• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

Bonnie

Rhianna

Wise Old Thumper
For the past four years I have been visiting a lady in her sixties - C - who lives in a residential home. She has schizophrenia and dementia and I am paid by her family to do art/crafts with her for an hour a week. I also take her out sometimes. She loves animals so I started bringing her to my home for an hour or so in order for her to spend some time with the bunnies and cats. She groomed the bunnies for me and really enjoyed being around my pets.

Without thinking it through at all the staff decided to give C a rabbit. They were all enthusiastic about it and I was the only one who was horrified. The rabbit, who C has called Bonnie, belonged to a carer whose children had got bored with her. She came in a tiny hutch and was put under the stairs. C does not have capacity to care for a rabbit and the majority of the staff did not have either the time or the inclination to feed her or clean her out. I visited once and she had not been cleaned out for ten days and had no hay. I was appalled, bought some hay and did it myself. I took a puppy pen over there so that we could let Bonnie stretch her paws outside as the hutch was far, far too small. The Manager said they were getting her a larger one but it never materialised.

Bonnie is a dwarf bunny with a very sweet temperament. She seems to enjoy being cuddled but for the majority of the time she was stuck in this tiny hutch under the stairs.

Every time I visited I complained and the staff admitted they didn't know much about rabbits. I sent them a link to RWAF but I don't think anyone read it.

C's key worker was also upset and worried about Bonnie and completely out of the blue asked me if she, Bonnie, could come and live with me. C was present and I choked over my coffee as it was a total surprise. I felt totally put on the spot - Bonnie hasn't been spayed or vaccinated - BUT I had been considering making my trio a quad and I had become fond of her. I agreed and said that C can come and visit regularly.

So, today, I went and picked her up. It was 1115 and she hadn't been fed - C was still in bed and none of the staff had fed Bonnie. She is now in a pen with my trio with a divider separating them. Bonding will commence later.

I'm not sure how I feel. I don't know how many homes this poor bunny has had - she is three - and I am pleased I have a chance to give her her forever home with space and bunny company. A year or so ago I moved a pension so I do have access to funds if she needs veterinary treatment and I am intending to insure her. I feel a bit manipulated though and am very cross with the care home which is an expensive 'up market' residential home for elderly patients with dementia.

I will get her vaccinated asap - my three have all been done - and she can be spayed at the same time as Flopsy who hasn't been done yet (she is old enough now but is still growing. Zippy is neutered so I have left it until Flopsy is bigger).

In an ideal world I would have waited until Flopsy and Bonnie were spayed before bonding them but Flopsy was far too young when I adopted her.

I just hope they bond easily and quickly so I can move them back outside. If not, I will divide their hutch and run into two and keep them apart for a while as I did when Zippy kept fighting with Pebbles and Flopsy. They bonded eventually but it was a very, very slow bond.

It's far from perfect but hopefully I will improve Bonnie's quality of life.

Vibes for an easy bond would be much appreciated.
 
I'm so pleased you took her in & I grrrrrrrr re: the care home & their expectancy for you to just pick up the pieces
 
Gosh what a sad story. I'm glad for Bonnie's sake she is now coming to live with you as she will have a far better life than the one she's had so far. However I think you're right to feel angry at being thrown into this situation. I can't believe nobody thought to ask you, as an experienced rabbit owner, beforehand whether getting a rabbit for C would be a good idea. To make matters worse they seem to have completely ignored your attempts to educate them on rabbit care. I can't help getting cross when I see decent people like you having to pick up the pieces of other people's recklessness and stupidity.

Anyway, rant over now! I'm sending millions if vibes for the girls' spays and for a successful bonding x

Sent from my SM-T585 using Tapatalk
 
Sending lots of vibes for the spays and bonding. Poor Bonnie, I’m so glad you took her in :love:
 
Poor bunny, what a start in life, so pleased she is now with you. Good luck with the bonding, really hope it goes well x
 
Poor bunny! But hopefully now she can begin a new happier life. Personally I would keep the 2 females separate until they are both spayed and hormones have decreased otherwise there is a very big chance they will fight, and this will not be nice for Bonnie. I would take it slowly as females are the hardest ones to bond together. I really hope she can now be looked after much better than before - I can't imagine not cleaning a rabbit out for 10 days :cry: Which sex are your other 2 bunnies?
 
What a nasty situation for you to be put in. I’m glad that you have taken her so she can have a caring home rather than the way they treated her, but disgusted that you were effectively emotionally blackmailed into it. Shame the CQC doesn’t care about the wellbeing of residents pets as well as the residents! I hope Bonnie turns out to be a happy healthy rabbit and that she integrates well into your warren x
 
Poor bunny! But hopefully now she can begin a new happier life. Personally I would keep the 2 females separate until they are both spayed and hormones have decreased otherwise there is a very big chance they will fight, and this will not be nice for Bonnie. I would take it slowly as females are the hardest ones to bond together. I really hope she can now be looked after much better than before - I can't imagine not cleaning a rabbit out for 10 days :cry: Which sex are your other 2 bunnies?

My trio are a neutered male, a spayed female and an entire female (Flopsy). When I bonded the trio it was Zippy (male) who was the difficult one. The two females bonded easily.

It will have to be a slow bond due to my shifts.
 
Gosh what a sad story. I'm glad for Bonnie's sake she is now coming to live with you as she will have a far better life than the one she's had so far. However I think you're right to feel angry at being thrown into this situation. I can't believe nobody thought to ask you, as an experienced rabbit owner, beforehand whether getting a rabbit for C would be a good idea. To make matters worse they seem to have completely ignored your attempts to educate them on rabbit care. I can't help getting cross when I see decent people like you having to pick up the pieces of other people's recklessness and stupidity.

Anyway, rant over now! I'm sending millions if vibes for the girls' spays and for a successful bonding x

Sent from my SM-T585 using Tapatalk

When Bonnie first moved into the home no-one knew if anyone else had fed her. I had visions of her either starving or growing enormous so suggested a tick sheet with the date. C's key worker did arrange that and also put a large note on the bottom that Bonnie's diet should be 90% hay.

I think the other residents will miss her but it was a disaster waiting to happen. When I visited once there was a bag of Malteser bunnies on the windowsill by Bonnie's food. C said they were hers but, as I pointed out, the bag had a picture of a bunny on the front and another resident could easily have got confused (bearing in mind they all have varying stages of dementia) and think they were bunny treats and give one to Bonnie.

Once Bonnie is settled and I have got to know her personality it may be possible to take her in with me sometimes when I go to do art so the residents can see her. She really did seem to enjoy being held and stroked and is very laid back. It is a rare bunny that can be a pet for therapy bun but I think Bonnie may be a possibility. My trio tolerate being handled but Bonnie seems to actually like it. It is not something I will do for a good few months, if ever, as I would not want to stress Bonnie out at all.

Given her unsettled life to date I am amazed at how friendly and relaxed she is - really laid back and chilled. When I first put all the buns in the bonding pen (with the barrier up) my trio just sat there but Bonnie started nomming dandelion leaves :love: I almost had a binky just now too :):) - a sort of half binky:)
 
Bonnie is a very lucky bunny that you took her in. I think that you have every right to to feel manipulated by the staff as it sounds like you were big time. I also thinkthat you would be in your rights to ask for the cost of the spay for her.
Any pictures of Bonnie? She sounds like a rare sweet bunny.
 
Bonding is not going well. For a little bunny Bonnie is quite assertive. She is fighting with Zippy. It was Zippy who was the problem when I bonded the trio so I divided the hutch and run in two and Pebbles and Flopsy were in one part and Zippy in the other. After a few weeks I removed the divider and all was well. An incredibly slow bond but we got there in the end - and with my shifts I can't often do 24 hour bonding for more than a couple of days.

C's family are going to pay for the vaccinations:):) Will book her in next week once I know what day my car is being serviced.

If the bonding doesn't go well I'll divide their area in two again and do a very slow bond. Bonnie will still have far, far more space than she had in her tiny hutch and will also be able to see the other bunnies through the puppy pen. Even in the bonding pen she has more space and can periscope - which she seems to enjoy.

Since photobucket stopped working I haven't been able to put photos on here:(
 
I am sorry to hear that bonding isn't going well. The family paying for the vaccinations is good though. I understand about photobucket. It has not worked for me for years now.
 
I use tinypic now that photobucket is useless.

Well done taking Bonnie. What a shameful situation for a care home to get themselves into.

I do hope you manage to get them all together.
 
I'm glad Bonnie has someone in her life that cares about her! I think you'd be within your rights to report this to CQC, although the staff thought they were doing the right thing it shows a complete lack of understanding of C's own needs and how realistic they were about their ability to look after this animal. That would raise flags for me regarding what else might be going on there that you don't know about. But the main thing is that Bonnie has found a good home. I understand why you feel put upon in this situation, it isn't fair on you given your attempts to give them advice and guidance. I hope it all works out with the bonding.
 
I have always found when bonding male and female that the male has to chase the female and try to nip her, pull fur and stop her from eating. I always use my big shed so the girl has plenty of space to get away from him for the first few days, then they start to bond. Good luck - it sounds like your boy just wants to make sure the new girl knows who is boss.
 
Bonding is not going well. For a little bunny Bonnie is quite assertive. She is fighting with Zippy. It was Zippy who was the problem when I bonded the trio so I divided the hutch and run in two and Pebbles and Flopsy were in one part and Zippy in the other. After a few weeks I removed the divider and all was well. An incredibly slow bond but we got there in the end - and with my shifts I can't often do 24 hour bonding for more than a couple of days.

C's family are going to pay for the vaccinations:):) Will book her in next week once I know what day my car is being serviced.

If the bonding doesn't go well I'll divide their area in two again and do a very slow bond. Bonnie will still have far, far more space than she had in her tiny hutch and will also be able to see the other bunnies through the puppy pen. Even in the bonding pen she has more space and can periscope - which she seems to enjoy.

Since photobucket stopped working I haven't been able to put photos on here:(

I hope you can find a way through bonding. There’s a tutorial for posting photos using imjur which is much easier than photobucket http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?475766-Tutorial-How-to-Post-Photos&p=7096617#post7096617
 
I spoke too soon about the vaccinations. I am just being given £35 towards it. I guess it is better than nothing.

I have four hours between jobs now so have removed the divider. Now it is Pebbles who is chasing Bonnie, Zippy is ignoring her.

I hate bonding - it is sooo stressful. It would be a lot easier if I didn't have to work and look after my own animals and could be with the bond 24/7. I do have next week off but am going away on Friday for the weekend so wanted them bonded before I go really. If not I will keep them outside and divide their pen and hutch in two - they are never shut in the hutch anyway.

The good news is that the cats are paying Bonnie no attention and she seems unphased by them too. Two of them sleep in my bedroom overnight and they have just accepted Bonnie as part of the family. I think she must have been with cats in one of her previous homes as she shows no fear at all. The cats are quite old now and have grown up with rabbits and guinea-pigs. I am keeping an eye on them but they are showing the buns no interest at all. When I had indoor buns, two of the cats, Moppet and Pippa used to sleep in the buns' dog crate on their litter tray until they were chased out by a bun who wanted hay noms.

Zippy has now started chasing Bonnie. She is eating spring greens so is not too upset by it. It seems cruel but I know it will be worth it in the end. Bonnie was so lonely and miserable. Flopsy is grooming Pebbles now so their bond is still OK and Pebbles and Zippy were snuggled in one of the litter trays together earlier.
 
Back
Top