After writing last week’s Bunny Dating post, there was a major status change to the adoptions.
Quincy has a disease called E. Cunniculi. I’ll save you the gory details, but in short its a disease that stays with the rabbit for life. When his immune system gets compromised, the E. Cunniculi flares up and he has to get medications to treat it. Somewhere between 40-80% of all domestic rabbits are affected by this, but some never show symptoms during their lives as the disease remains dormant. It affects all buns differently and in varying levels of severity. You can read more here if you’re curious.
Only after I fell in love with GumDrop and the others, I was kindly informed that I shouldn’t/can’t have bunny-dates with a non-EC bunny, for fear of infection. :( I was really sad all Friday evening, and took this news to heart.
Felix took charge of the situation the next day and called our vet to talk about this and figure out if anything can be done. In the meantime, we resolved to go and visit with the 2 bunnies at Red Door who also have E.C. to see if I’d like either of them.
Aside: Adopting another bun with EC doesn’t put Quincy at risk, so it’s safe for the both of them. And adopting a bun with E.C. is a special needs pet, which oftentimes are overlooked at the shelter.
Only having 2 (potential) buns to choose from, I was very doubtful that I’d love either of them. But I felt it was only right to go and try them out before attempting to bond a non-EC bun to Quincy.
I met with a girl named Mojito.
She was a shy bun who unfortunately had an eye removed to prevent the spread of the EC infection. Luckily for her, it didn’t claim her life and she was as fine as could be. But… I just didn’t click with her. I really wanted to try to make it work with her, but she wasn’t that outgoing and was a bit reserved. I couldn’t make it work.
The other bun I sat with was Cowboy.
Cowboy, being a male bun may be more challenging to bond with Quincy. Generally it’s a female to male bonding situation. I’ve heard of two makes together, but its a bit more rare and can be tricky. I only sat down with him because I thought I *should*.
Well peeps… In short, Cowboy is now my #1 favorite bun!!!
Cowboy is a petite bun and also the coolest bun ever, and he has the most flirty eyelashes ever! Very outgoing, very affectionate. Everything I could want in a bun and more.
When I sat down to visit with him, he came and checked me out. He was them immediately curious and put his two front paws on my leg to stretch up to sniff my face. :) THEN… he hopped up on my lap and demanded some petting.
Never in all my years of bunny ownership have I had a bun hop on me willingly. I know of other bun owners who have buns like this, but I have yet to experience it for myself.
Just to be certain he wanted to be in my lap, I lowered my arms and he didn’t budge. Instead he started digging at my shirt, which is bun speak for “I’m still here and I want more ear scritches.” I continued to pet him like this for a good 5-10 minutes.
Can’t tell you how happy this made me after being so low the day before.
And then to make matters even better, we were given an official go-ahead from our vet that we could try to have Quincy and Gum Drop meet. The vet I work with is the same one who’s the medical director of Red Door shelter. So she’s familiar with both buns and their history and she thinks that they could meet.
*Wooohoo*
Basically, the best outcome that could possibly happen, happened.
For fear of another emotional breakdown, I’m trying really hard to contain my excitement and love of these two bunnies. At the end of the day, it’s really up to Quincy. But I for one, am now counting on Cowboy and him hitting it off.
So at the moment, I’m waiting to hear back from the shelter who’s double checking with our vet to make sure that a meeting would be safe for all of the potential buns.
As of today, we’re planning on taking Quincy to the shelter this Wednesday, as we left him at home this past Saturday as we met with the EC bunnies and revisited with my previous top buns (Gum Drop, Zelda, and Fancy Pants).
I really have no idea what the outcome of our Wednesday’s bun-date will enfold, but I’m anxiously awaiting Wednesday night. Totally can’t wait!! :)
Update:
Just got a wonderful email from Red Door shelter. Apparently they talked to my vet about Quincy and she thinks it’s fine for Quincy to meet any and all of the buns I loved (EC or not). Wooot! Totally made my day! :)
In: Bunny
WOW! That is exciting! I hope that Quincy hits it off with one of his new pals! It’s really neat to think you will have a new addition to your family in the near future!
Crossing my fingers that everything works out for you guys!
I’m so glad there are some outgoing potential buns that are ok for Quincy to meet! Cowboy does sound amazing! So friendly! This is really making me rethink my one-bun policy*. (*Not really a policy, more just laziness.)
One bun?! The best thing I did was to get Baxter a buddy-bunny (Quincy). He keeps her company when we weren’t around so she wasn’t 100% dependent on me for attention.
The only extra work I’ve found an additional bunny to be was more food to buy and changing their litter box a bit more frequently (which my husband does anyhow). :)
I know, I feel like such a neglectful bunny owner sometimes. I travel a lot for work though, and I don’t know, just get nervous about not being around for the introductory period.
Oh dearie, don’t get me wrong. Having just one bun is perfectly fine. :) If you’re so inclined to get your bun a buddy, you can find one where it’s an immediate click.
When we were taking Baxter in to speed date 4 years ago, she totally clicked with another bun there right off the bat. We could have taken the bun home and not needed an ‘introductory period’ at all. They could have lived together perfectly happy as soon as I brought bun #2 home.
I just didn’t care for that bun so we didn’t do that. Instead we picked Quincy.
I think if you want bun #2, you will get one in time. You’re not a bad bunny mom at all! We all get busy with life and work sometimes.
I’m so sorry to hear about Quincy’s condition :( I think it would be wonderful if you ended up adopting a special needs bun who might otherwise not get that forever home because of his/her condition. Fingers crossed Quincy and Cowboy hit it off. If that doesn’t happen and he chooses Gum Drop, it’s a win-win anyway. Best of luck, can’t wait to hear how it turns out!
Thanks Bridget. Yes, I’d totally love to take Cowboy home special needs or no. Apparently he’s the shelter favorite but they can’t get him adopted since he has the EC. I wonder who he’ll choose?!
Fingers crossed for y’all!!
OOOh I hope Mr. Q likes Cowboy :) I love friendly bunnies!
Awww…he sounds precious! Best of luck for “bunny bonding”!
Sending a lot of good bun-dating wishes to all of you! Thank you for sharing with us. It is always very heartwarming to read your stories, heartache & celebrations both.
Ooh, good luck for Wednesday! I’m excited and nervous for you and Quincy!
Thanks Clare. I too am getting pretty excited. I keep thinking in one week’s time I’ll most likely have a new little buddy hopping around my apartment.
Oh—I am sorry to hear about Quincy’s E.C., but…gosh, it seems that it may have worked out! Would you have been interested in Cowboy before, since he has it and you didn’t realize Quincy did? Wow…well, I hope they hit it off and like each other a great deal. Can’t wait to hear what happens tomorrow—I’ll be crossing my fingers for you, and will see if I can get my dog to cross his paws for you as well!
Yipee!! Yahoo!! What wonderful news! I am so excited for you and Felix and, of course, Quincy :) It will be so wonderful to see who will join your family :) Cowboy sure is a cutie!
Fingers crossed for a dream date with Quincy and Cowboy!
What an emotional roller coaster! I’m sure either bunny will become the perfect addition to your family :)