tlcwrites
Mama Doe
Oh Erasmus Chipper, where to start with you? You were such a special little boy, right from the off.
I first heard of you on the 29th of July, 2016. Your Auntie Jill at Honeybunnies had just posted 2 pictures on the Honeybunnies facebook page - one of your sister, Madeleine, and one of you. 2 pretty tricolour lops. She had a lion mane, but you did not. Auntie Jill had suggested that you could have made a lovely bonded pair; I remember that. I was rather taken with you straight away. However, you had only just arrived at Honeybunnies and 2 days later, I adopted Morpheus Seahorse to bond with my Persephone. I just hoped you'd get a good home.
Months wore on. Madeleine was adopted out to lovely people - their bunny in a million. But you were left behind. You were being a little "problematic" - problems with biting and lunging and your Auntie Jill wanted a home where the humans would understand that you had your own quirks. I still hoped there would be a family out there for you, but never thought it would be with me. I bonded your girls, Athena and Rivergrace, with their respective husbuns (Apollo and Takumi), into a quad. For all of a month, they were bonded. Sadly Takumi passed unexpectedly, with Apollo following shortly after. That was almost 2 years ago now.
The girls didn't cope well with their losses. They had only recently been bonded, and their bond was fragile at best. Athena was self-barbering again; a problem she has when she doesn't have enough company. She and River were grumpy with each other. It was then that I started making noises about adopting another bunny, a buck to help stabilise that relationship. I said, if there was any bunny I wanted to adopt, it was you. Chipper at Honeybunnies. You'd been waiting months for a home, and I had experience with more "difficult" rabbits, such as blind Morningstar, who River had thoroughly rejected months beforehand. It took a little convincing to take a "special" rabbit on, but in the end I convinced everyone else. I contacted your Auntie Jill and reserved you.
You arrived at your forever home on the 13th of December 2016. You nearly made it to two gotcha days with me, lad. But it doesn't matter. 13th of December will always be a very special day to me because that was the day you finally hopped into my life. The morning of your being bunny run down to me, I received a message from Jill. "I think he might be deaf," it said. And that was fine. We could work around it, I knew.
I bonded you to the girls in an unorthodox fashion, taking a few risks. I probably shouldn't have, but luckily for me (and you guys), you took the girls right into shape and established your dominance. Over the next couple of months, we gradually increased your space until you had 2 large runs, 1 6ft hutch, and a smaller hutch. We started - slowly - making alterations to the lifestyle you guys had. We removed the ramp, and added the "Hopping Mad" Hop and Hide, which you took to like a pro. You loved demonstrating the benefits of the "no ramp" system for buns; you all did.
It turned out you were a lover, not a fighter. You were soft, dopey, chill, and cuddly. You loved life, you loved your food - especially your food "studies". You adored being let out to run around the garden, hopping over the pipes, and finding the food around the garden for yourself. You were energetic, but serious, but still such a happy, happy little chap. You adored greeting us by climbing up the wire mesh of the run. You competed with the girls to get "treats" (or simply, grass) in a pile with the girls. You cuddled up in a pile with them all the time; the three of you, hunched up on the step in the smaller run, watching the back door in the hopes that someone would come with something to eat.
You only bit me once. But when you bit me, my goodness, you meant it. It was my fault, though. I must have picked up the wrong brush to sweep up in your run. You were only getting territorial about it and letting me know that you thought it was wrong. You raised your tail and danced around it. And then, you launched your teeth, right into the back of my right hand. I squealed, and you wouldn't let go. It left a nice scar, which Zara (cat) then added to a couple of days later. Of course, you didn't hear me. As I'd said to you previously, your "ears are huuuuge and useless." But very, very pretty though. At least you managed to let go and leave your mark.
It turned out that you were the very first rabbit your dad could routinely pick up with confidence. I loved seeing his confidence bloom with you, and you, being your soft and sweet self, would happily stay comfortable and still in his arms as he showered you with love and fuss. You were like that with anyone. If somebody needed cheering up, we'd always say "go have a cuddle with Mus." But who are we going to have cheer up cuddles with now? Especially with both you and Elphie gone in the same month.
I've never known a rabbit to take such joy from eating as you, Mus. You practically smiled as you chomped on down on your food. You enjoyed trying anything and everything. Whether it was stripping bark off a twig or branch, eating bramble growing into the run, delicately sampling grass, or even the simple pleasures of hay and pellets, food always made you happy.
Sometimes, though, in colder weather, you struggled to maintain weight. We would separate you off into the smaller hutch for a luxury lunch for one. You, being sharp as a tack, quickly learned the routine. I'd open the door to the small hutch, tap onto the hop, and you'd hop up. I'd then tap onto the floor of the hutch, and again you'd follow up. I could then close the trapdoor for the hutch, preventing the others from climbing up, so you could eat in piece. I don't know if you learned it by smell, or vibrations, or sight, but you didn't let your lack of hearing stop you.
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