Finding Finn a Friend
By Julie Kunin
Our bunny, Finn, came to us as a solo guy, at the young age of 6 weeks. We watched as his sweet and loving personality grew. He loved being pet by squeezing his head from chin to ears, and would stay there until our hands would hurt! He would follow us everywhere he could, although he could not navigate the hardwood floors very well. So we created a cork path throughout the house so he could find us anywhere, and venture wherever he wished. We had him for a year and a half and when he seemed happy, we noticed that he would try to play with our cat or dog, but they were not interested. Our cat Jack would just swat him on the head when he came by, and our dog Boomer just stood there when he would hop over, not knowing what to do. We researched and discovered that bunnies need bunny friends! So we went on the hunt to some bunny shelters.
Finn, a brown lop-eared rabbit.
The dating process was very brief at these other shelters, consisting of 2 to 3 dates over the course of two weekends. We were told he would get along with a couple of the bunnies they had there and went home with one of them, Buster. The bonding process, leave it to say, was extensive and quite difficult. After six months of fighting, fur flying, ears bleeding, we were lucky enough to find a bonding specialist. We met over zoom every night for 30 min, over two weeks. The specialist gave us clear direction every step of the way and helped us understand bun behavior. Luckily she informed us that they already showed significant signs of being bonded. By the end of two weeks, Finn and Buster were finally fully bonded.
Unfortunately, Buster had to leave this partnership early to go onto his next life. We read the materials very carefully about the importance of allowing Finn to grieve Buster by giving him time with Buster alone. Buster had a long period of being very sick and it is clear Finn knew this, and so by the time Buster passed, Finn did not need long before he separated himself from the body. We watched on camera for him to have his time and ensure he was done. At first Finn seemed ok. He would seek out attention and pets, hang out with us and his behavior appeared normal. Perhaps he, too, was relieved that poor Buster was no longer suffering? But then his energy level dropped. He no longer did binkies. We tried to engage him and he would barely spark energy before just flatly looking at us. He stopped exploring, or going to his favorite places. He just stayed in his home and slept most of the time. And Finn never had behavioral issues, but at nights when watching TV, he would sit on us and pee!! We had to wash many clothes, blankets and the sofa. He was clearly telling us he was unhappy. When depression set in for Finn, we realized we needed to find him a new friend. We had learned about the extensive bunny dating and bonding process at San Diego House Rabbit Society. We patiently waited for our name to come up on the waiting list - and it was well worth the wait!
San Diego House Rabbit Society took very good care in observing very closely, every day - over the course of a week - Finn’s experience with the various bunnies available. There were some bunnies he appeared he could get along with, but when he met Cranberry it was love at first sight. But the shelter team didn’t stop there. They continued the dating process an additional week to ensure that this was not a fluke encounter, but in fact, true love. The length of time and care they took in making sure this was true love, made the transition home a breeze.
When Finn and Cranberry came home, there were only a couple of minor scuffles as Finn realized he was bringing his new found love into his territory. But these were short-lived and with our previous, extensive experience in the bonding process we luckily knew what to do, and it has been heaven ever since. Within a mere two weeks, these love buns were completely bonded. These two love bunnies are together all the time, exploring the house, cleaning each other, sleeping together, playing together. Cranberry has been just the sweetest, most confident, energetic and exploratory bunny and has made herself completely at home with Finn.
We are so grateful to the San Diego House Rabbit Society for being so meticulous in their process to ensure that when two bunnies meet, it truly is a match.
If you are interested in rabbit bonding, check out a few SDHRS Bonding Resources:
