Earlier today we returned Gwen to her foster home. Making this decision was incredibly hard but the four of us agreed it was the kindest thing we could do for this bunny. In the short period of time that we had her Gwen grabbed hold of our hearts but she also seemed rather unhappy here, too. While we respected her wishes not to be picked up, we quickly realized that we ran the risk of being very scratched up if we ever needed to do so. Emma is currently covered in scratches that, while superficial, are very, very tender, all because Gwen landed wrong leaping from the girls's beds and she (Emma) went to go help her. I spent the whole of yesterday Googling rabbit info and talking to people with much more house rabbit expertise than I could ever have, and at the end of the day it became very clear that this sweet girl needs a family with many more skills and much more knowledge in how to help her than we have right now.
In my lifetime I have had many animals, including rabbits (though ours lived in hutches outside) and I have never felt nervous or unsure about handling any of my pets. As a result I have never had to wrestle with the topic of "returning" or "rehoming" one. It's absolutely gut wrenching to have to make this decision and I'd be lying if I didn't say that I felt like a failure or wonder if perhaps I am giving up too quickly. And yet, at the same time, I also know that allowing this to go on for days or weeks longer would only delay the inevitable: that we really are not the right family for her and she is really not the right bunny for us.
Thank you to everyone who helped us make this decision yesterday, and thank you to everyone who has read this very long post today. It is certainly not one that I expected to be writing when we brought her home on Monday.
Please send much love and many prayers that Gwen finds her forever family soon, and that if we are meant to have a bunny as part of ours that the right one comes our way when the time is right. xo
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