Gotcha Day August, 2005

This is Tamari (a.k.a. Lady Bitchbite) - isn't she pretty? Her fur is silky soft, too. I found Tamari through contacts at various shelters and rescues. She was desparate for bunny companionship. She had recently lost her son/bondmate to surgery (he died under anesthesia) and I think in her eyes, human hands took her baby away and never brought him back. She was broken-hearted.

Some folks from the House Rabbit Connection brought her to my house, to watch the initial introduction with Trapper. Trapper was an ultra happy-go-lucky bun who was probably the universal bond donor type. When I first reached my hand in Tamari's pet carrier, slowly, she attacked my hand and growled fiercely. This was a rabbit who was afraid of people. "She's shy!" I said. Well, she was in the right place.

Tamari and Trapper fell in love almost immediately. He claimed her while she was still in the pet carrier. They were grooming each other and snuggling from the start, and before you knew it she would steal food right out of his mouth. So much for all those stories I heard about how hard it is to bond bunnies.

My guess is there will always be some form of broken heart in Tamari - some things she may never recover from. In the 2 years I've had her, she has only barely warmed up to me, and only resistively tolerates any snuggling or grooming from me. But she knows I'm her daddy now, and she comes to me when she's afraid or in unfamiliar surroundings (like when I take her for her Reiki treatments). And I know Tamari wants to get back home so she can get back to Trapper - she's quite sensitive to anything that might look like I was separating them. They both go to the vet together, and now anywhere one goes, the other goes, for moral support and to share in the stress of travel, and most of all, to assure her that I am not separating them.

Update - January 5, 2005: Trapper passed away at the vet just at the end of being treated for bladder sludge, leaving Tamari with another broken heart. She was with him right when he slipped away, and I really think that helped. I think she understood what happened to her mate this time, the bond between she and I got better - she finally knew that I loved her and that no matter what happened, she would always have a home with me.

Update - February 5, 2005: I brought home Tamari's new mate Flopsy. For two weeks Tamari attacked him every chance she got, biting clumps of fur off his butt and chasing him down the hall with him peeing the whole time. After that she began grooming him and hanging out with him like they were old friends. Flopsy was in heaven, and Tamari had a new bunny mate, only this time she was in charge of showing him the ropes.

Update - April 18, 2005: Flopsy left for the Bridge peacefully, at home with me, for reasons we're not quire sure about. After 7 years of abject neglect and no medical treatment, some things had taken their toll and my sweet Flopsy was gone. I knew his time had come and spent the last few hours snuggling with him instead of in the cold antiseptic environment of the emergency room. Tamari had lost a third mate, but she handled it well. She feels secure now, and more trusting of me, and soon she will have a new mate.

Update - May 13, 2005: I adopted yet another bunny, temporarilt named Daniel as a mate for Tamari, this one a beautiful dark grey minirex. As of this writing, Tamari is still chasing him down and biting him (though he bites back), so I'm still managing the bonding process. I look forward to when she begins grooming him. Tamari has taken care of and seen 3 mates to the Bridge, and she deserves a mate to take care of her too.


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