Chapter 121 – Not Love at First Sight
It had been a week since Dino came to live at the House of Buns. During that week, Dad extended Dino’s ex-pen area down the hall and into the living room. Merlot would come and visit Dino, laying side-by-side by the fence. However, Dad could tell from her behavior that Merlot was still a little apprehensive about sharing her territory with this new bun. He was planning a supervised visit for the two of them to meet face-to-face that weekend, just to see how their relationship was developing.
During the afternoons, when Merlot retired to her afternoon napping spot under the bed in the guest room, Dad closed off the bedroom and let Dino free roam in the living room. Dad wanted to give Dino a chance to learn the lay of the land without being chased or followed by Merlot. From past experience, he expected that there would be some chasing as they established who was the boss. Having hidey spots was a good way for the rabbits to diffuse the situation themselves.
One afternoon, Dad checked the living room and Merlot was nowhere in sight, so he assumed she was in her napping spot. He closed the bedroom door and asked Dino, “Would you like to free roam?” Dino thought, “Yes, please!” Dad opened the ex-pen door and Dino wandered out into the living room.
It was near dinner time, so Dad went to the kitchen to prepare the dinner trays. When he came back to the living room to deliver their dinner trays, he saw a trail of fur tufts. “Oh dear!” he exclaimed, “What happened?”
Unbeknownst to Dad, Merlot was in the living room when Dino wandered in. An accidental kerfluffle had ensued.
Merlot, who had been hiding in a corner, eyed Dino as he explored the living room. She bolted over to him and said, “Hey, what are you doing in here? This is my turf!” Startled, Dino took off running. Merlot chased after him. Dino ran back into the ex-pen, Merlot followed. Then he turned on her and said, “Hey, this is MY territory!” He jumped at her, she ducked and he hopped right over her and bolted out of the pen. The bonding dance began.
Around the living room they went. Merlot chased Dino. Dino chased Merlot. Every so often, each would grab a tuft of fur. After a few minutes of this, Dino ran into his pen and laid down by the fence. Merlot flopped down beside him on the other side of the fence. “OK, let’s take a break,” he said. Merlot agreed.
It was not love at first sight, like it had been between Merlot and Enzo. Dad petted Merlot and said, “I understand that you don’t want to share your territory. But then I look at the videos of you and Enzo and how happy you were together. We asked Enzo to send us a bun like him, and Dino is as close in personality as you could ask. Maybe we should give this a little time. What do you think, Sweetie? Enzo gave you a chance. Look how it turned out.”
Merlot kind of liked Dino – as long as he was on the other side of the fence. She thought, “Well, I guess we can give it a try and see.”
Would you like to read more of Abigail’s blogs? See them all HERE.
