Christofur lived with us for almost four years. During that time he and Baby remained inseparable. They never fought, although she occasionally played a mischievous little game in which she teased him until he chased her! Furry moved with us back to the Midwest, and went from living in an enclosure to having the full run of a family-room with occasional outings to the backyard. The backyard visits were always full of exuberant, butt-wiggling leaps into the air. Pure bunny joy.

Unfortunately, Furry's health eventually proved to be fragile. One episode during the 1999 holidays had us syringe-feeding him up to five times a day, when he had some kind of ear infection that made him lose his balance and refuse food. He pulled through that one, only to succumb a year later to complications from pneumonia.

Furry died at the vet clinic, so Baby didn't get to say goodbye and she was a confused and lonely bunny. We didn't want to rush her into a new companionship she wasn't ready for, but we did want to know when she was ready, so we gave her a stuffed bunny to play with. We had been told if she groomed her "surrogate," it meant she was lonely and wanted company. Well, she groomed the heck out of that thing!! So we went to the local House Rabbit Society fosterers to look for a new companion.

This time, the dating wasn't easy. Baby met several eligible suitors, one of whom nipped her on the nose, another of whom was scared of her, etc. The best bet looked to be a rather neurotic fellow named Phoebert, who had been abandoned at a local park and then spent over a year in shelters and fosterage.

It wasn't love at first sight, but it didn't seem hopeless either -- until we took him home! He and Baby fought for territory and had to be introduced gradually over more than a month, with car rides and bathtub encounters and many, many tricks.

Finally, however, the two settled down into mutual acceptance and even love!

They both enjoyed a good grooming, whoever is doing it...

Baby and Phoebert kept company for over a year. Alas, Baby was getting old. She made it into her 8th year, but had been slowing down for some time. In September 02, her hindquarters became paralyzed, perhaps from cancer. She gamely dragged herself around for a couple of weeks, but finally gave up eating, and it was time to say goodbye. Since the weather was warm, we were able to bring her remains home so Phoebert could say goodbye as well.

Phoebert missed her a lot. She was his first love, and he was lonely without her, seeking much more companionship from his humans than he ever had before.

However, not just any new partner would do! His first two dates, a couple of months after Baby's passing, were not at all promising. He treated those two gals in a most ungentlemanly fashion. But then...

Mike, who volunteers monthly with the bunnies at the Humane Society, encountered a very interesting rabbit. Not only was she delightfully friendly, with impeccable litter habits, but she was very similar-looking to Phoebert -- just about his size and coloring both.

Their first encounter was classic bunny interest, and we adopted her on the spot. The second encounter, at home in our kitchen, was even better.

First, nose to nose without trying to bite the noses off!
(Ellie is on the left, Phoebert on the right)

Then individual self-grooming...

Then a good-natured nudging for dominance...

Aha! Phoebert's getting his ears groomed!

We're still taking things slowly, enclosing Ellie in Phoebert's territory so she marks it as her own too. However, we expect that they will make a fantastic couple.