Bunny Speed Dating: Animal Care League

March 8, 2025

Big day today – with us bringing Hugo to meet several potential friends at Animal Care League. We came here on a prior visit, to meet some of the bunnies ourselves, and today is Hugo’s turn.

It’s been some time since we were here last (when we first met Daisy). The place is much bigger, and completely redone since we last visited.

A lot of different animal areas.

And a nice space for the humans to sit and chat.

For our bonding/dating session, we got set up in the main meeting room (and had the place to ourselves).

Hugo, a little freaked out but trying to settle down.

A cautious first introduction. I don’t recall this bunny’s name (it was someone Liz really liked, and reminded her of Daisy).

The screen is there for protection, as it’s sometimes unclear whether the bunnies will get along or not.

A quick bunny bonding primer: if there is some interest, that’s a good sign. If there’s a really strong interest, there’s the potential for strong reactions. If two bunnies get into a fight, it can get nasty (and dangerous) quite quickly. So the screen is to help provide a bit of a barrier.

If the bunnies are indifferent or mostly ignoring one another, that’s actually a good sign.

Another meeting, this time with Mary-Lou. very cautious.

Sniffing. Investigating.

I think this is Jupiter (a bunny I didn’t get to meet last time).

A little bit of closeness, without the screen.

Of the candidates so far, Hugo seemed to be a little on the aggressive side. While there were some nice moments, there were some clear indicators of aggressive behavior that seemed to suggest that they were not good matches.

One bunny we were all hopeful about was Cloudy – a bunny who was being fostered by some volunteers. They brought in Cloudy specifically for us, and for Hugo to meet her.

Cloudy, the cute little nugget that she is.

You can barely notice it, but Cloudy lost one of her eyes due to E. cuniculi (and had to have surgery for it). But you wouldn’t know it looking at her, as she is just a ball of energy.

Initial meeting.

A little face time.

After quite the long bonding session, the two of them settled down somewhat. And were in a good place.

Hugo, ever curious.

A little more face time.

For the first half of their session, I was really unsure if this was a good match (Liz too). There were some periods of aggression between the two of them that seemed too much. But after a while, both of them settled down… and there were several positive moments.

This was a longer bonding session than I’m used to, but by the end… we felt good about Hugo and Cloudy. They really settled in to things, but just took a while to get there.