Will it ever be time...?

Bit of a morbid post but thought all the bunny lovers out there might be able to help. I lost my first bun after eight and a half years of great health to a tumor in January. He was my first proper pet and I'm still totally cut up about it I probably have a bit of a sniffle every two weeks or so. I just wondered what your thoughts were on how to deal with it? Have you guys had similar problems? Did you get a new bun and did that feel like you were "replacing" the lost one? Any thoughts would be good to read...

I already had another bun when my elderly buck was put to sleep last year - I'd had him over 11 years - so I had something else to focus on.

Each of them are different. There are characteristics that are similar, of course, that's just instinctive to all animals but you have the memories of them as individuals, and you can get new memories of a new animal in your life. I've never not had a pet since I was a child, I've had many, and I've never felt like I was replacing any of them when the first would go. They are all special and unique.

I am so sorry to hear about your bunny I hope with time, it gets easier. I think getting another bunny would be a great idea!! You are not replacing him, you are adding to you!! He would want you to be happy and not sad... :bunny19:brown-bunny:bunny18:bunny22::rabbithop:apollo::brownbunny:happybunny::bunnydance::imsorry:

My sweet baby Otis passed away over a month ago. I got 3 new buns within 2 weeks and I did feel like I was replacing him. My new bunnies are so different from him, though, that it didn't feel like I was replacing him after I had them. I still miss Otis and sometimes I imagine him still being alive, living beside my new buns. I still wish he was alive.

thanks guys for all your kind words. the main reason I asked was I went to a rescue centre at the weekend and found a little girl bun, only a year old and she reminded me of my little guy, she was curious and ran to the bars to say hello and I was so cut up afterwards I wasn't sure what to do. I would have loved to give her a home but was so worried I was replacing my little one!

Everybody is different. Some people like to get a new pet straight away to fill the void, and some people find they can't get another pet for a couple of years. When I lost my cat that I'd grown up with, I was absolutely devastated, I cried for weeks, and over a year or two later it would still upset me. But for me I couldn't have gotten another cat so soon, I would've had to wait at least a year to feel like I wasn't just forgetting him, and even then, five years after the fact if I thought of it I would get upset. But it's completely up to the individual and what you're comfortable with. If you look at rabbits and find yourself feeling guilty, it's probably not the right time. But if you look at rabbits and feel like you've found the one, then I'd say it is.

Sorry for your loss. We have never had just a single bunny, but losing any is hard to get over. However, a new bunny gives you a whole new set of things to fall in love with.

I've thought about this a lot in regards to my dogs, who are now 8 years old and a large breed. Both have had incidents which shorten life expectancy (anaphylaxis after a bite, electrocution, major surgery etc.) so will MAYBE have 2 years left, and I have a 6 year old daughter to consider when it comes to the new dog or not debate. I think after a year or so I would probably get more dogs, but they would have to be distinctly different to my current ones so I didn't feel that I was replacing them. Small breeds or snow dogs or something. I think I will be the same with my bunnies. I have mini lops, so I think when they eventually pass - which Heaven forbid happens any time soon, they're not even 1! - I'll eventually get others but not lop eared rabbits.

I am so sorry for your loss, losing a bunny is very very hard. Don't think of adopting another as "replacing" your dearly departed little one. I believe the best thing you can do in the memory of a pet is to open up your home to his less lucky, homeless brother/sister. Your first bunny has lived a long happy life with you, and is now vacating the spot to make way for his kin who are still looking for families. He would've been proud if the legacy he left behind was that he opened your heart to save others.

thanks whisky, that's so sweet. and i love your bun pic btw, looks absolutely adorable! i think i'm going to try and move house to somewhere with a garden, or at least a little outside space. i really enjoyed having a house rabbit, he was good and actually smelled great most of the time but i would have loved for him to have access to a garden to potter in so he could get some dandelion action and a bit of binky time - he loved that when we went across to my parents. so MAYBE, just maybe, if we get a house I will think about another bun and perhaps a puppy to be friends with him or her. i think all the love i got was worth the pain in the end!

Yup I think so too always with pets. When a beloved pet of mine dies, I find myself wishing that humans had no emotional reaction to pets. Then, after a few weeks, I miss my pet time and want another one.

I am really sorry about your rabbit 😕 I think u should get another one and u shouldn't feel like u are replacing because u aren't I no your rabbit will want u to get a new one to fill the void