Following on from the young versus old section, Pam tells us the story of her bunnies:

My first bunny was Kim - a snuffly girly who was about 5 years old - she had been in the rescue shelter for ever so long and nobody wanted her because they thought she was old, she was snuffly and had a jumbo dew-lap. However I fell in love with her at first sight and she came home to live with us.

When the time came to get her a friend I visited the rescue again and just asked for the bunny which they'd had the longest, and that was Aggie.  I took her home, introduced her to Kim, they bonded within a nano-second and lived together very happily. We don't know how old Aggie is but we reckon she is about 3 years or so.

We felt we had room in our hearts and home for another bunny and, by chance, we came across the Bobtails rescue site in London. They had two black bunnies called Pie and Mash who'd been in the rescue for three and a half years. The boys were seven years old and had spent the first half of their lives living in the roof garden of a city centre pub!

To be honest I never gave their ages a thought, I just felt so sad that these boys had spent so long being overlooked and waiting for a forever home. I knew that getting them from London to Carnoustie (several hundred miles north) would be a problem but luckily the bunny community (aka the bunderground) rallied round and a bunny run was arranged. Jill (Molly's mum) did the first leg from London to Milton Keynes, where Tamsin (Rabbit Rehome founder) provided B&B before taking Pie and Mash to my friend Denny in Birmingham. After that my OH brought them up the road. 

Pie & Mash took everything in their stride and were such great buddies it made my heart melt. They adored each other and were so funny. I really thought that Bobtails had got their ages wrong because they were so active and cheeky.

When Kim passed over due to heart failure, the boys took Aggie into their hearts and made a happy (and very cute) threesome!

Pie loved to climb on things and would leap onto the sofa, then the chair and, given half a chance, would paddle in any stray coffee cups! Mash was more laid back but still very lively and happy.

Pie had no front teeth at all so he needed his veggies cut very small, however he still managed to eat his hay - he kind of stuffed it in his mouth sideways. To maintain his weight he also got some baby food (much to Mash's annoyance) - poor Mash would wait for Pie to finish his baby food and would then rush to lick it off his buddy's face.

Sadly Pie developed an abscess which went into his jaw bone and, after lengthy discussions with the vet (and consulting with Bobtails) everyone agreed it would be kinder to let him go home to the Bridge.  It broke our hearts and I am sure Mash was devastated but we showed Mash Pie's body and he seemed to understand that his friend's spirit had passed on.

My wee Mash man is almost 9 years old now and lives with his two bunny wives, Aggie and Bluebelle, and is such a super bunny. The vet said we should hold him up as a shining example of how bunnies should be - good teeth, happy temperament and a lovely glossy coat. He acts like a bunny of 2 years instead of the old man he is.

Mash has developed cataracts and is almost blind however he still manages to find his way around our garden (and the CARROT garden when he holidays there) and also managed to suss out how to get over the three foot fence which originally separated him and Aggie from Bluebelle. Mash is my boy and I love him so much.

Maybe I am different from some people but when I invite a bunny into my life, I don't care about age, colour, shape etc - all I see is a future friend.

Maybe there are added things to think about with an older bunny but in my experience they have proved to be a wonderful gift. I maybe never had the amount of time I would have liked with Kim and Pie, but I wouldn't have swapped the love we shared for anything, and I know that the love and happiness I receive from Mash will live on for many many years to come (just like the memory of the love and happiness I got from Pie and Kim does).

Mash, Bluebelle and Aggie:

Thanks Pam, for taking the time to show us how rewarding taking on an older bun can be.  I adore Mash, he's such a laid back bunny, but I must admit I do miss Pie :(  ..... although.......... Twinkle does make up for it a bit ;-) lol!