Like any good couple, Hoagie and Olivia balance each other out. Six-year-old Hoagie is sweet, loyal and affectionate, while Olivia is feisty, spirited and playful. The two curl up together almost every night.
But while the two are healthy and would make great pets, they have been residents at Southwest Portland rescue Animal Aid since December 2010 ? likely because they come as a package deal.
It generally takes longer to find adoptive homes for bonded pairs. Yet many shelters are reluctant to separate them for fear of the emotional impact it would have on them.
?We get them pretty frequently,? says board member Katherine Hearn, ?and we keep them together. Our experience has been that it?s better for the cats than dogs to stay together if they?ve been together.?
Separating a twosome like Hoagie and Olivia, who have lived together since three-year-old Olivia was a kitten, would likely be devastating to them both.
Animals often go through a grieving process just like humans if they lose a companion.
?It can manifest in a few different ways, but sometimes they?ll just sit listlessly, lose energy, and they?re not interested in eating or playing,? says Kelley Tom, a volunteer with House of Dreams cat shelter.
For example, resident cat Montero is typically an energetic, friendly guy who enjoys a good belly rub. But after his feline friend got adopted, he took to slinking away in a corner or closet to sleep.
The shelter staff thought he was sick, but a veterinary visit revealed Montero was likely just missing his friend.
Shelter staff hadn?t realized how strongly he had bonded to the other cat, a female who had befriended most of the shelter?s other cats as well.
?The bonding was probably a lot stronger on his part than hers,? Tom says.
It?s hard to tell why animals tend to bond with each other. As with people, the attraction can be difficult to explain.
In some cases, they?re littermates or grow up together. Bonds can also form at shelters among unrelated cats.
These relationships aren?t always mutually beneficial, however.
At Willamette Humane Society, volunteer manager BJ Andersen recalled a pair of female dogs, a yellow Lab mix and a chocolate Lab mix, that came into the shelter together.
?The chocolate dog would just insert herself between the yellow dog and life,? she says. ?The yellow dog just ended up checking out, essentially, and just going along with the brown dog and whatever she wanted.?
When the yellow Lab was placed in a separate kennel alongside her pal, she became much more confident and eventually found a home.
?You?ll often find that kind of dysfunctional relationship in sibling pairs,? Andersen says. ?It works really well in cats, but not so well with dogs.?
The Salem shelter, which takes in bonded pairs about once or twice a month, evaluates whether the bond is truly beneficial for both animals before adopting them together.
Dachshund duo Tootsie and Annie are clearly compatible: Equally outgoing, they don?t fight over resources and share everything. The shelter made sure they went to a home that could take both of them.
Andersen cautions that there?s an important distinction between adopting two mature dogs and two puppies, which can be ?exponentially more work.?
On the other hand, Animal Aid encourages people to adopt kittens in pairs because they can teach each other acceptable play behavior and entertain each other while owners are gone for the day.
Lonely kittens are prone to making mischief when left to their own devices, and they can take comfort in each other?s company.
As for trying to bond your current pet with another animal, it can be tricky. You may want to introduce the partner pet very gradually, preferably in neutral territory.
Among rabbits, the bonding process can be so fraught with complication that experts encourage people to adopt a pair from the start.
?Rabbits are known to be cute and mild mannered, but anyone who has tried to bond two ill-matched rabbits together knows the opposite can hold true,? says Rabbit Advocates volunteer Tiah Keever.
Rabbit fights aren?t pleasant and can be brutal if one rabbit feels threatened by the other.
Conflict arises most frequently when their introduction is done abruptly. Male-male pairs are also more prone to conflict, especially if they?re unrelated, while male-female pairs tend to be successful.
Bunnies that do bond well tend to pair for life.
You can usually tell fairly quickly if two rabbits have good chemistry, Keever says. Look for signs that indicate comfort, such as nose-touching, ?flopping? (laying down in a relaxed manner) or self-grooming. If they groom each other, it?s likely love at first sight.
On the other hand, signs like biting, lunging, grunting, biting, or ignoring each other indicate the meeting isn?t going well.
Adopting an already-bonded pair may sound like more work, but the opposite may actually be true.
You can expect to purchase more food, pick up more waste and pay more for veterinary care.
On the plus side, they can play and keep each company while you?re at work or school. For them, a big adjustment such as a new home and family can seem less stressful when faced with a friend.
?The great part about bonded pairs is, they don?t exclude anybody else,? says Hearn of Animal Aid. ?They include other animals and people in their circle of love. It just increases the amount of love in the home.??
Tips:
- Try to introduce a new pet gradually and on neutral territory if possible.
- Reduce aggression and territorial behaviors by ensuring both pets are spayed or neutered.
- Introduce as many potential partners to your pet rabbit as possible before taking a new one home.
--Monique Balas
Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/pets/index.ssf/2012/09/pet_talk_bonded_pairs_can_brin.html
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