Welcome back! I’m so sorry for your loss. 🙁  That is really amazing that they lived to be almost 13!

I’ve had a few dif experiences getting new buns after I’ve lost one. I’ve pretty much always had a pair, and several times now have lost one of the pair. So the decision to get another was more based on re-bonding the bun that was “widowed”.

Most recently, when my Bertha passed in 2019, I really didn’t know what to do, because I knew I needed some time before getting another bun, but I didn’t want Bun Jovi to be lonely for too long. I ended up fostering a little pair of brothers that lived as neighbors to Bun Jovi for a few months, and then they went back to the rescue and got adopted.

Having them around helped me a TON (they were so different from Bertha that I didn’t feel at all like I was replacing her, but they were wonderful in their own way), and they really perked up Bun Jovi too. So I would say if you aren’t sure, look into fostering. Maybe you will bond with another bunny (or a pair), or not, and you will at least feel good about helping out some rabbits in need.

Since then, I’ve adopted 3 (!) buns, so I have 4 total. First one was to bond with Bun Jovi (a shelter bun who I’d had my eye on for years… she’d been there a while). The second one was a foster fail LOL. Then the third one (adopted just a year ago) was just such a lovely rabbit I couldn’t resist him. He looks like Bertha… and I never really understood those people who get pets that look like their pet that died, until I was one of them. Personality wise he reminds me of if Bertha and Bunston (Bertha’s first bond mate, the little brown bun in my avatar), had a baby, so he really just wiggled into my heart. Volunteering at the rescue was dangerous for me!

It really doesn’t get easier, even when they make it to a ripe old age. My Bun Jovi is now 13 (I’ve only had him since he was 9 though), and I just want him to live forever. I think we develop a really special bond with our senior pets and get even closer to them as they age, so it’s that much harder when they’re gone.

I’ve always adopted buns for the buns themselves, not for myself. The first ones to give someone a good home, while the others to be companions for the other buns (~7 total thus far). The only part I play is, what can I handle? Main thing I ask myself is, if the bun’s life will be better with me or at the shelter.