My new rabbit has a name! Thanks to all my fans for their help. The winning name is Dustabelle McLinty Poofball the 1st, suggested Jackie Hammond. That’s a pretty cute name but Winston Bumblebee Barcode the 1st said that there can be only one 1st and it is him. So we’ve decided to go with just Dustabelle. That’s a really cute name and it fits her really well. Plus it reminds us of little Rousabelle Capybara who is lost in the wilds of West Virginia and we are missing her and holding out hope for a safe return.

Melly decided that it was time for Oakley to meet Dustabelle so she put them both (along with WBB1, but he was only a bystander) in a big enclosure on the front porch. Oakley didn’t know why she had to get locked up or what that other rabbit was doing there.

At first Oakley pretended to be all nonchalant about it. It looked like Dustabelle was going to be the brave one. She’s a bit bigger than Oakley and had established the porch pen as her home territory. But that was before Oakley decided that Dustabelle is really a rabbit (I know I was confused).

Sniffing noses is apparently how rabbits identify other rabbits.

It seemed as if they were hitting it off pretty well! Only a second later, fur was flying and Oakley was chasing Dustabelle all around the pen. I think that long fur must come out pretty easily because there was a lot of it around and none of Oakley’s shorter fur.

Dustabelle managed to elude Oakley who is not used to these boxes Melly got for Dustabelle and WBB1. Oh, did you notice WBB1 in the green box? No? That’s because he is hiding.

Turns out Dustabelle must be faster than Oakley or maybe more agile. I don’t think Oakley could jump out of that little hole like that! Dusty is quite the athlete. Look at her little ears a-floppin’! (WBB1 is still hiding in the green box.)

Finally, they settled down, one rabbit on each side of the box barrier, a tense truce. (You can just make out WBB1 looking out the hole of his box.) Melly says they need a few more controlled encounters before they can be trusted together unsupervised.

After all the fighting was over for the day, Oakley was so polite that she went to let Winston Bumblebee Barcode the 1st that it was safe to come out. She’s very considerate for a bully.

WBB1 had to check for himself that everything was okay.

Progress has been made! I hope that someday soon I will be able to play with Dustabelle the same way I play with Oakley. Dustabelle doesn’t seem to be as fast as Oakley, so chasing her might be even more fun!

Oh, I forgot! You’ve probably been wondering how I am doing after my last vet visit. My leg hurt me something terrible for about four days but now I am fine! It is a big relief to know that I don’t have to go back for three months. I’m not sure exactly how long that is so I’m just going to pretend it is forever. Live each day at a time, that’s my motto. Or maybe it’s one good cob of corn deserves another…