The situation and the solution

Well, the bunnies went and proved me wrong not long after I wrote my last post... Mallory/Pearl and Bennett were not having a particularly happy day together, and it got worse. They got into a really bad spat while I was briefly out of the room (I know, major bad on my part, but I had been checking in on them at really frequent intervals and all seemed peaceful), Mallory/Pearl got a lot of hair pulled out and Bennett got three (that we've found) bite marks (they are all looking really good and we're keeping an eye on them for a possible vet visit). This was Thursday night, so I separated them and decided to see how they were doing together in the morning. Well, a good night of sleep did not really help things and I put a call into the rabbit rescue bonding counselor, Stacey, for her opinion. She said that we should bring them into the adoption day they were having at the shelter thrift store today and talk to the volunteers (Rhonda, another bonding expert) and possibly look at other bunnies for Bennett to bond with. After thinking long and hard and talking about it, we decided last night that Mallory/Pearl was not the bunny for us and Bennett. A couple of things came up... She seems to have very bad eyesight and would startle every time someone tried to touch her, even when Bennett would lick her and she would nip out at him and provoke a fight. I'm sure from her view, she was defending herself, but not being able to see was a big problem. Also, she never seemed to settle in with us, always (or mostly) crouched in the corner with her ears up, sometimes shaking. She was kept in a 20" by 20" cage for the first two years of her life and hasn't really been socialized to people just yet, and I didn't realize just how much she mistrusted us and I think she needs to be in a home where it's just her, she doesn't have an adolescent boy bunny poking around her all the time, wondering if she want to play, that she can be worked with one on one to really get back to realizing that humans are good. She never felt safe enough really, to even eat in front of us and all of this basically adds up to not being a good fit for us. I hope she gets a really good home with someone who can work with her everyday to get to being the lovable, happy bunny that I know is in there.

So, we tried Bennett with two other lady bunnies today and we did take one of them home with us. I'm proud to introduce our new bunny friend, Mahala!

Mahala is a very sweet little girl, she's 4 years old, a bit older than Bennett (who's 8 mo today!). She was also rescued from a hoarding/abuse situation but has lived in foster care for the last few months, working with Steve one on one, everyday to get back to trusting people, again. She is leaps and bounds beyond Mallory/Pearl as far as the way she interacts with Laurie and me. She's an angora/holland lop mix, so she has the wonderful angora fur with the very adorable lop ears. She was actually one of the bunnies that I had originally picked out for Bennett's speed date last weekend, but she was sick, so she was unable to come. She does have chronic sinus/upper respiratory issues, so we have to keep an eye on that. She kind of breathes like a pug sometimes, her nose is so flat that it can make breathing a little loud at times (she is most adorably snoring right now, kind of sounds like a soft owl hooting). She is very happy, and very peppy, running around the room and sniffing and exploring everything - much like Bennett. (One of the things we were most looking for in a rabbit companion for Bennett was someone who would want to play with him.) She's already done her first binky!

Mahala and Bennett's date went very well. He groomed her, she mounted him several times, which he took just fine. (She did the mounting first thing, so he would know who's boss... Since Bennett returned home, he's been marking his territory like mad by dropping poops.) He groomed her a lot and they cuddled a little bit, just hanging out side by side or face to face. There was absolutely no fighting between them, and they had a lot of interaction. On the way home, they continued to sit in the little carrier side by side most of the way home, which Laurie tried to document, unsuccessfully. She did get a cute picture when they got home and were waiting for me to change the litter boxes of them sort of on top of each other, eager to be close to each other, but to still be able to see what's happening outside! That's the first picture.

We haven't done anymore work bonding since they've gotten home, we had to go to church pretty quick after we got them home and I think we'll start tomorrow, as it's getting late. As per what we saw last weekend, the Brambley Hedge rabbit rescue people were awesome towards us, and have encouraged to stay closely in touch. Everyone swooned over how handsome Bennett is and his wonderful personality, he was very popular with everyone there. That's my bunny! I really qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq 11111fgggggggg11111111111111111111111111111f11116iuonm , (<- Mahala says hi for herself! Like I said, she's very much like Bennett!) think that things will go smoothly, but we'll see. Bonding is a long process and I'm in it for the long haul and I think we have the right bunnies!