Lobo
Mama Doe
On Christmas Eve 2004 a mother impulsively bought Chloe from a pet shop for her 12 year old daughter who had been pestering her for a pet rabbit.
During January 2005 I was regaled with stories by the mother about Chloe being a wonderful pet and so loved by her daughter.
By February the stories had started to dry up. In March I enquired as to Chloe's status and was told that she was becoming unmanageable and that the daughter had ceased to feed and water her.
By April Chloe had been relegated to a tiny hutch in the backyard where her only company was three dogs who were allowed to chase her on the few occasions she was let out. The mother told me that Chloe was totally uncontrollable and would bite and scratch her when she was putting in food. In May the mother asked me if I would re-home Chloe as they no longer wanted her. I explained to her that Chloe's behaviour was due to the fact that there was limited interaction with her and this was complicated by her not being spayed. This fell on deaf ears.
My OH (wife) was initially opposed because of the disruption it would cause to our bonded pair and I knew she was right. We both went to the house to tell these people and intended offering to show them how to relate to Chloe. When we saw her we were so pleased we had brought a carrier with us. Even getting her from the cage caused the mother to be inflicted with more scratches and bites. I looked at my wife and said: "what have we we let ourselves in for"?
This was Chloe about 30 hours after we got her home.
Unfortunately Chloe could not be bonded with our other pair even after spaying, due to aggression towards them and the fact that she was almost twice their size and 5 years younger. Since their crossing to the bridge in the past 7 weeks she has had our unrivalled bunny attention and spent this Christmas Day like most of us, eating and sleeping.
I hope that Chloe's story is not being replicated this Christmas, but sadly it probably is.
During January 2005 I was regaled with stories by the mother about Chloe being a wonderful pet and so loved by her daughter.
By February the stories had started to dry up. In March I enquired as to Chloe's status and was told that she was becoming unmanageable and that the daughter had ceased to feed and water her.
By April Chloe had been relegated to a tiny hutch in the backyard where her only company was three dogs who were allowed to chase her on the few occasions she was let out. The mother told me that Chloe was totally uncontrollable and would bite and scratch her when she was putting in food. In May the mother asked me if I would re-home Chloe as they no longer wanted her. I explained to her that Chloe's behaviour was due to the fact that there was limited interaction with her and this was complicated by her not being spayed. This fell on deaf ears.
My OH (wife) was initially opposed because of the disruption it would cause to our bonded pair and I knew she was right. We both went to the house to tell these people and intended offering to show them how to relate to Chloe. When we saw her we were so pleased we had brought a carrier with us. Even getting her from the cage caused the mother to be inflicted with more scratches and bites. I looked at my wife and said: "what have we we let ourselves in for"?
This was Chloe about 30 hours after we got her home.
Unfortunately Chloe could not be bonded with our other pair even after spaying, due to aggression towards them and the fact that she was almost twice their size and 5 years younger. Since their crossing to the bridge in the past 7 weeks she has had our unrivalled bunny attention and spent this Christmas Day like most of us, eating and sleeping.
I hope that Chloe's story is not being replicated this Christmas, but sadly it probably is.