Weddingbee boards

Hey bees, I don't usually write personal posts anymore, but I didn't know where else to turn. Two days ago my husband was mowing the lawn and almost ran over two baby bunnies. He picked them up and brought them into the house and with all the animals around or other things that could potentially kill them, we thought it would be best if we decided to keep them and take care of them.

Unfortunately we were on our way out the door for a two days at the shore. We were leaving the dog with my mom, so we thought she could take the bunnies too. Well, my mom is a drunk and a perscription drug addict. She is never sober, and I was hesitant to leave the bunnies with her, but I figured it was only for ONE DAY. Well, low and behold next day and she forgot to close the bedroom door where she was keeping the bunnies and the dogs went in and ate one of them.

I'm devastated. Their lives had only just begun and I feel responsible one is dead now, eaten by MY OWN DOG. In the back of my mind I knew she was too effed up to handle the responsibility and I feel like its all my fault. Now the other bunny has to grow up without his brother or sister. I'm so depressed and cant get over it. I resent my dog, even though I know everyone says its "just animal instinct." I'm finding it really hard to forgive him :( Any advice anyone? I just cant seem to feel any better about it.

Thanks ladies, the thing is, I am super pi**ed at my mom, too. My husband says it's not her fault and there was a chance the bunnies would die anyway. I say, if it had been natural causes and they died under her care I would not have held it against her, but having one die because she's a freakin' drug addict and cant remember to close a door behind her just seems more wrong than I can handle.

@beekiss2: He's doing well last I checked with my husband. He is home at the moment and I'm still "on vacation" being miserable over this. I feel like I should just go home because I can't enjoy it now anyway.

That's sad. When I was younger, we had dogs that went crazy and killed some kittens we had rescued (someone left them in a paper bag on the side of the road). The kittens were in the basement and we had brought the dogs in because it was practically a blizzard and put a gate up in the basement doorway, but they just went crazy! No one could stop them. My mom has never got over that.

I hope the other bunny makes it. If s/he does then that's one life you made a difference in and you should be proud of that.

Reina, thanks for the story. I have a soft spot for kittens, and can only imagine. I only spent a few hours with the little bunny before leaving him with my mom, but we called him the feisty one. He had such a zest for life, and was much less passive than the other. I could tell he was a survivor :( It's just so much easier when something dies if you never even laid eyes on it.

I couldn't even speak to my mom. At first she lied to me about what happened and tried to get away with just saying "one bunny is gone." I couldn't understand because he was eating and we thought he was doing well, so I asked follow ups. That's when I found out she "lost" him, until finally it came it out that the dogs got to him. She seemed pissed that I was even the slightest bit upset, so I just said I had to go. I don't know when I'll talk to her again, or what I'd say if I did. I've had it with her.

@CaraMia10: Aww, that's so sad :( I'm sorry for bringing everyone down with the post. I really am. What does everyone thinking of maybe getting another bunny to keep him company? I just know when we picked the second bunny up and put him in the box, the two of them snuggled up together immediately and were less scared. But then again, no other bunny is going to be his actual sibling, unless my husband finds more out there, which I highly doubt.

The only drawback is that we already have four cats and a dog. We didn't really have room for the bunnies to begin with, but couldn't bring ourselves to throw them back out in the elements. I guess one is the same as two?

I'm sorry that such an upsetting event happened to you, but you really can't be mad at your dog. He didn't do anything wrong. It's sad that this happened, but the dog isn't to blame. He was doing what is natural to him.

I know other posters have talked about how you really shouldn't "rescue" wild rabbits—and you really, really shouldn't. The mother goes frantic looking for her kits, and 99 times out of 100 they're perfectly fine (and better off) without you. Moving them away from the path of the lawnmower would have been the best option.

That being said, here's one of the best websites the internet has to offer about rabbit care: http://www.rabbit.org/. Check out the articles on orphaned baby bunnies: http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/orphan.html and http://www.rabbit.org/care/orphan.html. I strongly encourage you to let the rabbit go back into his natural habitat.

Thanks all, especially the animal rescue bees.... my husband wants to let him go because he suddenly stopped eating when we took him home from my moms... Maybe its the smell from all the other animals has him too stressed? I just feel like it was all for nothing. We killed one bunny, traumatized another, and now let him go to fend for himself anyway?

@hthrd:  I agree.  This exact same scenario happened at my grandparents when I was little.  We lost one of babies, too.  Grandma was a docent at our zoo, so she knew Momma was probably out in the woods during the day.  We kept the babies on the back patio in a low basket.  The next day, Momma Bunny came back for them.  She called for them from the treeline of the woods.  They all went running once they heard her.

Even though you can't see mom, she's probably still there.  If you're sure she's not there, there is a wildlife rescue up in Friendsville.  They will take care of the baby and release it to a safe habitat when it's ready.

http://wildliferescue-pa.com/