so poor george, who we have determined is a girl, lives all alone. she just sits in her cage all day, staring. the only time she really ever does anything is first thing in the morning, when she demands a treat from me by jumping all over her cage, climbing up the walls, etc.
i've tried to make her life better...
first she got to try to stay outside with the tortoises, which she seemed to love only she got out all the time. i didn't really even mind that, as long as she stayed in our yard, but we'd spot her across the street sometimes and THAT is not good. catching her got harder and harder, to the point that both patty and i would be outside working up a sweat in the bushes to catch her... so she had to come back inside.
i would take her out of her cage and oreo and her would interact, which was good. but they seemed to lose interest in that. now every time i take george out, she jumps right back in her cage. i guess since it's all she's used to... even when i take her out to hold her, she doesn't seem to enjoy it. plus, i break out and sneeze. apparently i'm very allergic to rabbits.
so now i've really been advocating for her to get a friend. from what i've read, bunnies are very social and should have an opposite-sex friend. i've even looked into where we could get the friend neutered and would be willing to fork over the $200 to get it done. i just feel so guilty all the time, with george just laying there in the cage - what kind of life is that? to ease the guilt, i pile on the treats. granola bars, carrots, lettuce, yogurt drops... anything to give her something to do for a little bit.
but patty doesn't have time for another pet, so she said no. i guess patty is planning on taking her to the new house eventually... i really wouldn't MIND it if george stayed here, especially if it meant she got a friend. but chris ain't a fan of this idea (too many pets).
on top of this, patty and i are both total wimps who both avoid confrontation, so i ask of chris, "look at george! what kind of life is this?! two bunnies isn't much more work than one!" and he talks to patty and says, "stacey wants to get you another bunny," and she says, "but i need to study for boards! i don't have time for another pet!" and so on. so, you know, poor chris.
i got really tired of the depressing view this morning and i said, "screw it, george, you're going out." we had made some modifications to the tort enclosure, so i was hoping it would now hold her. i checked on her a bit later, and she was still there. i went to pick up my veggies, came back.... and there she was, sitting outside the enclosure. "ha ha," she seemed to be saying. "nice try." then hopped away.
yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay. ah well, at least while i was looking for her, i was laying on the ground under the hibiscus bushes and it was breezy and the sun was shining and i was thinking, "well, she must be thinking that this is way better than the cage."
