Loss of a partner

Hi All,

I am after some advice please. We lost Sweetie this morning and we are all very upset. After she passed I left her with George so they could spend an hour together as a friend suggested this was the best thing to do. Since she has passed George has been very quiet and has not come out all day. I have never been in this situation before and wondered what would be best for him at the moment, he just looks so lost its heart breaking. I am crying for both of them all day.

How much time should I give George before finding him a new 'friend'. Is there a set time before bonding?

Any advice anyone would give me for George having lost Sweetie would be really helpful please xx

So sorry to hear about Sweetie

Bunnies are all different, so it's difficult to say the best thing to do. I had two brothers, and Pepper died last year - Salt, his brother, sat with him for about 12 hours. Then he was fine and running around as normal.
Bobby, another of my bridge bunnies, pined after he lost his partner, and we actually found him a new partner the following week as he seemed to hate being on his own.

I hope you find the right solution for George. Gentle nose rubs to him from me.

Thank you HS, we have all been making a fuss of him today but he is totally out of his normal routine, which is understandable I suppose. I will see how he goes over the next week and try and make judgement on when he is up to a new partner, and slowly introduce them.

Thank you for your advice xx

So sorry for your loss.

We lost bramble on Monday and have the same difficulty you face with his inseperable brother blossom..
We are trying to keep to his routine as much as possible ( he is house rabbit) and giving him extra fuss. He is not normally bothered by us as he spent every minute with Bramble but yesterday he jumped on my bed and licked me a bit, then lay down on the bed. Whilst it made me happy he had comfort from us it was heartbreaking that he had no longer got his best mate.

Keep a close eye on Georges eating and toileting and just be there as much as you can. It is is hard though and you are grieving twice - once for the loss of Sweetie and then once for the loss of the relationship and the effect it has on George.
sad times xx

Oh, I am so sorry.. Binky Free sweetie.. xxx

We rebonded Willow a week after we lost Floppy but gave her a cuddly toy to sit with meantime.

She was young and thankfully didnt pine for too long although we were utterly bereft...

Big hugs to you all

Fee x

Really sorry for your loss. We lost our beautiful Annie a couple of weeks ago, She had lived with Minnie for all of their lives, for 3 years. Like you we didn't know how long to wait before getting Minnie a friend but as she was really sad, we made the decision last Monday to go to the rescue as she needed a friend and another bunny needed a home. So Charlie came to live with us. The first couple of days were quite traumatic, having never bonded rabbits before, but we found that bringing them into the house (they live in the garage) for a few hours at a time worked for us. Within a couple of days, they were kissing and licking, and Minnie looked much happier, and so did Charlie. There is one thing for certain, he's got a great forever home!! and Minnie is happy with her new husbun!! Good luck Liz xx

I lost my Mr. Boo, who was Miss Pooh's bonded partner of 6 years, less than a month ago. He was her Dad, so to say we were both heartbroken is an understatement

But...I went out to my local animal market the day after and brought home a 9-week old baby as I'm leaving on a month's vacation next week and couldn't possibly have left Miss Pooh alone, she would have died from loneliness (my maid takes care of them while I'm gone and she adores the rabbits and is awesome with them, but unfortunately she's not live-in, so Miss Pooh would have been spending most of the day alone).

Bonding is still on-going, although almost complete, as I just checked under the sofa where Miss Pooh and Miss Minnie (the new baby) are both hanging out right now, and for the first time they're sitting cuddled up next to each other (they've been grooming each other for the last 2 weeks or so, but not really cuddling), so it's looking good

Oh and, yes, I unfortunately had to buy the new baby as it's really difficult to find shelter rabbits here in Bangkok --we just simply don't have many rescue places for animals.

Anyway, from my past experience, I'd recommend getting a new partner for George sooner rather than later, as that's what I've always done in the past and it's worked out well. Most rabbits simply do not do well living alone and, the longer they have to be alone the more depressed they often get.

Very sorry for yours and George's loss though - it's heartbreaking when you lose one. I've had rabbits for 9 years now, and lost three of them -- although my Mr. Boo who just died lived the longest - almost 8 years.