On Monday, June 23 Blanco was able to come home. Linda (the bunny rescue lady) came with me to the shelter to pick him up. She HAD to be the one to pull him because he had the "aggressive" label on him. I have a VERY VERY hard time at shelters, so I am thankful she was there. Just hearing dogs barking makes me super sad. I got to meet the vet that performed Blanco's neuter and he said, "You've got a fiesty one here. He bit me twice." Still, I kept in my head that Bun was probably shit scared and of course he was going to bite.

Linda checked him over when we got to her house and said he looked very healthy. She gave me some pain meds for him (shocker that the shelter did NOT?!!) and I brought him to his new home. We set up the bathroom for him as temporary housing to keep track of him post-surgery until his outdoor hutch arrived.

Temporary bathroom setup

Temporary bath setup

Cranky and stoned from surgery on way home

perking up a bit in his new home

This video is when Blanco first came out of the carrier. The music was "Best Day of My Life" by American Authors, but YouTube made me change it.

 When I got him home I tried to leave him alone as much as possible. I had a babygate blocking the bathroom area and Blanco was in the closed bathroom. Jenny (our dog) and Bela (cat) were interested in who was in there. They KNEW someone was in that bathroom. Jenny was barking and whining alot, but thankfully that stopped later in the evening when Linda came over.

So, why did Linda have to come over?

Well, let's just say I had a MAJOR freak out after being bitten on the foot. I had climbed over the baby gate and opened the door to the bathroom to feed Bun and check on him. Well, he did not like something about my foot being there so he gave it a HUGE clamp down bite! THAT was what freaked me out the most. I thought bunnies "nipped" - but this felt like a full-on "Cujo-style" ATTACK. I almost felt like I had to shake him off me, which was VERY scary. So of course, my first thoughts were, "Fuck! I have rabies!" but thankfully those fears were relived when I talked to Linda and read more online about rabbits and rabies. Phhhew, but still, All I could think of was that I made a mistake. I did not want an animal that I was AFRAID of....and that is exactly where I was. I was honestly terrified to open that door, fearing he'd attack me!

Plus, Jenny was barking and whining WAY TOO MUCH and all I could think of was her doing that EVERY time we went outside once the outdoor housing was set up - I honestly thought I made a mistake saving this bunny and that I never should have even looked at Facebook that day.

OUCH! and this is pic was taken 3 days later

I called Linda.
I am not going to lie....I wanted that Bunny out.
I was hoping that she would just take him.
But instead she EDUCATED me by coming over and showing me how to pick up and hold Bun and how to properly pet him (I didn't know a bunny has a blind spot and could get freaked out if a hand suddenly appeared!)
She had Blanco on a towel on my lap while I sat on the couch. He let me pet him and Jenny sat quietly on the floor next to me! It was seriously like Linda was the bunny and dog whisperer all in one!
When she left I felt MUCH better.

The best advice she gave was, "You WILL get bitten again" and "You WILL have another freak out and I will be here for you."

She was right.

The next day I VERY slowly lowered my leg over the baby gate...then the other leg. For some reason he did NOT like that so he started to circle my legs and then he bit me again! This time on the ankle. OUCH those bunny bites hurt!

But, this time I did NOT freak out.

I remembered what Linda said...and instead of blaming Blanco I thought to myself, "What did *I* do wrong to scare Blanco into thinking he needed to bite me?"

I remembered that he JUST had surgery and was probably in pain and cranky. I remembered that he JUST was put into a new environment YET AGAIN after being dumped at the shelter. He didn't trust me...and who knows about his past? Maybe he never had a reason to trust anyone? Maybe he was kicked in the past and that's why he is fearful of my feet and ankles....who knows? My job was to help him learn how to trust....and to learn that not all humans are going to hurt him...some will actually LOVE him.

Good boy taking meds

Quick holding area for while I cleaned the bathroom area

Carrots to him are like a Kong toy for a dog. I won't be feeding many carrots in the future, but right now it is working to keep him happy and busy while I clean. Plus, maybe he will make positive associations with me and yummy carrots?

LOVE