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A friend for Benjamin McBunnington... ??

Anniebirdy

Alpha Buck
hello all, its been quite a while since I posted here, but hopefully some of you may remember Benjamin, if not me :D
Quick recap, Benjamin was/is my first bun, he was a baby, a rescue with terrible injuries and problems. He had, one can only assume, been savagely battered; his broken leg, fractured jaw, fractured skull, brain damage, deafness PLUS headtilt condition told their own story :cry: However, despite how meagre his chances were, Benjamin has survived and thrived and is now a plump, bouncy, often 'nawty' :love: adorable bun who just loves everyone and anyone (**except for one soul destroying incident, which I shall detail later)
he still has to have veterinary help occasionally as the damage done to his brain will never fully heal. Last time, he had a build up of fluid on his brain, but the the minute, the VERY minute I see the slightest change, I am on the phone to his 'doctors'. I vowed when I took this bundle of 'hopeless' challenges on that he would never, ever wait for the medical help that he would probably so often need.
I now feel that it is more than time he had a little friend of his own kind. At the moment, his best animal friend is one of my rescue cockatiels, Weeble, who likes to ride on Benj's back, share his food, or just sit right next to benjamin, and Benjamin is so gentle and careful.
I realy, realy want a rescue bun, but I am thinking more towards a baby doe, who could grow up totaly accepting Benjamin as he is, and not (well, this is my dream anyway) ever bully him because he is 'different'. (Benjamins world is silent, and he responds to sign language which I began to teach him from the moment he arrived)
Or, maybe a very gentle older female who also has very special needs may be the way forward?
My problem is, I am just so VERY terrified of anything, anything at all happening that may hurt him, even the thought of a grumpy nip fills my heart with pain, he has suffered so very much already in his young life.
Can you advise, please? anybody? As I said, Benjamin came to me, a total novice, with his life hanging by the finest thread possible, so realy, I guess I am a complete ignoramous who shouldnt even have been allowed a bunny if Im honest. I knew nothing, except that somehow, i would do all it took to save his precious life.
And just quickly, regarding ** I was upstairs in my friends flat and had Benj with me, happily hoping around, when her OH came in with three guys. The OH was fine, the three guys were loud, bouncing, rather drunk etc. Not offensive, just loud and drunk and bopping around. I scooped benj up in a millisecond of course, BUT, my ever loving bunny who just adores everyone, stared with such terror and horror at the three guys, and began to wriggle and scream and scream in absolute dread. I just ran with him, out of there and eventually calmed him down. I think at that moment, my dear, harmed little bunny told us all how he received his injuries. I believe, with all my being, that he was kicked and battered by a gang of thugs, and those three guys, completely innocently, flashed him back to the day he was so badly, horribly hurt. (One of the guys was in tears later when i told them
Benj's story)
So, i am even MORE protective now, even MORE determined that nothing will scare him, harm him, distress him...
How can i give him a friend, and also protect him as I so desperately want to?
I just want his world to be the best, in every single way. :love:
 
Hello again :wave: I remember Benjamin's story and it still brings a tear to my eye when thinking of what the poor mite must have gone through. So glad he's with you and doing well :D

No advice from me but I'm sure someone will be along soon to help :)
 
:wave: Hi Bunslave, and thankyou. I hope with help, I can give him that special gift, one of his own kind. He deserves it so much :)
 
Wow what a story!
You shouldn't sell yourself short re your bunny abilities.
What you have done is amazing & wonderful.
You have obviously learned fast & have been very intuitive in your care of Benj.
I can completely understand your worries for Benj in relation to a possible mate considering what he has been through.
There are people on RU who have specialist knowledge with buns who have special needs & I am confident there is the perfect doe out there in a rescue who would make Benj's life even more perfect.
Hopefully one of them will come on soon with some ideas. :)
 
i am so glad benjamin mcbunnington found you!

somewhere there must be a gentle doe, perhaps somebun who has had her teeth removed for over-growing?

having watched my littermate brother and sister neutered bunnies interact, though, i don't think a totally peaceful life is on the cards...:shock:
 
Fully agree with all the above - Benj was certainly sent to you for a reason.

Hopefully there will be a gentle girlie bun out there for him, it may take time to find her but your intuition with Benj has been spot on so trust yourself.

What you have done for him is very special :)
 
Wow, what lovely responses, thankyou so much everyone :love: I am a dreadful self-critic, always want to be able to 'walk on water' where my animals are concerned, and beat myself up often, because I cant! Gentle doe bunny, exactly what he needs. I have yet to learn, and only time will tell, but I do not think Benjamin has an aggressive bone in him. Maybe the damage to his beautiful brain erased aggression, just as it erased his ability to hear?? I do know that HE knows when a very delicate, injured birds comes into my care. If the parrot, or parakeet is on the floor, he NEVER binkies or moves fast around it. He almost tiptoes, slowly, carefuly towards it, sniffs, senses where the damage is (he is never wrong) and gently licks the broken wing, damaged leg, shredded feathers etc.
But, lol, lol :lol::lol: I must admit to one little faux pas he made :D I was still in my tatty, worn, shorty nightdress, and knelt down to reach under the table to grab something. The sight of my bare behind sticking up in the air for all the world to see proved to be just too much of a temptation for mr sweet and innocent. Yep, i stood up a LOT faster than I had knelt down, with the unmistakeable imprint of Benjamins front toofs embedded on my left cheek.
Thanks benj, thanks a bunch! :lol:
 
im sooo glad he found you hun i think maybe one of your local rescues could help and may even bond a doe with him....good luck in finding him a friend and keep us posted :D
 
What a wonderful job you have done with Benjamin, he sounds a lovely bunny. Hope you can get him a companion. Best of luck. xxx
 
I remember you and him. :)

This is my opinion. If you get a baby they will learn more about him but from a baby you can't tell what her personality might be. She might be really hyperactive and just want to jump all over him all the time. :lol:

I would be tempted to go for an adult whose personality the rescue already know and you could find the perfect match for him. Any bonding process will be a little stressful for the rabbits (and you!) but it's not the same sort of stress as what happened to him. It's a rabbity stress of dominance and learning about other rabbits. You can take it very slowly, keeping them in pens next to each other for a few months before you even try them together and you might find they lie next to and clean each other through the bars. I can tell you it's all worth it to see how happy they are with a friend. And especially for him and friend could be his ears. :)

You could put out a request on the forum for a gentle girl, maybe even a girl who is a little shy, and see what happens. A good rescue will accept the rabbit back if the bonding doesn't work.
 
Bdnjamin's story brought tears to my eyes :cry: the poor poor bunny :cry: it sounds like you've done wonders with him, you should be so proud of yourself, he's very lucky to have found you :love: I hope you can find him a nice gentle girly bun for him to snuggle with :love:
 
Hi, I dont remember hearing his story before but that is such a lovely story, with such a happy ending for him.

Perhaps it would be good to get him a timid bunny, preferably a submissive one. I have 2 in mind but one of them is young, and as Jenova says, they can be very 'springy' and active - I dont know how confident he is with this sort of excitment.

I think your best bet is to contact a rescue and see if they can match a bunny to his personality. I would strongly reccommend dropping Alice at Windwhistle Warren an email, although be aware her computer is a bit tempermental at the moment so she may not reply straight away! She is also on here as AliceChamberlain. The rescue is in Gloucestershire, but rehomes nationally. She has over 100 bunnies, so is bound to have one to suit you! I was VERY specific in what I needed, and I still had the choice of a few! Here is the website http://www.windwhistlewarren.org.uk/index.html

And just to add, my bunny is deaf too, but I dont think he minds, I think it helps him be as confident as he is. I have noticed that since getting a him a friend he has become more aware of his surroundings, if his friend reacts then to a noise he notices and has a look around. Although when his friend runs away from the hoover he just looks over to see what the fuss is about and comes over to sniff it, he doesnt get her warnings, he'd be rubbish in the wild :lol:

eta- just to add if you DO want a baby bunny, you dont have to give up your hope of rescuing one, there are LOADS of baby bunnies in rescues, from people breeding too much or accidently and giving them in, or people giving in pregnant bunnies.
 
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