Penny turned twelve in May. She ate more slowly and napped more often, but her
disapproving glare remained piercing. Penny loved to groom Marshall’s sexy
ears, and the pair happily snuggled together.
In July, we noticed that
Penny sounded congested. She had pneumonia, but she seemed well again after a
few days on antibiotics. However, she had trouble chewing carrots and hay, so
off to the vet we went again.
Penny had a couple of tooth spurs, so
she had dental surgery a week later. The vet trimmed the spurs but noticed
that Penny’s teeth were loose and that she had a cancerous growth in her
mouth. We knew Penny’s days were numbered, but we hoped that she would feel
better for a little while. Penny came home and had a joyful reunion with
Marshall, but still had trouble eating.
Penny said it was
time to hop over the Rainbow Bridge, and we all said goodbye to her on August 1.
Marshall missed Penny and wanted more attention from us,
but didn’t lose his appetite. At the end of August, Marshall went speed dating
at the Friends of Rabbits headquarters, where Penny had chosen him. Marshall
behaved like a perfect gentleman, but didn’t find any compatible bunnies.
In September, we took a long car ride to the MD House Rabbit Society adoption
event for more speed dating. Marshall met several eligible bachelorettes,
seemed compatible with a young mini-rex named Miranda, so we adopted her and
took her home.
Now the bonding process began, with both bunnies in
separate x-pens in the sun room. Miranda Ballerina Thumper (aka Mandy) was
happy in her new home and enthusiastically explored everywhere. Marshall said,
“I like her, but I didn’t know we had to live together immediately!” Poor
Marshall was very upset and tried to bite and scratch Mandy through the bars.
The bunnies had separate times for free roaming and couldn’t be in the same
room unless they were penned. It didn’t look like Marshall wanted to share the
house with Mandy, and we felt discouraged.
Although the bunnies weren’t bonded, we intended to take a short vacation and
have the pet sitter keep Marshall and Mandy in their separate pens. The
bunnies did have a short date with no biting, but Marshall was still unhappy.
As we got ready to leave in the morning, Marshall began having GI stasis.
There were no regular vets available, so we spent several hours at the
emergency vet clinic instead of on vacation. Marshall got fluids, drugs,
and X-rays and was able to come home that night. He stayed in his room, away
from Mandy. The stress of dating, redoing the living arrangements, and
adjusting to a new bunny gave him digestive issues.
Marshall was
back to normal after a couple of days, and dating resumed. Things suddenly
seemed better, and they acted like they were flirting. Marshall groomed Mandy,
but she wouldn’t reciprocate.
Finally, we put some
sweet-tasting juice on Marshall’s head, and Mandy started licking him. That
broke the ice, and they bonded completely. They both live in the bunny room
together and have free roam of the house. It took about 3.5 weeks for them to
bond.
- Audrey
Thank you, Audrey for giving Penny, Dougie, Marshall, and Mandy a chance!
- Charlie and Gus
