Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Apple Jack's Story

Hi...it's Lady again. I thought it only fair to tell Apple Jack's story and how he came to us.

Mr. Man and I knew that Lola desperately needed a friend because she treated him like her boyfriend...grooming his feet, begging for attention, etc. but she also had a strange behaviour. She refused to let her tummy fur grow -- in fact, she was over grooming herself and at times, pulling tufts of fur right out!

I saw an add with a cute photo of a sweet brown boy bunny. His name was Apple Jack. I rang the owner and found that she was moving to a place that didn't allow pets. She had already found homes for 2 other bunnies, but no one seemed interested in Apple Jack.

Mr. Man and I quickly went to see this little guy...and he was adorable! It broke my heart that no one had wanted this little dude! After a failed attempted bonding with our 2 previous rabbits, we were a bit nervous about just bringing him home. The owner said that we could bring Lola to see Apple Jack and see how it went. I had hopes because he had lived with other rabbits and was obviously lonely and slightly depressed.

The introduction went fairly well. Apple Jack was interested but not aggressive. Lola was terrified and kept looking for a place to hide...but not aggressive either! Yeah! It just might work!

This is a photo of the two of them together on Apple Jack's second night with us.



It took about a week and lots of driving around the city with two nervous rabbits in a laundry basket (after more traditional bonding attempts had been made) but they were finally friends! They loved each other! But now we had another problem. Apple Jack stopped eating. Needless to say, this scared the poop out of us because we had lost a sweet little boy to gastric stasis not even a year before.

We rushed him to the vet. She checked his teeth, took x-rays, did a thorough exam (concluded that he's a bitter! Which he's not! He's never even grazed me with his teeth in his frenzy to nom down a treat! Crazy lady! *grumble grumble*) and said if he was in stasis, it was very early stages.

By the following day, he still wasn't eating and we had to resort to force feeding and daily weigh-ins. That week he lost over a pound (he was only around 5 lbs when we got him).


I know! He doesn't look too happy, but he tolerated it like the trooper that he is and got better. He's been perfect ever since! (Poor pathetic little baby!)

This is one of his first photo shoots where he was still interested in the camera. He doesn't even pretend to be interested anymore. In fact, just the other day we took a picture of him while he was sleeping with his eyes wide open. Even though the flash was pretty intense, he didn't even flinch.



Here he is during one of his first trips to the park. He loves the park and playing in the grass! It's usually a bit of a struggle to get him loaded back in the bunny buggy for the trip home.


Today, Apple Jack has become a huge part of our lives. He's funny, playful and adorable! Every day after work, he and Lola come running for their mid-afternoon treat and dance around my feet until I giggle (and give in!). The both hang out with us in the evening...sleeping, cuddling, grooming each other and watching tv.

We're so glad that we found him and that he loves Lola so very, very much!

3 comments:

Toulouse said...

Hi Apple Jack and Lola,

What a sweet love story!! You two were meant for one another! I can't believe you can play in the park and not run away! Mom would be a nervous wreck trying that especially with me!! I'm so happy you two are getting along and are good friends now. I just love your pics too!

Your Friend,
Toulouse

Gaston is back! muahahahaha said...

Hi my friends!
I didn't visit you recently, shame on me!
Nice to know more about you guys, I'm happy to know that you are now in good hands :-)
Happy puuuursss!

Gaston is back! muahahahaha said...

I've just realized that Lola has a crush on me...I blush, I blush, I blush, I blush, I blush, I blush, I blush, I blush, I blush, I blush, I blush, I blush, I blush...hihihi..I'm speachless muahahaha!