tlcwrites
Mama Doe
...a piece of my heart and soul.
8 years, 8 months, and 8 days you lived. 8 years, 8 months, 8 days, but less 8 weeks have been spent with me. 8 and a half years, my love, and so very much has changed over that best part of a decade.
This could have happened so much earlier than it has, but even so, I've dreaded this day. I knew it was coming, knew it was going to happen, knew it was inevitable. But that doesn't mean that the very thought of it made me shudder and feel sick. I kept pretending it wouldn't happen. I told you, you're not allowed to die, you're Elphie. But of course, reality gets in the way and sometimes reality just sucks.
Let's go way back, though, right back to the very beginning.
It was a blustery March, and my brother, saddened at the death of a previous bunny, said he would buy a bunny for each of us. We were still doing everything wrong, but we somehow persuaded Mum to let us have one last shot.
We'd only had bucks recently, so thought we'd have more luck with does. So, I did a search and found someone a considerable distance away selling three little blue dwarf lop does. It was very nearly not meant to be - we couldn't find the place! But thankfully, just before giving it up, we finally got there. To be honest, we just chose - out of the three of you - the first two we picked up! Your sister, Galinda, hadn't quite fully lopped yet but you had. You were slightly slightly smaller, slightly flatter in the face, but definitely the bigger personality.
Baby Elphie (back) and Galinda, on the day they arrived.
You were also "my brother's" rabbit. Even though I was the one who ended up paying for everything aside from your purchase price.
You and Galinda were two tiny blue peas in a pod, but of course, you grew. And as you grew, so did the hormones. And when those hormones hit - oh my, you became a little beast. You were the one to grunt, lunge, and bite. You and Galinda fell out and were separated. I got you both spayed, both vaccinated, but you were still living in small hutches. And for that, I'm sorry. I learned slowly but you guided me step, by step, by step, until I'm where I am now.
Separate hutches, but still in smell of one another, I diligently (and inexpertly) cared for Galinda, whilst my brother's care of you grew lax. You began to lose weight and condition. In the end, frustrated by his lack of care of you, I confronted him. I told him to let me have you back. He wouldn't let me care for you because you were "his" and he flipped out if I tried to without his knowing. So I confronted him because it needed to happen. He wouldn't let me have you for nothing, so in the end I had to pay him the almighty sum of £4 to wrench you out of his grasp and save you. You recovered condition like a pro, like the fighter you always have been.
Cheeky young Elphie on a roam in the lounge at Christmas.
Just before we got you upgraded, I had brain surgery. Oh you were only about a year and a half old by then, but still in the stupid small hutches. Aside from my loquaciousness, when going under the knife, the thing I was most concerned about was you and your sister. When I got home, and was reunited with you, just the day after(!), I opened the lid to your hutch and the first thing to happen? The wind blew it down on my head.
Maybe it knocked a bit of sense into me because after I recovered, and began doing more research, I decided it was time to upgrade your living conditions. It wasn't the best, but it was a start. You actually had a run, which was the main thing, it just wasn't big enough.
The next year, Nessarose arrived. She was a completely different kettle of fish - a magpie lionhead who'd been bred from once, and was terribly hormonal and territorial. And also, another girl. Even so, over the next couple of years, I tried to bond the three of you in different permutations, with little to no success. I knew companionship was a necessity, but was never quite sure how to go about it. During this time, I'd take you, Galinda, and Nessa to a local care home to entertain the residents. They adored all three of you, but you were especially good and especially patient with the residents. They always complimented your soft, soft fur and just how sweet you are. The staff loved you too, and it was part of the reason that dear Nessa was actually given to me in the first place.
one failed attempt at bonding - note the banana smeared on your head!
In the end, upon doing more research around the time of Nessa's passing, I decided it was about time I invested in an appropriately sized hutch and run. It was about time I bonded you to a buddy - a buck. I also secretly hoped that a buck would finally help reunite you and your sister. After all, you'd lived so long in sight of one another, but still wouldn't bond. But first, Athena arrived. And although you were both girls I managed to bond you - for about a month! After that, one of you snuck up onto the table, stole a satsuma and you fell out completely. So, it was time for me to try bonding you with your sister once more.
Galinda, Archimedes, and Elphie - my first successful bond!
Enter Archimedes. This beautiful old boy was a tricolour lop, adopted out to me as being a mere 2.5 years old. He was the bridging gap between you and Galinda. He was only with us for 3 months, but he was the catalyst to reuniting you and ensuring that finally, at the age of 5, you were back together again. But within 2 months, he degenerated and passed away. But you and Galinda were now happy together, and I was relieved.
Sisters, finally reunited and in an appropriate set up!
But that wasn't meant to be either. Over the space of 5 months, Galinda deteriorated. I was giving her treatment, but went away for a weekend. My brother was meant to care for you both. When I was back, she was gone. I went outside, and found you standing on your sister's dead body, asking to be fed. But when I opened the hutch door, you wouldn't move.
Immediately, you became depressed. Within the very same day, I could see your little heart was broken at the loss of your little sister. That selfsame day, we immediately started looking for companionship. Lelantos had come and gone in the space of 3 weeks, too. My little chocolate brown mini rex. Had he not, you'd have been bonded to him. Instead, I was looking urgently for some rabbitty companions I could find for you asap. I found a neutered rex boy - Helios - but he came with a caveat; Selene, mother to his children, had to come too. Those 2 rexes are closely bonded but they fell in love with you immediately. In the bonding crate, you had one each side of you, both grooming an ear each. In spite of Selene not being spayed, it was love at first sight from those sweet rexes.
But it wasn't long until you were in bonding, again! River and Morning fell out spectacularly. For some reason I figured Morning might just bond with you and your rex friends. And lo and behold, I was right. For Morning, you have always been her best buddy, her best girl. The feeling wasn't entirely mutual - you were the matriach of the group, loud and proud. But Morning has always, always loved you. You and she made a lovely pair of blue girls, one with ears up and the other with ears down. And you worked well with the rexes too.
The first Wayward quad
8 years, 8 months, and 8 days you lived. 8 years, 8 months, 8 days, but less 8 weeks have been spent with me. 8 and a half years, my love, and so very much has changed over that best part of a decade.
This could have happened so much earlier than it has, but even so, I've dreaded this day. I knew it was coming, knew it was going to happen, knew it was inevitable. But that doesn't mean that the very thought of it made me shudder and feel sick. I kept pretending it wouldn't happen. I told you, you're not allowed to die, you're Elphie. But of course, reality gets in the way and sometimes reality just sucks.
Let's go way back, though, right back to the very beginning.
It was a blustery March, and my brother, saddened at the death of a previous bunny, said he would buy a bunny for each of us. We were still doing everything wrong, but we somehow persuaded Mum to let us have one last shot.
We'd only had bucks recently, so thought we'd have more luck with does. So, I did a search and found someone a considerable distance away selling three little blue dwarf lop does. It was very nearly not meant to be - we couldn't find the place! But thankfully, just before giving it up, we finally got there. To be honest, we just chose - out of the three of you - the first two we picked up! Your sister, Galinda, hadn't quite fully lopped yet but you had. You were slightly slightly smaller, slightly flatter in the face, but definitely the bigger personality.
Baby Elphie (back) and Galinda, on the day they arrived.
You were also "my brother's" rabbit. Even though I was the one who ended up paying for everything aside from your purchase price.
You and Galinda were two tiny blue peas in a pod, but of course, you grew. And as you grew, so did the hormones. And when those hormones hit - oh my, you became a little beast. You were the one to grunt, lunge, and bite. You and Galinda fell out and were separated. I got you both spayed, both vaccinated, but you were still living in small hutches. And for that, I'm sorry. I learned slowly but you guided me step, by step, by step, until I'm where I am now.
Separate hutches, but still in smell of one another, I diligently (and inexpertly) cared for Galinda, whilst my brother's care of you grew lax. You began to lose weight and condition. In the end, frustrated by his lack of care of you, I confronted him. I told him to let me have you back. He wouldn't let me care for you because you were "his" and he flipped out if I tried to without his knowing. So I confronted him because it needed to happen. He wouldn't let me have you for nothing, so in the end I had to pay him the almighty sum of £4 to wrench you out of his grasp and save you. You recovered condition like a pro, like the fighter you always have been.
Cheeky young Elphie on a roam in the lounge at Christmas.
Just before we got you upgraded, I had brain surgery. Oh you were only about a year and a half old by then, but still in the stupid small hutches. Aside from my loquaciousness, when going under the knife, the thing I was most concerned about was you and your sister. When I got home, and was reunited with you, just the day after(!), I opened the lid to your hutch and the first thing to happen? The wind blew it down on my head.
Maybe it knocked a bit of sense into me because after I recovered, and began doing more research, I decided it was time to upgrade your living conditions. It wasn't the best, but it was a start. You actually had a run, which was the main thing, it just wasn't big enough.
The next year, Nessarose arrived. She was a completely different kettle of fish - a magpie lionhead who'd been bred from once, and was terribly hormonal and territorial. And also, another girl. Even so, over the next couple of years, I tried to bond the three of you in different permutations, with little to no success. I knew companionship was a necessity, but was never quite sure how to go about it. During this time, I'd take you, Galinda, and Nessa to a local care home to entertain the residents. They adored all three of you, but you were especially good and especially patient with the residents. They always complimented your soft, soft fur and just how sweet you are. The staff loved you too, and it was part of the reason that dear Nessa was actually given to me in the first place.
one failed attempt at bonding - note the banana smeared on your head!
In the end, upon doing more research around the time of Nessa's passing, I decided it was about time I invested in an appropriately sized hutch and run. It was about time I bonded you to a buddy - a buck. I also secretly hoped that a buck would finally help reunite you and your sister. After all, you'd lived so long in sight of one another, but still wouldn't bond. But first, Athena arrived. And although you were both girls I managed to bond you - for about a month! After that, one of you snuck up onto the table, stole a satsuma and you fell out completely. So, it was time for me to try bonding you with your sister once more.
Galinda, Archimedes, and Elphie - my first successful bond!
Enter Archimedes. This beautiful old boy was a tricolour lop, adopted out to me as being a mere 2.5 years old. He was the bridging gap between you and Galinda. He was only with us for 3 months, but he was the catalyst to reuniting you and ensuring that finally, at the age of 5, you were back together again. But within 2 months, he degenerated and passed away. But you and Galinda were now happy together, and I was relieved.
Sisters, finally reunited and in an appropriate set up!
But that wasn't meant to be either. Over the space of 5 months, Galinda deteriorated. I was giving her treatment, but went away for a weekend. My brother was meant to care for you both. When I was back, she was gone. I went outside, and found you standing on your sister's dead body, asking to be fed. But when I opened the hutch door, you wouldn't move.
Immediately, you became depressed. Within the very same day, I could see your little heart was broken at the loss of your little sister. That selfsame day, we immediately started looking for companionship. Lelantos had come and gone in the space of 3 weeks, too. My little chocolate brown mini rex. Had he not, you'd have been bonded to him. Instead, I was looking urgently for some rabbitty companions I could find for you asap. I found a neutered rex boy - Helios - but he came with a caveat; Selene, mother to his children, had to come too. Those 2 rexes are closely bonded but they fell in love with you immediately. In the bonding crate, you had one each side of you, both grooming an ear each. In spite of Selene not being spayed, it was love at first sight from those sweet rexes.
But it wasn't long until you were in bonding, again! River and Morning fell out spectacularly. For some reason I figured Morning might just bond with you and your rex friends. And lo and behold, I was right. For Morning, you have always been her best buddy, her best girl. The feeling wasn't entirely mutual - you were the matriach of the group, loud and proud. But Morning has always, always loved you. You and she made a lovely pair of blue girls, one with ears up and the other with ears down. And you worked well with the rexes too.
The first Wayward quad
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