Chimi's New Friend

Chimi needed a new pal, according to her owners, Michelle and John Nephew of Minneapolis. The rabbit had lost her good rabbit buddy, Beezl, to lung cancer in August, and her loneliness was getting her into trouble.

"She was chewing the furniture with wild abandon and adding ounces to an already-chubby belly," Michelle said. But choosing a new pal for a rabbit is no easy task.

"Rabbits can be very aggressive toward each other—it can take weeks or even months for two rabbits to bond," Michelle said.

Michelle and John are members of the Minnesota House Rabbit Society. They knew that the society has been working with Minnesota Valley Humane Society and as a result MVHS provides a "dating service" for rabbits to get acquainted.

MVHS's adoptable pets can be viewed at: www.petfinder.com/shelters/MN05.html.

The couple logged onto Petfinder.com, where MVHS posts its adoptable pets, to make sure there were some likely bunnies at the shelter before they trekked across town with Chimi.

"Sure enough, there were lops, Dutch rabbits, a rex and even a few dwarf Netherlands that caught our eye," Michelle said.

Chimi met five rabbits at the shelter that day.

"The reactions went from circling and biting, to a kind of comfortable coexistence with a certain albino dwarf Netherland that we'd already seen on Petfinder," Michelle said.

"To our amazement, Chimi seemed happy to share 'her' space with him, and they came home together in the same carrier," she said.

"Chimi and Wendigo seem to be that rare rabbit pair that finds love at first sight - courtesy of a blind date made possible by Minnesota House Rabbit Society, MVHS and Petfinder."

Of the approximately 130,000 homeless pets on Petfinder.com, about 2,500 of them are rabbits.

In 1998, The American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) partnered with Petfinder.com to provide shelter outreach and an extensive library of pet-related materials.

Petfinder.com has also allied with PetHealth, Inc., to provide a gift of two months of ShelterCare Pet Insurance, paid for by Petfinder.com, to every dog or cat adopted from a Petfinder.com member in approved states and provinces. The program is the first of its kind for shelter pets.

© 2004 Animal News Center, Inc.