Ditto.

Ditto.

It’s getting to be that point in the year where all the holidays stack up on one another, so here’s a reminder that rabbits are not a good gift to give to another person. They are not “starter pets”; they require specific knowledge and resources to keep alive, and the time, effort, knowledge, and money one must commit to keeping a rabbit healthy and happy is on par with owning a dog. Rabbits are the 3rd most abandoned house pet in america, and cannot survive on the street, or in the wild, due to being domesticated. They have not retained the survival instincts that their wild cousins possess, and will struggle to find shelter, evade predators, find food, and find clean water. Please pass the message around, especially if you know someone IRL who may be considering getting a rabbit as a holiday gift or purchase. 

Bentley is 'back' at the Ranch, or his ashes are anyway. Bittersweet for sure. But now he and Baxter are together again in a way, and will be for good. While certainly not the reason I adopted Baxter, having both of their ashes when Baxter passes away someday was a contributing factor in making my decision.

(history: Bentley and Baxter were brothers that came to me in September from a terrible living situation. Sadly, Bentley passed away on October 15th from lymphoma.)

Personally, I'm not a fan of Christmas. But Baxter seems to enjoy it.

Nothing official, but I think I'm going to take Baxter in as a permanent resident. We've been though a lot together, and I just don't feel comfortable giving him away at this point. Not that I am the only person capable of caring for him, but I just worry about taking him out of his comfort zone at this stage in his life. Plus, I have a new rabbitarium set up now for more fosters.

This will put a dent in my ability to go camping in the summer I realize. It's important for me to get some camping in every summer, as I am no help to anyone or anything if I don't. But I am willing to cut down on the frequency of my camping (which I already did this year, by a large amount). It also means I will have to consider hiring a pet sitter from now on, which to be honest is something I should have done a long time ago anyway. Previously, I boarded my elderly cat Biscuit at the vet (he needs daily meds) and had my neighbor check in on Pee-Wee and Carl, my other cats. I always made sure I was not fostering rabbits when camping. Anyway, I will be very frank here; I respect my neighbor a lot but I never ever felt 100% comfortable with her taking care of Pee-Wee and Carl, let alone her being in my house when I am not there. I would prefer to hire someone and even better, someone bonded.

Anyway, I've been spending a LOT of time thinking about this, and will continue to do so over the next 3 or 4 days.

Baxter seems to be loving his new permanent home here. Apparently they call this a "Foster Fail", when an animal is adopted by their foster parent. Fail seems like the wrong word to use tho. We're both pretty happy.

New foster at Rancho Relaxo™, Voltaire. His name was Scout, but everyone felt that was a terrible name so they tasked me with giving him a new one. Pretentious, I know, but whatever. Besides, I'm pretty sure I heard him chewing hay in french.

He's here for a week or so, until they can get him in to be neutered. They have a backlog at the moment.