A True Story of Rabbit Bonding – Reese and Tiger
Reese came into our lives on June 13, 2009.
We already have another rabbit called Tiger. He is eight and a half years old and we were ready to get a companion for him. We were aware of Reese and her sisters from visits to the Norfolk SPCA to donate hay and although we knew she was a very sweet rabbit we had thought she would be too young for him. As time went by and we got to know her better we realized that she could be the right rabbit for Tiger and for us so decided to go ahead with an adoption of Reese and see how Tiger and her got on.
We brought Reese home on a sunny Saturday afternoon. She was very shy but also interested to see her new home. We had a large cage prepared for her to give her a private living space of her own in the beginning.
Tiger is completely free-roaming and our plan was for them to live together as soon as she had got to know him. Their first meeting was a complete disaster. As soon as she saw Tiger, she decided he was the enemy and chased after him in attack mode. He is much smaller and ran away in fear for cover! We decided to take it slowly and give them a chance to meet for a few minutes each day under supervision. She took a few weeks to realize that he was in fact not a danger and actually was a nice bunny. It was a slow process but after six weeks they were completely at ease in each other presence.
It has continued on in this manner since late summer and their friendship has brought them and us great joy. They groom each other, sit side by side and live in complete harmony. Their favorite time of the day is first thing in the morning when Reese is very happy to join in Tiger’s custom of getting a small piece of banana. They both work in unison to ambush the first human to wake up in order to get their banana slice!
We would like to thank the Norfolk SPCA for this wonderful rabbit. We know that this wonderful little girl she has become is a reflection of the care and devotion that she received for the two and a half years that she was in your care.
Janet Moloney and Lesley H. Greene
