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Tuesday, February 19, 2008

That Waskly Wabbit....

This has been a week of enormous stress for me.

For so many reasons.

This is one of them:


isn't he cute?


We first noticed him a few months ago. Greg and I were coming home from somewhere, and we saw this little white bunny hopping along the neighbor's lawn. We laughed about it, and Greg mentioned that he was pretty sure it was their bunny, because he had seen a rabbit hutch outside.

Fast forward to last week. Greg had just gotten home from work, so the girls ran to the window to see him. That's when we saw her again, hopping across our lawn.

She has never left.

The poor little gal sits under my van all day long. She (as Analese is quite certain she's a girl rabbit) stretches out on our front lawn, munching on grass and the few flowers we have/had coming up.

One night she somehow got into our fenced in backyard, and almost got eaten by Durango. Luckily, Greg happened to see the bunny as he was letting Durango out, and both ended up chasing her all around the yard as the poor bunny desperately tried to find her way out. Durango would listen when Greg told him to leave it, but would then chase her again because Greg was! What a sight that was, I am sure! Somehow, the bunny got out and seems to have learned her lesson, as she now never leaves our front.

The girls have grown quite attached-especially Mara. She gets upset and tells me that the bunny is "cold". We started feeding her carrots, apples and celery, and it's to the point that the bunny doesn't even run when we go outside....or when Greg comes home.

I have been worried about her. She is/was obviously someone's pet at one time, and I am surprised she has lasted this long on her own. We have so many cats, foxes and hawks flying around...and this little bunny just sleeps out in the grass, completely unprotected and blissfully unaware.

I know its only a matter of time before something does happen to it.

So I have been on a mission. Over the past week, I have contacted 3 wildlife rescue groups, and two rabbit rescues in hopes that someone will take this bunny once we capture her. A friend of mine gave me a live trap to use, but we really couldn't use it until we knew where to take her. With two cats and a dog, we really do not have a safe place inside to keep her, and the garage is no place for her to stay. None of the wildlife groups would take her, as she wasn't considered a wild animal...I kept saying she has been outside for months, but no. I do understand, as they are all nonprofit, all volunteer, with high demand and low funds. Just like every other social welfare group in this country!

Plus, I have the girls to worry about, as Analese keeps asking me why we aren't keeping her. It's been a good lesson, as we researched what bunnies need to be happy, and why she wouldn't be happy with us. We have talked about all the reasons why this little bunny would be happier with someone else, to the point where I feel that Analese really understands. I know its still going to be tough for them to say goodbye, but again, I feel like this has been an important lesson for them to learn.

After stressing out all week and wondering if we were running out of time, I finally got some good news. A Bunny Rescue contacted me back and said they would take her. They are 2 hours away, but are willing to work with me on how to get the rabbit to them.

So now all I have to do is catch her!

I set up the trap today, right next to the van she has been living in. She sat under there watching me the whole time. I covered it up with a towel and put some banana, celery and carrots inside. Greg later covered it up with branches in hopes that would make it more appealing.

This little bunny has been hopping all around it all afternoon, sleeping next to it, etc. Hopefully she will get brave-and hungry tonight and hop inside! Greg is out playing pool, so he will check on it when he gets home. So tonight would be perfect! (you hear that little bunny?)

I really hope we get her soon. It is supposed to snow/sleet tomorrow so it would be nice to get her in a warm place before it starts. The whole thing has been stressful for me, and as Greg reminds me, I am worrying waaaaayyyy to much about this. Hormones or not, I just cannot stand to see an animal suffer, especially one that seems so helpless. Being pregnant just brings it all to the surface, and many surprising tears have been shed over this little gal.

I know I'll feel so much better once I am able to hand her off to this rescue, knowing she now has a "forever home", and will never be abandoned like this again.


We have had some BIG changes in our household this week! I'll post about it when I have more time...school has been overwhelming this week with 2 big projects due AND a sick hubby to boot. Hope your week is going well!

13 comments:

Maude Lynn said...

I know I'm terrible, but I laughed so hard when I read this! I recently discovered that we have a Mama and her baby bunnies living under our backyard shed. I have made it my mission to conceal this fact from Baby Puppy! 0therwise, I'd never hear the end of it!

Hope you catch her!

Lizzy in the Burbs said...

Hi, Julie!

Oh, she is just adorable, really! I can totally understand how you feel, I'm an animal lover, too. Maybe she got away from someone by accident? I prefer to think that rather than being abandoned, although that's so much more likely. I don't know how people can throw away their pets, it's so sad.

I had a similar experience a few years ago with a baby squirrel. The baby blew out of a tree nest during a thunderstorm and the mother never came to collect him. He was crying and his eyes weren't open yet. We left him there for the day, hoping she'd come and rescue him, but by the end of the day she hadn't and we were worried he would die. The boys and I made a little nest for him in a shoebox and fed him baby formula with an eye dropper. I found a lady who lived about an hour from our house who nurses animals to health and then releases them. I was so grateful that she'd take him, and when I got to her home she had another baby squirrel, a baby raccoon and some baby birds! God bless people like that.

Good luck with your bunny! It's so nice that you're doing that, and it really is a great lesson for your girls. Take care and hope you de-stress!

Lizzy

My Lifesong said...

You come from a family of animal lovers. Remember our rescue of wild baby bunnies from Dusty? We nursed them, and then let them go. Hopefully, you'll be successful in trapping the white bunny, and giving it a better home.

Chris said...

Oh Julie--this brings back memories of our little 'Paco'. He was an abandoned racoon. (We think the neighbor shot it's mother because it was roaming around during the day). One day I started making this sound with my mouth and the baby racoon thought I was his mother and came running full boar to me. We eventually caught it, fed it formula which I got from a farm store, with a syringe, and the little one slept for a full 24 hrs. We think it was so dehydrated. I found a woman to come and take it as we were leaving for the weekend, and she took it home and cared for it. Even now, she'll make the same calling sound when she goes outside and the racoon will make it's way to her. It made me feel so good to save this little one. I really hope you catch your little bunny. It is absolutely adorable. I know you have a big heart for bunnies. Keep us updated!

Autumn said...

Oh I know how you feel! I am such an animal lover and can't stand to see one suffering. You may want to not cover up the trap ... as silly as that sounds. If it is covered the bunny may be scared to go inside because it can't tell if it's safe. If it isn't covered it may see the food and see that there isn't anything to be afraid of.
We have wild rabbits all over our property. I used to love watching them but now there are so many that my garden gets desecrated if I don't have little cages over certain plants. Ack!
Anyway good luck catching it.

Peace is every step said...

Oh, what a sweet bunny. I hope you catch her soon--it looks frosty around your neck of the woods!

We have a HUGE population of domesticated animals now living wild in our town, specifically on a 7 mile long sand bar peninsula. They have taken over everything there! There was talk in introducing a natural preditor to reduce the population (foxes, I think). It's sad that people don't think of the consequences of releasing pets into the wild.

We had a surprising wild animal experience yesterday when a kestrel falcon caught a poor unsuspecting pidgeon right outside our kitchen window!

Lorrie said...

Awww, poor bunny! I know you have been worried about her. I hope you were able to catch her. Not many people would go above and beyond to help this little bunny....I am so glad there are people like you out there (:
Good Luck!

Julie B said...

Well, we still haven't caught her yet.....she seems to know what the trap is and will only sit by it. I didn't feed her yesterday in hopes that she would get hungry enough to venture in...but no.

I love hearing all the rescue stories! I am such an animal lover, and while Greg is too-he also tries to play the realist ( I say try because he always gives in, and I found out he had been looking for a home for the bunny even before I was :) )


It snowed all day yesterday-we got 1-2 inches, and I was really hoping to get her so that she wouldn't be out there in the cold. It is supposed to sleet tonight...hopefully she will go in there today as art class is canceled so we have nothing to do...perfect day to drive down to the rescue :)

Autumn- I thought the same thing with the covering and took it off yesterday. I am going to add some more fresh banana this morning to hopefully lure her in! Thanks for the tip :) We have the same problem with our garden..it drives my husband crazy. BUT he also made the decision to put it at the end of our property, out of our fenced in yard, AND it backs up to a field! So we have deer eating our corn, rabbits in the lettuce, etc. He also refuses to fence it so I told him he is not allowed to complain :)

Lizzy- I would like to think someone just lost her, but knowing our neighbors, I kind of doubt it!

Lifesong- I do remember our countless rescues, and rescue attempts :)

Chris- I remember your raccoon story-such a happy ending :)

Peace- that is pretty sad how people can just dump an animal. Most figure...its an animal, it will survive but sadly most do not. I am so amazed this little bunny has survived all these months!
We had a similar experience happen in front of our window (luckily I missed it) Analese and Greg's mother were watching the birds gathered in front of our feeder and suddenly a hawk swooped down and got a morning dove! Greg's mother was horrified, but luckily Analese was too young to understand what was happening!

Lorrie-thanks! I know you would be doing the exact same thing :)

Sharyn said...

Awww, I love this story. Sounds like our whole family are rescuers of the wild! We have many stories of rescue in this family, too. One was when we, too, found a wild baby bunny "Jack" and nursed him back to health. We kept him in a cage until he was about a month old and then took him out on a gorgeous spring day and released him back to the wild... along with a big bag of carrots, rabbit food, and bedding to sleep on. Every once in awhile "Jack" comes into conversation and we will remanice (sp?) about our little Jack the Rabbit. Another time, the twins (I'm sure some of you remember this story) brought home a nest full of mice to mom "to be our new pets". They have done this on more than one occasion, and even hid a few in their playhouse so I wouldn't find out. They also hid a baby rabbit in there, as well. We definitely are the biggest animal lovers in this house! We have even tried to nurse back a salamander that the girls found on the driveway that was barely alive from roasting in the hot sun all day... that wasn't such a succesful story... :-(

JK said...

Julie, you are such a kind person and this is indeed a lesson for your children.

Here's something for a kind person:

http://love4kids.blogspot.com/2008/02/another-valentines-day.html

Kaylyn said...

Keep her Keep her Keep her!! She is so cute! Now I want a buny....but I think Brent would kill me! You got her right at Easter time...so special!

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