Maple’s New Neighbor
Maple had come a long way from her former life as Lemonciello. She was found abandoned and brought to the Animal Rescue League of Dedham before making her way to House Rabbit Network. From there, she met her two humans, Ali and Chris Wall, and in November of 2015 Maple finally went home.
“When we first met Maple she was very cuddly, affectionate, and curious,” says Ali. “These were all the things we were hoping for in our first bun.”
After twelve months of tossing her ball around, flipping her ring, running about with her treat toy at the end of her nose, grooming everything in sight, and flopping next to her beloved daddy for cuddles, Maple was surprised to find herself on a trip with her family. Where was she going? She hoped she was on a journey to the treat store, where her mommy and daddy would buy all of the treats and she would eat them, like in her dreams.
When Maple felt her carrier being lifted, she roused herself and looked around. When her carrier was set on the floor and the door opened, she curiously made her way out, only to discover she was back at the HRN shelter!
Before she could even begin to fathom why she’d returned, Maple realized that another bunny was in her midst. She turned to see a rabbit approach her. She sniffed this new bunny and received a wiggling nose in response. Bunny after bunny came to visit her, but none of them were very interesting to Maple, who was still trying to figure out what was going on.
Soon a black and brown bunny was placed near Maple. Her name was Saturn, and she gave Maple some kisses. Maple relaxed a little beside Saturn, thinking that this bunny wasn’t so bad, and then, just when she thought she might take a little snooze, back into her carrier she was placed for the journey home.
About to take a nap in her own room once more, Maple was shocked to see that Saturn had somehow followed her back to her house and was sitting in her room! Worse still, Mommy and Daddy seemed okay with this imposter, and they’d begun calling Saturn by a new name, Jemma, and were giving this other bunny Maple’s cuddles, kisses, and treats! Maple eyed Jemma suspiciously as she chewed a twig ball in the adjoining pen.
It’s been a couple of months now since Jemma moved in, and Maple has gotten used to having a new neighbor. She watches Jemma hop on top of her hay holder and lean out over the edge to contort herself to eat hay upside down like an acrobat. To prove that Jemma isn’t the only gymnast bunny in the family, Maple will sprawl out on the couch in all sorts of positions “that don’t look comfy,” says Ali, “but that must be to her.”
Maple still likes to lick everything (except Jemma). “They have had their moments where I think they like each other,” says Ali, who has been trying to bond the two buns, “but there always seems to be a fight at some point. We won’t give up, and if they decide they don’t want to bond, then they will just live as neighbors, and that’s fine with us because we love them both.”
— Jess Riel