Thursday, June 19, 2008

bunny suicides


I was on the phone with a kind of casual friend and something I inadvertently said triggered her charitable instinct. "My husband will be home for lunch in about half an hour," she said. "Please let me send him over to help you." I was in my backyard at the time, hunting for the newspaper, and I was cranky.


Absolutely not, said I. I positively refuse to be one of those single women who wear out her friend's husbands with her household needs. I. Will. Not. Do. It. I was climbing on my soapbox when something caught my eye in my peripheral vision. I turned around for a better view. And then I looked yet again, aghast.


It was a bunny. A baby bunny. In the air. A baby bunny being tossed from one Lab to another, with each one taking a big chomp and then hanging on until the other one came to wrestle it out of their mouth. Before I knew it, another baby bunny ran across the yard and Dee Dee, the fattest dog in the northern hemisphere, nailed it as it scurried. I had no idea she could move that fast for anything that didn't involve Milk Bones. Now I had two dogs tossing two bunnies, and I, who can take indescribable grossness in humans and yet cannot stand it in animals, was screaming for the kids to stay inside. (I feel that I have to point out that The Most Perfect Dog in The Universe was in the house for the entire episode. Gee. Like I'm surprised. Hello. Perfect).


And as I stood there , after the fact, shoveling dead bunnies into the trash with kids shrieking at dogs who were truly only following their instinct, I regretted my quick refusal of help. Because I've gotta tell you...I could have used it.

14 comments:

Maggie May said...

OH....... Blimey! How awful. Where did they come from? I mean were they pet ones or were they the wild variety?

Aoj and The Lurchers said...

That happened to me once with a baby fox when we were out on a walk. I called Himself out to dispatch it.

I could have kicked myself afterwards. I COULD have delat with it!

Beth said...

Oh, no! It's just awful when the family pets discover the bunnies and squirrels in your yard can indeed be caught. But then they leave the mess for us humanoids to clean up. I'm sure I would have yelled for Mr. Pi -- dead baby bunnies would just make me burst into tears. I'm such a wuss about baby animals.

Kim said...

Oh, that's terrible. Poor little bunnies. I hope you and the kids can recover quickly!

Anonymous said...

Our neighbor has 12 wild bunnies in her backyard, and every once in a while we find a bunny or what we think was a bunny in the backyard.

On the fix it note go ahead and take the help, maybe you can make a trade, my husband is going to fix my friends electrical problems for some plants.

Just a thought.

Happy in the Abyss said...

Ok. When I was young I listened to the Dr. Demento show and there was a song called "Dead Puppies". Does anyone else remember that?

"They Don't Come...when you call
They don't chase squirrels at all..
Dead Puppies aren't much fun!"

Hats off to you for shoveling. I would have stopped a stranger on the sidewalk to get rid of the corpses while I sobbed uncontrollably like the cemetary scene from Steel Magnolias. "I could run to Texas and back...but the bunnies can't!"

MUAH!

Kaytabug said...

Oh that is traumatic.Well it would be for me anyway! I hope it will be erased from memories soon!

aims said...

I had to check my list to see who I was reading - honestly.

You need help? Really? I was in shock! Really!

and Ewwww on the baby bunnies. Poor things. They do make a nice coat tho...

Akelamalu said...

Oh Gawd, I couldn't have coped with that either!

Amy said...

Oh, dear. When I was a kid, we had a cat who could kill anything, and it got a bunny one year. I felt so awful about it. Two bunnies ... tossed through the air ... getting chomped ... makes me think of another song ...

"... batter-dipped wabbit fwied fwicassee."

And to Happy in the Abyss:

"My puppy died late last fall
He's still rotting in the hall
Dead puppies aren't much fun."

Jenn And The City said...

Oh dear....if it will make you feel better, go to my blog and read "And a Bunny in a Pear Tree" Its on the sidebar as one of the favorites...
Jenn

Wisewebwoman said...

Oh so sad, RC, I would have been beside myself.
My dog caught a shrew the other day. Delighted with herself. she tried to keep it away from me,knowing what a spoilsport I can be, until finally she lurched back and picked it up again. I yelled at her to drop it and she did, shrew scampered off without a thank you note.
*relief*
XO
WWW

Anonymous said...

oohh indeed so sad!! I rescued a little chipmunk from the kitties the other day!1 I know it's their instict but I just hate that!!

Iota said...

Take all the help you can get, honey. Poor you.