Chapter 120 – Welcome Dino
The fluffy little gray and white Dutch/Lionhead rabbit sat in his carrier and watched the man set up an exercise pen. He recognized the familiar sound of the metal panels clanging against each other. At his last home, he spent part of his time in an exercise pen and part of his time free-roaming.
Dad had not expected to bring home a rabbit, today. He had merely taken Merlot for a meet-and-greet with a Dutch/Dwarf rabbit. Instead, this Dutch/Lionhead seemed to hit it off with Merlot, so here he was! No problem. This was not Dad’s first rodeo with bonding rabbits. He had bonded Abigail with Enzo, then Turbo with Abigail and Enzo, and then Merlot with Abigail and Enzo. He knew the setup and the routine.
He’d start by putting the new bun in an ex-pen in the guest room, so Merlot could get to know him. Gradually, he’d expand the ex-pen down the hall and into the living room so Merlot could get used to the idea of this new bun entering her territory. Every so often, he’d test their relationship and put them together face-to-face.
Once the room was set up, Dad lifted the fluffy bunny out of his carrier and welcomed him, “Hi there! Welcome to the House of Buns! You can call me Dad. I know your name was Peppermint, but since you remind us of Enzo, I’m going to call you Dino. Dino was Enzo Ferrari’s son’s name. OK?”
The fluffy bun eyed “Dad” and thought, “Fine by me! I’m just happy to have a home!”
Dad explained, “I’m going to put you in this exercise pen to start, so you can meet Merlot safely. This is your safe space. Don’t worry, you won’t have to live in here forever. We just need to give Merlot time to get used to you. She thinks of all this is HER territory now, so she’s going to have to adjust. You just need to win her heart.” Dino thought, “OK. I think I can do that.”
Like Enzo, Dino was a friendly, easy-going rabbit. That night, he saw Dad approaching. He ran up to him and stood up on his back feet. Dad asked, “May I pick you up?” Dino thought, “Sure!” Dad lifted him up, and Dino crawled up to his shoulder for a hug. Dad observed, “Well, aren’t you the friendly one! Would you like to watch some TV with me?” Dino was game.
Dad laid down on the bed and placed Dino on him. Dino looked around a bit to get the lay of the land, and then settled down next to Dad, just within petting distance. As they watched TV together, Dino felt Dad’s hand stroking him. He felt content. He liked his new home. All he had to do was win Merlot’s heart.
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