The Bunny Rescue Squad

2005-03-22_18-27-21_001,
originally uploaded by bcavalier.

Our dogs never cease to amaze us. Last night after having a relaxing dinner under our new pergola, Lubov did something astonishing.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sera launch from the deck into the yard. A split second later, Mamas flew into view from the other side of the yard. This could only mean one thing, I thought, and we immediately heard the “Ping!” of a bunny hitting the chainlink fence as it attempted to find a hole through which to escape becoming an after dinner doggy snack.

Mamas is quite a skilled hunter, and critters that wander into our yard usually do not make it out. The ones that Mamas doesn’t get, Sera does. Lubov usually chases the little furry toy because it’s fun and because everyone else is chasing something. He joined the fray as we jumped out of our chairs and did our best to try to catch Mamas and Sera as the bunny darted back and forth along the fence trying to escape.

Suddenly, the planets aligned, and Lubov found himself in just the right place at the right time as the bunny jumped into his mouth. It happened so fast, we almost couldn’t believe that he had caught the critter. As startlingly as it had begun, the chaos was over, and Lubov had the prize.

He trotted around the yard, dropping the bunny once to sniff it a bit. I could see the poor critter writhing as Lubov used his nose to try to figure out what kind of new toy he had found. He picked it up again when we got a little too close. Then, the amazing thing happened. Lubov stopped in front of Lor, and simply dropped the bunny.

Lor was on the ball, as always, and quickly grabbed the beach towel that she had brought out earlier in preparation for a short dip in the hot tub. She scooped up the bunny and took it out of the yard. It was then that I noticed the distict lack of blood on the patio where Lubov had dropped what I thought should be a broken, bleeding half-dead mess.

Lor took the bunny out to the treeline at the edge of the yard, and placed it gently in the bushes. I joined her after wrangling the dogs into the house just in case the bunny had friends nearby. We watched as the bunny, obviously scared out of its mind, continued to blink, breathe, and look around. It was doing all the things a live bunny should do. And there was no blood on the towel.

Lubov had caught the bunny, carried it around the yard, dropped it and picked it up several times, and as far as we can tell, hadn’t harmed it in any way other than giving it the scare of its life. He saved the bunny from the hunters.

Tags: pets | dogs