I say go for it! I currently have a 12 year old. She could potentially have at least 6-7 more years left in her. If you feel she is special than I would definitely go meet her and maybe take Chester on a bunny date

She’s beautiful – not quite yet actually a senior and she could have many more years left and more if she gets adopted to a good home.

I second everyone’s opinion. Shelters rarely know exactly how old a bunny is unless they were born there.

Also, there are no guarantees even with a younger bunny. Last September we lost our senior bunny and a month later adopted a 4 month old little girl. I thought I would be sparing my kids the ordeal of losing another bunny by adopting a young rabbit. 6 months later we lost Lily to E. Cuniculi. Less than a month later we adopted Finnegan who is somewhere around 3-5 years old. This time I thought that if something was going to go wrong it would have most likely already presented itself. Within a month of having him home I was back at the ER. This time it was for liver torsion. Fortunately, Finn’s story has a happy ending and he made a full recover. We have since adopted another bunny, 10 month old Fiona, to bond with Finn.

When you meet the right bunny you know. Go with your gut.

I am so sad to learn about Cooper. He was so sweet and I remember how quickly he and Chester became friends. I’m sorry for your loss.

Have you gone in to meet the bunny you are considering?

I have recently taken on two six month old rescue girls, but only cos they chose me. If I were to look to adopt from a rescue, at some point in the future, I would look for a slightly older animal, or older pair.

Firstly cos age is no surety of how long he or she will have. I just lost a rabbit who would have been two in Sept, he went from seeming to be totally healthy to gone in only a few days, leaving me, and both my sons, devastated.

Secondly, cos older buns maybe find it less easy to be rehomed, as many people do prefer cute youngsters.

Seeing how Chester is with her will probably be the best way to decide though. One of the two I’ve rescued thankfully took an instant liking to my surving boy bun, whereas the other just wants to fight everybunny.

I’m so very sorry to hear of the loss of Cooper.

I hope you are able to open your heart and home to this bun. And I agree that 5.5 years old is not that old. I have 2 8 year old that are still going strong. You can’t predict when a bun is going to pass. I’ve lost seniors and I’ve lost a baby bun. I see bunnies quite often on my rabbit FB group that are 11 or 12 years old. I know it’s hard when you don’t want to face losing another but think of how much joy you will be giving this new bun (and your current bun too).