Well… I know you want to give him a home and get him out of the pet store, but don’t let that be the deciding factor. They will just replace him with yet another bunny once they run out of stock. You cannot save all pet store animals, since the pet stores have an endless supply.

Do you have the money for a second rabbit right now? Two cages, two bowls, two sets of toys, etc? Do you have the TIME for bonding right now, if you’re going back to work soon? Bonding means sessions EVERYDAY in order to get it done and sometimes it can be difficult and take months. Also, many rabbits lose litter habits during bonding (and mine never quite got theirs back even after almost a year of being bonded), so lots of extra cleaning. If you work during the day, Rory will probably sleep through most of it, so isn’t likely to get lonely. So do YOU want another bun, for yourselves, not just for Rory?

If those questions lean towards getting him and you really want to, then go ahead. But, I would suggest letting Rory bunny date for an easier bond at a rescue when you get him a pal. You can do bonding sessions in the car/bathtub since your place is small.

Stickerbunny has some very wise words.

It’s really only a dilemma if you chose to make it one.

I ditto Stickerbunny’s advice.

I have a single gal at the moment and finds that she sleeps during the day and is most active at nighttime. So your bunny might be snoozing during the day while you are at work (depending on what time you work that is) and not lonely at all.

I wanted to ditto everything everyone said and add that bonding is A LOT of work. And I really do mean AAAA LOTTT. I tried to bond my girl and it was a disaster and even after 2 months they still hated each other (only tolerated each other for about 3 minutes max) so if you get the pet store bun and you are in that situation you would have to have 2 separate living spaces, separate play time, actually just separate everything. And this was all even with bunny dates so I can’t imagine bringing a random bun home that she didn’t get to choose.

I see how torn you are tho…I’m a lot like you and have a huge soft spot for animals but sometimes you just have to go home and cuddle your bun knowing that you are at least making one life better.

Hi RR,
We sound like kindred spirits. I couldn’t leave the bun there either. Sticker bunny is right, consider the pro’s and cons. I still have two separate areas as Nermal is yet to be spayed so we can start the rebonding. Need to find about $1000 to get all four girls done and set up post surgery rehab cages for each as they are done. Still it’s a labour of love and I don’t care if people think its strange having rabbits occuppying my lounge and spare bedroom. I’d love to hear that you took the bun home but not to your own detriment or that of your Rory. Maybe you have a friiend who has met Rory who is hankering for a bun of their own to love ?

Ditto
Once you take this bunny home, there will be more in his place and you can’t take them all.
In addition they now have sold x+1 bunnies if you take him home and will place bigger orders in future. The breeder who supplies them will see an increase and breed more. We only make the problem worse ‘rescuing from pet stores’
Instead I would write a letter to the manager or head office, and share your story-why you initially
purchased from them, and why you won’t. Tell them you’ll be spending your money in stores that promote adoption and don’t sell live animals, and that you’ll come back when they adopt a humane sales program.

You’ll help so many more animals that way. You’ll only hurt your wallet and increase business for a store that sells animals the other way.

Unless like some pet stores they give them away for free when they get too old to sell. I know of one that does this. Thankfully they are careful who they give them too but I still don’t think it’s a great idea, especially with rabbits. Some sell them to laboratories or meat farms if they don’t go as pets. All the more reason to discourage continued selling of animals though pet shops. But ask the question, if they are planning on getting rid of the bun for ceasing to be cute maybe you could stear them toward a shelter.