Peanut Bunny, The Foster House Rabbit Update

You all know Peanut Bunny, our foster rabbit.

He is the little bunny with a big beautiful attitude.  

For those who are new followers of this blog or need a refreshener of how we came to getting Peanut Bunny, here is the backstory. 

We had fostered another rabbit for a few months and found the perfect home for him. He is living the good life right now with people who love him dearly. 

One day we got a text message from a friend that asked if we could take in another rabbit as a foster. Ma was hesitated at first because we like to take breaks between foster animals but the text message said "I can't leave him here, please take him in. He needs out and fast" Ma agreed to take him. We waited for him to be brought to us to find out why he needed out of that house. We knew our friend wouldn't ask us to take another foster in so soon unless it was a dire case. 

Peanut Bunny's nails were never maintained. 

Peanut was in a home where he wasn't getting the best of care. He was surrounded by young rowdy children who would carry him around by the scruff of the neck, wasn't allowed to have any bedding in his cage and was only fed at a certain time of the day. Nothing was allowed in his cage except a leaky water bottle. 

He was infested with fleas and had bald spots on his ears. He was nothing but hair and bones when we got him. He had a sad, hollow look to his eyes. When ma reached her hand into the cage to check him for fleas before bringing him into the house, he froze solid. He acted like he was afraid to move. 

After the flea check, he was brought in but we weren't allowed to get anywhere near him. The next day ma got him a tube of Revolution. It is one of the flea treatments that are appropriate for rabbits. She combed him with a flea comb first to get all the adults that she could. He was infested. After she got as many as she could, she applied treatment and we waited. After 2 days he was finally flea free and was able to meet us. Plus this gave him time to relax in his new surroundings.

Once we were able to meet Peanut, we would visit his cage and allow him to sniff us and get used to our smells. We were allowed to smell him. After a few days, ma blocked off part of our backroom so he could hop around and get exercise while ma cleaned out his cage. He loved being out of his cage and able to move around. In the evenings we would block off the front room and let him hang out with us as a family. He had his litter box but he decided he liked to lay in it and just stare at ma. That became our cue of "pet me". Peanut found out that he really enjoyed having his fur petted and he enjoyed getting brushed. Those little things we don't think much of or is natural to us, was heaven to a rabbit.

We would say his name to him all the time but he didn't pay much attention to the humans. One day ma called him "Peanut Bunny". He looked at her then hopped over to her for her to pet him. He liked the name Peanut Bunny. He became Peanut Bunny the house bunny. Ma would make up silly songs using the words Peanut Bunny the house bunny and Peanut Bunny would hop all around happily. He finally was ready to have the whole house to roam. He loved hopping up and down the hallway as fast as he could. DaeDae and Peanut Bunny became best of friends. They played together most of the day. 

Peanut Bunny learned that cuddling was a good thing. He enjoyed cuddling up with each of us. He became a cuddle bunny. 

Everyone would tell ma that she should just keep him. Why find him a home when he seemed happy with us? When we agreed to take Peanut Bunny in, ma told us he was a foster bunny. He would be treated as a family member while he was in our home but she was not ready to make a 10+ year commitment. Rabbits live a long time with the proper care. Rabbits need a variety of foods, daily exercise, and socialization to become the best bunny they can be. 

With dad traveling for work and us planning weekend trips for the summer, we had to worry about what to do with Peanut Bunny. Rabbits are not like cats where you can leave for a day or two and just leave out extra food and litter. Rabbits need daily care and need fresh veggies a couple of times a day. They will eat all the veggies in one setting and most rabbits are like Peanut Bunny and don't want veggies that have been sitting for a day. They like it fresh! 

We had a few people who wanted Peanut Bunny but during the questioning process, ma didn't feel comfortable with the choices. Not anything against those who wanted him but we had to wait for the right home. He had to be a house bunny. Which means that he had to be out of his cage during the day but had the option to get back in it if he wanted. We couldn't stand the thought of him being in his cage 24/7. We couldn't let him go back to that way of living. He was miserable. We wanted him happy. He was happy being out and about. He was happy going to bed in his cage and being locked up at night. That is where he wanted to be. 

We also wanted someone who was knowledgeable about rabbits. If they never had a rabbit before, we wanted to know they did research to educate themselves on proper rabbit care. We didn't feel the other choices had done that and was just wanting to have a pet rabbit. 

The kid had a friend who wanted Peanut Bunny. She connected the friend to ma so that ma could do her usual questioning. Ma was a little hesitate at first but after talking with the girl in detail knew it was the right home. The girl had rabbits all her life, knew a lot about their care and had even done rabbit shows with her bunnies. That meant she knew all about rabbit grooming! They scheduled a time to meet and when they got here it was love at first sight. 

Dad handed Peanut Bunny to her and Peanut at first was leery but melded right into the girl's arms. It was a short hold but it was all we needed to see. Peanut didn't try to get away, he didn't try to kick her or scratch her, he just molded and relaxed. That was what we needed to see to know it was the right choice. 

Peanut Bunny had finally found the home that he was waiting for!!!! They loved the fact that he knew how to pose on cue. BOL! They put him in the car and he went off to his new home. They have already shared photos and an updated photo with us. We look forward to seeing more and watching him grow through the majic of Facebook. 

Congratulations Peanut Bunny! We know in our hearts that you will be loved and properly cared for. You will have a great life. Our door is always open if things don't work out with him. I don't see him coming back.

I want to remind everyone that even though rabbits are super cute, they take a lot of work. Socialization is important to every animal. Before buying a cute little bunny, guinea pig, rat, hamster, etc from a pet store, please research, research, research. Find out all that you can about that species of animal. 

Ask yourself a few questions:

1. Am I willing to take proper care of this animal for the rest of its life? 

2. Does this animal fit into my lifestyle? 

3. If you rent- Make sure you can have that type of animal. 

4. Do I have the time, money and knowledge to keep this animal healthy and happy.?

5. Am I wanting this animal because it is cute or is it something I have thought long and hard about. Buying an animal on impulse is the worst thing you can do!

If you can't say yes to all those questions consider fostering that type of animal. You local shelter may have that rat, rabbit, or guinea pig. Contact the shelters and tell them you are available to foster. Many many small animals show up in shelters. Shelters don't have enough people to foster small animals. 

Check to see if you have a small animal foster care service near you. Most are always looking for volunteers to help foster. This way you are able to give a temporary home to the pet while providing all that it needs. You may find that it's not something you are prepared to take care of for the next 4-10+ years. 

But then again....you may lose your heart to that small animal and find it is perfect for you. At least you could proudly exclaim "I am a FOSTER FAILURE!" There's nothing wrong with that!!!! 

Have you ever fostered small animals? 

If not, what type would you love to foster??