We said goodbye to Dijon, our beloved bunny, on Monday 11 September. He joined our family, along with his half-sister Mabel, when he was 2 months old, in August 2011, and gave us 12 years of pure, unconditional love. Back then, our children were aged 9, 5, and 3 – although Dijon was never 'their' pet, he was a member of our family, and, as such, he lived through some of their biggest milestones, and shared moments of joy and sadness. He was always there to offer cuddles – on their first days at school, and last days at primary or secondary school; during exams; and, for our eldest (who is now 21), at each step as he started working up the career ladder. He was my constant companion, during my years as a stay-at-home Mum then my job working from home, and my husband said Dijon was his best friend. Many times, his demands for cuddles were responsible for making us late, as we were about to leave the house, or indigestion, when we had to reach down during a meal. He loved human companionship so much that we thought he might have managed as a single bunny when we lost Mabel in 2018, but we knew we couldn’t offer him everything he needed, so we adopted Ebony to keep him company.

We joined the Rabbit Welfare Association in 1998, simply to find out how to keep our first rabbit indoors, but over the years we have learned so much and developed our approach towards caring for our rabbits accordingly. For example, our first rabbit, Lupin, was a single rabbit kept in an indoor hutch when we were at work… now our bunnies have 24/7 access to our entire living room, and through the patio doors to a run on most days – our living room is a bunny playground! Through our membership of the RWAF, our vet was able to access the RWAF specialist veterinary advice service, and thanks to this, Mabel had several extra years of quality life, for which we will be forever grateful.

The RWAF works tirelessly to improve domestic rabbits’ health and welfare. It’s a cause very close to our hearts, and we would be so grateful if you are able to donate, in honour of Dijon – a little boy with an enormous heart.