Lily le Flop
(Lily) is a gray minilop that we adopted November 5th of 2009, after finding out about her through a local CraigsList post. She was just 14 weeks old at the time, and was given up by her family due to lost interest on the part of their 8 yr old daughter. Lily was strongly bonded to their daughter and dog, and took it very hard when she was suddenly neglected by the very person she loved so much. Forced into tight confinement and isolation Lily entered into a state of depression. When I asked the child's mother why she hadn't taken over Lily's care she claimed that she could not take on the responsibility of Lily either as she had her hands full with caring for the family dog, who was very ill and visiting the vet on a bi-weekly basis. There were at least two other people (the dad and their son) who also lived there, but I guess they were all incapable of cooperating to care for a dependant creature they brought home. Having heard enough, we asked to meet Lily. She was in a crate so small she couldn't lay down without her feet sticking out. And had no water or food available. Evidently because the mom wasn't checking on her since the daughter changed her mind about wanting "the bunny." Upon holding Lily, she sprang to life like this was her only chance to get cuddles so she better get in as much as she could. We'd seen enough and loaded Lily and her cage into our car and took her home.
Her behavior at first was very standoffish toward us. We just gave her space and talked softly to her and waited for her to come around. Something still was missing though, as we were not enough to lift her spirits. That's when it occurred to us that maybe all she needed was a furry friend. She had been used to having a dog friend but we were not allowed to have a dog, so we decided we'd get her the next best thing- a bunny friend. That did the trick. She was spayed on Nov. 24th and a couple weeks later began the bonding process with two other bunnies. She bonded with the first within a matter of minutes, but took considerably longer to bond to the second bunny, Travis. Took the two of them nearly a month to set aside their differences. Thankfully though, they bonded in time to spend Christmas together around the tree. She was VERY happy to be with those two friends of her's! They'd frolick together around our home and they took her in as their baby-girl. She was constantly being fussed over, and loved every minute of it, as she liked to be the princess of the family.
Sadly, her adopted momma bunny crossed the Rainbow Bridge on July 31st of 2010. She and Travis were devastated and sulked for months. Then, along came Prince to live with us. Lily made instant friends with him, and her uplifted spirits were enough to lift Travis out of his funk. He and Travis did not get along though, so Lily could only visit with Prince.
Lily is currently sharing a cage with Travis only still, bonded to Travis and Prince, and in the process of bonding to the other house buns. She's still her bossy self, so bonding is taking some time.
Her favorite activities are flirting with the boy buns, hiding under furniture, flopping over wherever she pleases, being pampered, and randomly disapproving the behaviors of the family via thumping.
Her behavior at first was very standoffish toward us. We just gave her space and talked softly to her and waited for her to come around. Something still was missing though, as we were not enough to lift her spirits. That's when it occurred to us that maybe all she needed was a furry friend. She had been used to having a dog friend but we were not allowed to have a dog, so we decided we'd get her the next best thing- a bunny friend. That did the trick. She was spayed on Nov. 24th and a couple weeks later began the bonding process with two other bunnies. She bonded with the first within a matter of minutes, but took considerably longer to bond to the second bunny, Travis. Took the two of them nearly a month to set aside their differences. Thankfully though, they bonded in time to spend Christmas together around the tree. She was VERY happy to be with those two friends of her's! They'd frolick together around our home and they took her in as their baby-girl. She was constantly being fussed over, and loved every minute of it, as she liked to be the princess of the family.
Sadly, her adopted momma bunny crossed the Rainbow Bridge on July 31st of 2010. She and Travis were devastated and sulked for months. Then, along came Prince to live with us. Lily made instant friends with him, and her uplifted spirits were enough to lift Travis out of his funk. He and Travis did not get along though, so Lily could only visit with Prince.
Lily is currently sharing a cage with Travis only still, bonded to Travis and Prince, and in the process of bonding to the other house buns. She's still her bossy self, so bonding is taking some time.
Her favorite activities are flirting with the boy buns, hiding under furniture, flopping over wherever she pleases, being pampered, and randomly disapproving the behaviors of the family via thumping.
