Happy 1st Birthday!!

Well, we finally made it...year one. My baby buns are no longer babies. They are big adult 1 year old bunnies. They grow up so fast. And its been a busy first year!

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There have been many ups and downs for sure. There were times when I wondered if we'd even make it to their first birthday in one piece! Between mishaps at home, spay/neuter surgeries, fighting, emergency trips to the vet, bonding, moving upstairs, fighting, overnight sleepovers, moving downstairs, bonding...

They came to live with us in November and exactly one week after we brought them home, Hazel got masking tape stuck to her chin and chest to the point where we had to painstakingly cut it off. The second week, Fiver freaked out about something and ran into the side of his cage where he got his head stuck in between the bars.  And I thought, what have I gotten myself into?!

Right around Christmas they had their first vet visit which went well. Early January they had their spay and neuter surgeries and they came through with flying colors. The healing process was long and tested our patience but bunny story time helped us make it through.  February we started the bonding process. At first I thought it was going to be a piece of cake but they proved me wrong pretty quickly by starting to fight, which got progressively worse to the point we just had to take a break and regroup. And then start all over from scratch, armed with more information and ideas. Thankfully, though the process has been slow, we now have lots of grooming and bunny kisses and playtime together.

Then we hit a rough patch over the summer. At the end of June, Hazel had to spend the night at the vet while battling a mild case of stasis. Then at the end of July, Fiver got to spend 2 nights at the vet for the same thing. And then Hazel, again, for one night just last weekend.  They did bloodwork and found some elevated liver enzyme that may indicate coccidia, a gut parasite. So many bunny meds, too many trips to Purcellville (which is a half hour from my home with no traffic), and too much money!

We also think they may have been eating the carpet in their room even more than we realized. So they are temporarily moved back to the basement where they lived when we first brought them home. This will give us time to give them a whole bunny room make-over: replace the carpet with something more rabbit-friendly, paint their room a pretty light green, decorate it with cute bunny art, and build their luxurious bunny condo!

There were times when I wasn't sure if we'd all make it to the first birthday. I'm so exhausted yet so in love with these two fuzzy creatures who have made me laugh, made me yell, made me cry, made me bleed, covered me with fur, sprinkled my entire house with hay, adorned me with bunny kisses, occasionally allowed me to snuggle them, made me frustrated, made me scared, and made me love and open my heart to another bunny(ies). As difficult as it has been at times, they have captured my heart and I love them to the moon and back.