I adopted Dusky in 2020 from a fellow breeder in Kentucky. She was 8 months old at the time, and had been raised very well by her breeder. She was very used to people, but had developed such a close bond with her previous breeder that in the weeks following her arrival, she was pretty standoffish and sad. It wasn't until about a  month into it that we really started to bond. She had her first litter at 9.5 months old, and none of the babies survived. While that's not uncommon for a first litter, it really effected Dusky. She wouldn't move or eat for a couple days, and rejected all attempts of mine to help her. After confirming that there was nothing actually wrong health wise, I focused extra hard on being there for her. I didn't leave her side for the week following that, and slowly, she started to warm up. She finally started to eat again, only out of my hand, and then she started to flop and loaf next to me instead of just being hunched over. She only truly relaxed when I was holding her tight, so carried her around with me everywhere. As she revived from the experience, we never lost that bond, and once she had her first fully successful litter at a year old she immediately showed me not only how wonderful her lines were in the perfect babies she produced, but that she was destined to be the most wonderful and nurturing mother. Having to work for a bond with Dusky made me treasure the connection I have with her now even more. She's my forever bunny and I'm so lucky to have her.