His name is Mr. Honeybun – not the most masculine name in the world, but it’s the best we’ve got for now. Besides, he doesn’t care what you call him as long as you don’t call him late for dinner.

Here’s how the arrival of Mr. Honeybun unfolded. So Steve the maintenance guy at my sister-in-law’s apartment complex (you knew she had to have been involved in this in some manner, right?) is talking with someone at the complex who just happens to know someone not at the complex who has a bunny they no longer wanted. The bunny was kept in her backyard and was being chased all over the place by her cats and dogs. She wanted to have it adopted by the Humane Society, but she (actually, the bunny) was put on a list and nothing was happening. So Steve happens to tell her he knows someone in the complex who has rabbits (i.e., Tam). He mentions it to Tam, and Tam, being a lover of bunnies without hesitation, says sure. Next thing I know we get a frantic call from Tam saying the bunny is at her place and is being chased around the bedroom by a jealous Butterscotch, who obviously considers this new rabbit a threat to her bonded relationship with Sherman, Tam’s remaining male bun of “Beastie Boys” fame.

I tell her to get the damned rabbit away from her other rabbits and quarantine it in case it’s carrying some disease. I’m in the middle of supper, but, being the good brother-in-law, I hop in the car and do the 30-minute drive over to her place where, after a few failed attempts, we finally get the rabbit in the pet carrier and I bring it back to our place. I don’t want the rabbit near Cosmo or Marlie (I think Marlie would simply eat her) so I set the bunny up in my office area.

The bunny is, of course, frightened, but I finally get a chance to look at it. I don’t think it’s a wild cottontail, and its size makes me think it’s a female, which would be great considering our male rabbit Cosmo is still in mourning over losing his mate Peanut a couple of months ago. A few days later, we’re at the vet, who tells us not only that this she is a he, but he’s probably a mini-lop hybrid whose ears don’t turn down. Fifteen minutes and $240 later, the rabbit has been neutered and we’re on our way back home to the bunny’s new home.

Mr. Honeybun does seem to have a very even temper like your mini-lops, so after about six weeks and the loss of his testosterone production, I think we’ll try to bond him with Cosmo. Just so you know, bonding rabbits is more about matching temperments than gender. Right now he’s just a very sweet bunny with quite the mischevous side. He loves people and spends most of is day eating hay. The blue towel he’s sitting on is his favorite spot in his cage area – he’s already chewed about 100 holes in it and uses it to lay on throughout the day. At night he hunkers down under my prayer table, which is a perfect kind of hiding place for a rabbit his size to veg out in.

A big fond welcome to Mr. Honeybun!