Dexter came to live with me in the spring of 1998 and what a riot of a time we had for so many many years. He had been returned 3 or 4 times from prior adopters because of some bad habits (uhhh, a bunnicula bunny). However the last return was not because of Dexter, but because of a stupid human teaching a teenage son to do his chores by giving away his pet (and thereby teaching him that pets are throw away!) Dexter was very depressed after that, so he came home with me for fostering. We started slowly with the dodge bunny/ankle biting game, and the flying-rabbit-at-speed-of-light under the bed game. Then one day, while fire alarms were screaming everywhere, Dexie was the only bunny sitting in the middle of the room eating ... duh, he was a deaf bunny.
So all my cooing to him went on deaf ears for the first several months. From that moment on our bond became even stronger . I learned to not flinch with a biting bunny (after all, he hadn't been hearing my screeching), so no reaction worked for training with him. And he quickly learned he could trust me when I caught his eye. We used eye/hand signals and vibrations with his acknowledgment of me before approaching. This worked for the rest of his life. We understood each other.
For the first 7-8 years living with me Dexter had free run of my entire bedroom, including his own cardboard condo to sit on top of and watch what I was up to, and a ramp up to my bed. He would many times join me at the top left side of my bed at night and I'd know that b/c his nose would leave condensation on my cheek. But I never minded the gentle tickles waking me up for some lovey time. Lovey time was always at Dexter's invitation, he trained me well.
 We estimate Dexter's age to have been 15.6 years old. He ate and groomed himself up until the last minutes of his life even though he lost the ability to walk about 3-4 months ago. He was in my arms as he took his last breath on earth Saturday night (6/7/08) around 6:15pm. He's at the Rainbow Bridge with so many of our beloved bunny loves ... and we'll be together again some day. He will be missed, by me and MANY who love him!
Dexter was an amazing friend and companion. What challenges him and I both overcame during his lifetime! :)
-- Stacey
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