Went bunny dating today …

[Elrohwen]

and apparently Otto likes everybunny! We met up with a rescue and introduced him to four girl bunnies, and he absolutely liked all of them. He was even eating hay next to one of the girls! So laid back and relaxed. I was so proud of my little guy  Our top two are:

Taylor – very calm, loves to be picked up and cuddled, will sit next to you on the couch, and is 7.5lbs of pure bunny love. She’s very laid back and she and Otto just chilled out together. She asked for grooms – he didn’t groom her, but did sniff her head and looked like he was thinking about it. We both love her. I think her calm personality is a great fit for both us and for Otto. And my husband actually liked her (!) despite her not being a lop.

 

Coco – a mini lop type bun (she actually looks like a non-loppy bun that just happens to have loppy ears). The rescue woman described her as very active. She seemed sweet, but we’re cautious about her because Otto isn’t active, and we like lazy bunnies, so she might not fit in so well with our household. I don’t want a bunny who is tearing around getting into stuff all the time. Plus, I think Otto would like a quiet friend to snuggle with over one who’s constantly getting into things. Otto did like her though and they ate together almost immediately (though she then took a nip at him and grabbed some fur ).

The rescue owner and her helper were super impressed by Otto. He showed interest in the other bunnies, but was totally calm. When they tried to nip at him, he scrambled away and clearly didn’t want to fight. They said they think he could easily bond with just about any bunny. One of the girls they brought in often dislikes other bunnies, but even she was totally calm around Otto. Though at that point, he was pretty much shut down. After an hour of meeting bunnies he just wanted to sit in a corner and even ran into his carrier as soon as I put it on the floor. But we always knew that he was easily overwhelmed, so I’m proud of him for being so outgoing for the first hour – I half suspected he would shut down right away.

On Wednesday evening we’re going to meet a mini lop owned by a girl who has to give her up because she can’t spend enough time with her. She’s an actress and is getting more roles, so she can’t really control her schedule and isn’t able to let her bunny out as much as she needs. After today I’m pretty confident that Otto can get along with anybody, so it’s up to the girl whether she likes him or not. If she doesn’t, I think we’ll most likely get Taylor because she’s just a great bunny. Here’s a picture of Merlin:

[MirBear]

ooh somebun needs a manicure

[Elrohwen]

Yeah, she definitely does! But her owner said she doesn’t like to be held, so I can sympathize. My husband and I can’t wrestle down our little bun to trim his nails, so I imagine it’s very tough if you live on your own. And she lives in New York City, so I’m sure it’s not a quick trip to get to the vet’s.

[CharleyGirl]

Oh my goodness! There all so cute!! The picture of Merlin with the bottle cap on her head is awesome. She looks like a little sailor

[Elrohwen]

Haha. It reminded me of that book: “Stuff on my Cat” or whatever it’s called.

[MirBear]

oh yeah, of course.. lol time to start a list for each bun

[Sage Cat]

Yea Otto. What a charmer.

[TARM]

You’re so lucky! I love when it’s easy like that. Is Merlin spayed?

[Elrohwen]

Yep, Merlin is 3 years old and spayed. As much as I hate Craigslist, I just had to check on it and found her. I wouldn’t consider any unspayed bun, and I was hoping for a lop, so she seemed perfect. It’s also a plus that she’s been well cared for and is friendly and social.

[TARM]

I’m glad you’re going to meet her. Hopefully things will go well. She’s really cute, but they all are so….lol

[Elrohwen]

If we don’t get her, the rescue owner volunteered to list her on Petfinder and help the owner find a good home, so I would feel a bit better about leaving her. Her owner obviously cares and wants her to go to a good home and I think she’s excited at the prospect of Merlin going home with bunny people like us.

[TARM]

Of course she is. I would be.

[Elrohwen]

I would never be able to give up a bun (or baby buns) because I would be sooooo picky about who they went home with. If I were a rescue, I’d be turning away every other adopter at least 😛

[TARM]

No you wouldn’t. When you meet someone who has done their research and is super excited about being a bunny slave and doing it right you will be just as excited as they are to introduce them to the available rabbits. It always feels really good to send bunnies home with a happy family.

It’s also a really good feeling to help those who are less prepared understand what it takes to have happy house bunnies. When they get into the learning phase, leave the shelter, and you hear from them multiple times before they come back to pick a bunny or a pair you know you’ve done your job well.

The ones who aren’t suitable will generally leave with the information you give them and you won’t hear back from them. They weed themselves out.

[Elrohwen]

Very good point – I imagine most people who aren’t interested get overwhelmed with information fairly quickly and decide they’re better off without a rabbit.

[usagi]

Awwww, all the buns are beautiful. Glad the bonding process is going well.

[usagi]

I’m rooting for Taylor, even though she’s an uppyeared bun.    She looks so sweet.  If Otto doesn’t end up bonding with her, perhaps Lemony will… **evil, conniving cackle** 

[MirBear]

i cant wait to hear the final choice..

[Barbie]

Ooo how exciting! If you get Merlin, make sure you get vet records from the owner… Sometimes the owners stretch the truth to make their pets seem more appealing to a potential adopter. Anyway, this girl is probably telling the truth, but regardless, it’ll be good to have her vet records. My shelter at least, gives adopters vet records.

Good luck w the decision!

[jerseygirl]

I was excited to open your post Love when BB-ers are getting going dating! lol
Yay for Otto that he went so well! Should be good to see how he goes with a companion.

[RabbitPam]

I like the sound and look of Taylor, too. “Even though”???? Uppy eared bunnies rule!
she’s lovely.

[LoveChaCha]

Taylor looks darling!

[Elrohwen]

Pam, I’ll admit that I like the loppy eared bunnies best, but I make an exception for big buns! Haha. I always said I would get Otto a big girlfriend, and Taylor’s pretty big. Though at 7.5lbs she’s not giant or anything either. I love her. I think her foster mom wanted to keep her originally, so she tried to bond Taylor with her current pair, but the female of the pair is not a fan of having another girl around. In happy news, I think if we got Taylor, between her or Otto adding a third some day would be a breeze. They are the two easiest bonders of all time.

When we got there, there was another family trying to bond their black mini lop female. That bun was humping everything in sight. Lol. The owners were on edge, they also wanted one particular bun, but their bun wasn’t getting along with him, and it was a drama fest. Then in the next pen over, we put Otto with a few different buns and each time it was so calm you would think they were already bonded. Haha. Loved it.

Based on our experience, I think if there’s any amount of humping or franticness from Merlin we’ll pass on her. I know it’s totally normal for humping and things like that, but when we have multiple buns who like Otto as is and don’t even feel the need to do that (at least during the first meeting) I think we need to go with the easy bond.

[TARM]

Easy bonds are definitely the way to go. :0)

[Elrohwen]

Barbie, totally a good point. I definitely want to make sure my new bun isn’t going into stasis all the time or needing teeth trims.

Taylor has only been in rescue for two months, so they don’t really know anything about her medical history. But they do think she’s between 1 and 2 years old, so pretty young.

Merlin has a longer history with her owner, so I should be able to get good medical details.

[MirBear]

this bunny -at a local rescue- is almost identical to taylor, looks, descrition soo cute
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/15527098?recno=3

[Monkeybun]

theres some flemmies and english lops on my local craigslist…. *want*

[MirBear]

monkey, please show me whats moving in your pockets

[Monkeybun]

Wonder if my hubby would notice if there was suddenly a huge rabbit in our living room… hmm.. hehe

*cough*

Back to the topic….. I vote for Taylor! Love her coloring although Merlin is adorable too, if in need of a manicure

[Elrohwen]

It seems we have another bunny contender now. Selena: http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/15631881?recno=11

She’s a gorgeous loppy girl and from her description sounds very sweet. She’s being spayed next week, then they would be willing to introduce a week after spaying. So, I dunno. I guess if we decide against Merlin, then we have to decide if we just get Taylor, or wait to meet Selena as well. I’ll have to run that by DH tonight. We waited a week and a half to meet Taylor the first time, so waiting another two weeks might not be a big deal. Of course, she could be adopted in that time since she was just posted on Petfinder, but I think the rescue would give us first dibs if someone else expressed interest.

I do love Taylor, and I would like to meet her again before we take her home. The intro was done at an animal shelter (because the rescue owner wanted us to meet a bunny there, but it had been adopted out that morning and nobody told her). Anyway, there were dogs barking, we were outside in the drizzle for some time, and we really didn’t get to meet the bunnies after Otto was done meeting them. I’d like to spend some more time with Taylor to make sure *we* love her personality as much as I think we do (based on descriptions by her foster mom). And give Otto one more chance to make sure he likes her as much as he did before.

It’s all so confusing! Though it’s kind of good that we’re taking it slow and not making decisions right away. If we just went with the first rescue and the first bun we put Otto with, we could already have a second, but if he’s going to get along with everybunny I want to make sure we’ve gone through all of our options and are picking the best bunny for us. If they all get along with him just as well as the next bun, we’ll have a hard choice. But if the other intros don’t go as well as Taylor, we’ll know we’ve found our bunny.

 

Sorry for thinking outloud there! I’m had a little too much caffeine and taxes are driving me crazy

[RabbitPam]

Taylor….Taylor….Taylor…(no pressure)

[Elrohwen]

Hahaha. I know, I love her too. Stupid lops only rule!! I’m kind of hoping Merlin doesn’t work out so that we can get Taylor!

And after seeing a mini lop girl go hump crazy on some very laid back easy bonder boys, there’s a good chance she’ll jump all over little Otto. I’ll avoid frantic humping if I can! Haha

[Monkeybun]

Awww poor little Selena. Glad somebunny nice found her to take in!

[Elrohwen]

I feel bad for them all and want to take them home!!!

[TARM]

 Sealed box?  GAS STATION??? 

WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE???

[Elrohwen]

Taylor was dumped at a dog park. Where the dogs were off leash. In January. In the rain.

Her foster mom and the rescue owner got a trap and were able to keep dogs out of the park until they caught her. She was covered in mud and soaking wet.

[TARM]

People in your neck of the woods suck worse than the people in mine, and that’s a hard thing to accomplish.

[Monkeybun]

moosie had been dumped in a field.. and I suspect chased by dogs, as he’s terrified when my hubby comes home from his mom’s smelling like her dog. No puppies for us!

[Elrohwen]

I guess they do! We have zero stray dogs up here, but apparently lots of stray cats and bunnies. It’s amazing that I live in one of the richest counties in the entire country, and people here can be so cruel to a little rabbit. You’d think with all the money floating around they would use some of it to take better care of their pets.

[Elrohwen]

Monkey, that’s very sad! I don’t understand how anybody could just set a bunny free. Seriously – at least post an ad on Craigslist, or ask rescues to post for you.

[LittlePuffyTail]

That’s great that Otto had such a successful dating experience. I think all the candidates are adorable!

[Monkeybun]

Moosie was lucky, he got picked up by the rescue group not long after he was “set free”. He only has one tiny scar on his ear, barely noticeable.

[Elrohwen]

This is Taylor after they cleaned some of the mud off.

[Monkeybun]

Awwwww *snuggles* Poor girl.

[Sarita]

Anyone of the buns would be lucky to have a home with you, DH and Otto. Let us know who you decide on. I like the looks of Taylor too, she’s lovely.

[Elrohwen]

Thanks, Sarita! I’m glad Brad is coming around to the non-lop bunnies too. He’s starting to get into the second bunny selection process 🙂 I almost didn’t believe him when he said he liked Taylor!

[Lintini]

Taylor is pretty darn cute! They all are! Otto is such the perfect gentle-bun

[Elrohwen]

Another vote for Taylor! 😀

Otto is a little gentle-bun. I’m so proud of him. Taylor was really cute with him – she kept sitting up against him. At one point he was just a few inches from a wall and she squeeze her big bum in between him and the wall. He just sat there, totally not caring. Lol. It was really cute to watch them all interact.

[Author]

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