the humane society immediately so they didn't kill each other. It was awful. Tears were shed, and the family mourned the loss of our new friend. William was distraught, he didn't think he could love another bunny. We talked about how love is funny and while a new bunny would never replace Herbert in his heart, if he could open up to another bunny, his big, loving heart would have another spot to bond with another bunny. He said he felt like a "bunny polygamist". Yea, it elicited snorting laughter from me. We searched online, and at shelters (again to no avail) for a few hours but William kept coming back to this cute guy. He really wanted to meet him. Another un-neutered male made me skeptical it would work. So skeptical, I made the appointment to humor William, but didn't even take any cash to buy him. We brought Gray Tail along for a "bunny blind date" to see how the two reacted. According to the internet, what happened was extremely rare- love at first site. After 15 seconds of ignoring each other, they sniffed and cautiously approached each other. Then the amazing happened- they cuddled, they groomed (themselves and each other), and they bonded. Still skeptical, we bought the bunny with the caveat that the previous bunny owner would take him back if things went awry once we got on Gray Tails' home turf.


But things have not gone awry. Though we are only 24 hours into our bunny bonding things are going better already than they ever did with the previous pairing. They are sharing the hutch, the water bottle, the yard, and even the food tray for the few pellets we still give them to supplement their yard grazing and the generous carrots from the boys as they start to build the bunnies' trust. They are starting their own little "bunny bromance". (The best part of that term is that it came from Bill). Gray Tail has started to come when we call his name (not all the time, but sometimes) and Bear is willing to come over and check us out when we get down on his level and hold pretty still. He's had a pretty crazy past 24 hours. Our family talks about our new bunny buddies like first time parents talk about their new babies. It is pretty all consuming, but the boys have already taken so much from our foray into being pet owners. Romney said "Having a bunny has made me more responsible and he has made me happy. The bunny can make a bad day into a good day, just by being with him." William thinks "It is the best feeling in the world to be a pet owner. It is making me face things and I feel braver". Those two statements have made the hours, the money, the heartache and headaches all worth while. I thought bunnies were going to be a hassle-free pet.