Advice desperately needed!

[LloydFerris]

My senior boy, Lloyd, is almost 9 years old. His 2nd wife passed away in June and he's not doing well on his own. I have tried bonding him with 2 different females to no avail.
Lloyd was always the dominant bun in his bonds, but now is unable to exercise his dominance due to his arthritis. The 2 females I tried to bond him with (separately) both wanted to be the alpha, so he just panicked and ran from them.
What he needs is a very submissive female. I do have a submissive female bun who is also older (around 7 yrs) and I think she could be a perfect fit, but she has Pasteurella. She's had only 2 flare-ups in the last 2 years, but I know Lloyd could still contract it.
It's a horrible decision, because leaving him on his own is very hard on him - he's not himself and his appetite is terrible since he lost his mate. If I can bond him with my senior female (Chloe) he'd be much happier, but the chances of him getting Pasteurella would be high. I don't know what to do! I can't take anymore chances bonding him with a new female because if the bond doesn't work, there is literally no more room here for another bun.
Help!? What would you do? It's breaking my heart to see him like this.

 

[Omi]

I'm sorry that you lost your doe in June and also sorry that Lloyd is not doing so well by himself. I can understand that this is a difficult decision for you. Has the diagnosis of Pasturella in your other doe been confirmed by diagnostics?

I have a doe (8+ years old) who is suspected to have Pasturella. She sneezes quite a bit sometimes, particularly when stressed, and she had a cheek abscess (not related to dental problems), which was successfully treated with excision and antibitotics about 3 years ago. She previously lived with 3 other rabbits, now just one, but none of them have been infected. I think that a high percentage of rabbits, when tested, are found to have, or carry, Pasturella, but this is not always transmitted to companion rabbits.

If it were me, I would definitely take the chance and attempt to bond them, taking the risk of the transmission of Pasturella. I would do this knowing that he could become infected, but I would take the risk. But I would also reason that if the incidence of Pasturella in rabbits is high anyway, any other rabbit that I attempted to bond with Lloyd might also carry Pasturella (or something else).

For me it would be more important to provide the companionship of another suitable partner. I hope that whatever you decide to do will turn out well.

 

[Mackers]

I would bond them. I've had snuffle-buns who never passed it onto their companions. Company is important.

 

[joey&boo]

Another vote for bonding here. It maybe a risk but its not that contagious, so a risk worth taking. I really hope it works out for him - please let us know

 

[cpayne]

I have no idea on the disease but could you ask your vet for advice. How likely is he to contract it and is it worth the risk. I would just ring up and ask the receptionist to ask the vet, you don't need to go in, then you could make your decision.

 

[LloydFerris]

Yes, it has been confirmed with lab testing that Chloe's flare-ups are Pasteurella.
Thank you for your input, everyone! Lloyd and I appreciate it so much!
(Oh, and his vet just does't know what the best option is because she says there are risks either way)