Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Forever Home

We hadn't planned to keep any of Coraline's babies. But life can throw you curveballs, and suddenly we lost Alice while the little ones were growing up. I've never been one to wait a long time to 'fill the space'. Certainly not out of disrespect for my wonderful girl, but as a friend of mine noted, "Now you can take another one out of the shelter." Besides, a beloved pet can't be 'replaced' - I may get another rabbit but they will be nothing like Alice, and they will have nothing to do with how I remember, or mourn, her. And as the final deciding factor, our other bunny Giles is clearly lonely without a buddy.
We had a litter of babies who had been born in our house, we were already attached to them, and we had a unique opportunity to give a bunny a real, complete forever home: from birth to the end of their life.
And so Magic has joined our family! It's amazing to think this little guy was born right here in our home. And now he will stay with us for the rest of his life, through thick and thin.
I am totally in love with him already. Usually I take a bit of time to really bond with a new animal and consider them 'family', but with this baby boy, it was instantaneous. He is still a baby, under four months old. He is full of baby energy and could spend hours racing up and down the hallway, sliding into walls and leaping two feet straight up into the air for no discernable reason. He's hilarious.
He is also one of the prettiest rabbits I've ever seen. That's not why we chose him of course - we chose him from the litter because he was the one most bonded to us. But man, is he ever pretty - gorgeous fur, wonderfully expressive ears and beautiful blue eyes.
Giles is not impressed by this neurotic, hyper, spastic ball of energy and I don't think the bonding process will be quite as instantaneous as it was with Alice. But he loves having a friend around, and Magic is used to being with his brothers, so I don't think it will take too long. I hope.
It's amazing to think he once looked like this!
I am excited to see the little guy grow and learn (especially to see him learn the valuable lesson of Not Jumping on Giles' Head).

And you know what's kind of lovely? When Coraline first gave birth, she didn't have a proper nest. Because fur is so important to keep the newborns warm, I pulled some of Alice's loose fur (she was shedding). And so, when he was first born, Magic was kept safe and warm by Alice's fur. Which is just kind of heart-warming, in my opinion.
Welcome to the family, baby boy!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congrats on the new family member! Magic is super handsome

digbyandsassy.net said...

Oooh :*(

That is super sweet, Laura! I am so happy to hear about your new addition. Alice would be so happy that you are helping a new soul, and I know Magic is very, very lucky to have been born into such a loving home. Congrats!

Caroline said...

OMG he is cute beyond words! I'm glad you decided to keep him as he'll have the best home for life. And yes what a looker!