* Waffles and Willow have been adopted by their foster home! Yay! *

Waffles, Willow and 8 other rabbits were surrendered to Toronto Animal Services by their owner.  TAS reached out to a number of rescue organizations for help, and when a foster home opened up, we were happy to take in this sweet pair. Waffles and Willow have been fixed (thank you TAS!) and they’re now ready to find their forever home!  Willow can often be found nestled into Waffles’ fur and they’re very bonded, so they must be adopted as a pair.

Here’s a report from their foster home:

UPDATE AUGUST 16, 2018
Over the past few weeks, my little friends Willow and Waffles have really come into their own. Waffles began the journey with increasing interest in exploring my home outside of the safety of the x-pen, and after two weeks Willow slowly began to follow. The bunnies are venturing out for longer and longer periods and a little bit further everyday. This is so exciting! to see! Willow and Waffles seem to be expecting these opportunities now and venture out as soon as I open the x-pen gate. They prefer that I and the cats not be too close. Waffles however has even been showing increasing comfort around the cats, as long as they are just watching and not approaching him. While I still believe that the ideal home for these bunnies would be a home with no cats or dogs, lately I do feel more optimistic that they could adjust to a non-intrusive cat who doesn’t show any interest in them. Dogs still seem to be just too scary.
Willow and Waffles continue to not be cuddly bunnies; they hop right up to me to see if I have any special treats for them, but beyond that really don’t want to hang out too closely. I don’t see this as changing, so they continue to need a family who are okay with this. It has taken a long ten months for them to feel comfortable enough to begin exploring my home, and the move to a new home will no-doubt cause regression in this new-found bravery. I am hopeful that their now-daily practice of strengthening their ‘bravery muscles’ will mean that it won’t take as long for them to adapt to a new home, but they might still take as long – so patience continues to be the number one trait we are looking for in anyone who thinks they might be a good fit for these two little souls. They are special souls, and definitely worth the wait.”

“Waffles and Willow have now been in their current foster home for over 9 months, and with Ladybird for almost a year. This is a beautiful and sweet bonded pair of bunnies who need a forever-home, together. They are healthy, active and increasingly playful: they love chasing each other, hopping around their space, scattering toys, hopping onto their boxes and surveying their kingdom…and then scattering more toys! They LOVE chewing boxes and paper-towel rolls, especially when those are filled with hay. They REALLY LOVE to eat and munch: hay, dark leafy greens, herbs of any kind, and their pellets (which are clearly regarded as junk food and so kept to a minimum each day!). Waffles and Willow take care of each other in many ways – grooming one another and snuggling or playing together. They had a little spat about a month ago and were kept separate for a few days, but quickly re-established their bond and continue to be each other’s best friend. Their emotional and social needs are well met within this relationship, so they are not dependent on the people in their lives to provide this to them.

Waffles and Willow are not as eager to socialize with people as some bunnies are. I think that they simply don’t need this level of attention from us, they are just that happy together. This pair are also very grounded in their prey-instincts: they are cautious and very observant of the comings and goings in their environment. They scatter when there’s a sudden movement or noise, even if that is from their primary caregiver whom they generally seem to trust. They are leary of the two cats in the home, even though the cats show very little interest in these bunnies and have never tried to do anything more than steal a little hay. The more time that I’ve had to observe Waffles and Willow’s reactions to the cats, and given their similar reactions to foster dogs who have been in the home from time to time, the more I suspect that they would do best in a home with no cats or dogs. Waffles and Willow remain overall quite shy and skittish – this just seems to be their default instincts about the world.

These buns need a quiet home, even though they themselves are not all that quiet when they are feeling relaxed! They are fairly nocturnal, with lots of play time occurring during the night, early morning and late evening. Waffles and Willow need a family who are able to enjoy them while accepting that these bunnies are likely never going to be super people-social or cuddly. Willow and Waffles have been very resistant to exploring the larger area within the home, seeming very content in their expanded x-pen and not feeling the need to leave it even when given lots of opportunity. Recently however Waffles has decided to be brave and has begun to come out and explore; while still staying close to his x-pen, he’s become quite consistent in his desire to come out. This has brought about a quiet excitement in our home, watching him take this big step! His sister continues to be reluctant to venture out, though she is carefully watching him as he explores. It’s possible that a free-range set-up in a fully bunny-proof home with no other pets, would encourage Waffles and Willow more and would build their confidence. Having said that, a successful adoptive applicant needs to be someone who is content for Waffles and Willow to stay just who they are right now, in case further socialization and freedom is not what these buns want for themselves.

Given their shy and skittish natures, Waffles and Willow will not hold the interest of the average child for long, and for this reason, in addition to their need for a quiet environment, they are not considered good candidates to be a child’s pets. They have attached to their primary caregiver in the home, happily crawling over her to eat those coveted pellets and greens, but even this relationship is easily thrown off-track, albeit temporarily, if that same person startles them in some way, or if something scary like the sound of the vacuum , fireworks, or some other loud noise happens; in these situations, it takes several days for the bunnies to get back on track.

Waffles and Willow have beautiful, lovely spirits – they are so lovingly connected to one another, and such a joy to watch being goofy and playful. There is just something about how into each other they are, how engaged they are with their little world, that brings about many beautiful moments. If you are someone who can take pleasure in this, and who is content to let these two gentle souls take their time and live their lives at their own pace, under their own rules, then please apply to adopt Waffles and Willow!”

Our fostered rabbits are housed in x-pens or similar enclosures so they have lots of room to move around when they aren’t out for floor time. Commercially made pet store rabbit cages are far too small to allow rabbits to stretch out and move around with ease.
Here are some great websites outlining alternative rabbit housing using x pens and similar enclosures.
sandiegorabbits.org
hopperhome.com
therabbithouse.com
Pinterest- Rabbit home ideas