Wildlife Woes

[Stacy]

Do you ever wish for just one moment that you didn't have dogs? I mean, I love the dogs like they're my kids. I wouldn't be able to survive life without dogs. Because of that I think sometimes I forget that they aren't in fact little children in fur suits. But then they do something that makes me remember...

 

My love of animals extends to all my backyard friends. I’m the critter girl.

Sometimes the squirrels drive me nuts when they dig up my flowers. But they’re so cute when they play together. They tease the dogs and they always make me laugh when they yell at us. I know there are a few chipmunks around here, though I rarely see them, but the rabbits seem half tame. They let me walk right up to them before they run off. I want the girls to love the furries they share the yard with, but instead they love to eat them. When I chose doodles prey drive was not one of the boxes I was trying to check off.

 

In the last week Ava came to the door with a squirrel tail hanging out of her mouth like it was a literal toy. Now, that squirrel wasn’t freshly dead. So I think it died of other causes and Ava just found it. (That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.) Then it stormed last week and Katie found a baby bird that she snuck into the house and proudly took to my bed. And tonight is the worst. The absolute worst.

 

Here it is, midnight. I just got home from work. It was a busy evening. I fed the girls and we went outside. I was minding my own business scrolling through facebook on the porch when I hear this… crying. It didn’t register for a second, but then I realized, oh no the girls have something. The next thing you know I’m running around the backyard barefoot, by the light of my cellphone flashlight screaming like a lunatic. I can only imagine that my neighbors think I’m insane.

 

I see Ava drop something and I called her to come with me, and then I found Katie and I saw another one. And I’m begging them to come back inside with me. They were actually pretty cooperative considering how excited they were with their find.

 

I got them into the screen porch and was about to go look for the problem when I realize that the crying is now coming from inside with the dogs. I couldn’t see anything, but it only took a second to figure out that the crying was coming from inside Ava’s mouth. I pulled her mouth open and a baby bunny fell out.

 

A teeny tiny baby bunny that was still naked. It nuzzled into my hand and shirt like I was it’s mommy. I’m pretty sure that I’m in love with this bunny and want it to have a spot in the bed with the dogs. It was pretty active and it didn’t have any visible injuries. I made the girls stay inside while I’m out searching the backyard – again, by cellphone light. I managed to find the nest, and the second baby bunny that didn’t fare as well. I took that one out and put the one that seemed okay back into the nest. It burrowed back in. I didn’t see more, but maybe there were siblings in there for it to cuddle with – I didn’t want to disturb them if they were there. It’s like Operation Wildlife over here. I think there should be a version of 911 for animals. I would have called it an ambulance. But since there isn’t, I hope I did the right thing. I hope the mommy comes back. I wanted to keep it, but I’m pretty sure I am ill equipped to keep a newborn bunny alive.

 

Now the dilemma is that the dogs know they’re there. How am I going to ever keep them away from that nest? And why on earth would the bunny pick my yard to have her babies? My nextdoor neighbor has a perfectly good yard and no pets to go on a bunny killing spree. I feel like I’m harboring two felons. Do I need to turn them in for assault? I keep telling them how naughty they are, but I’m pretty sure they think I’m telling them that they’re pretty.

 

I accept the dogs for who they are. I know these are the things that dogs do (but for the record, Papillons do not do things like this!) I just wish someone would explain to them that they are supposed to act more like little furry people and less like murdering heathens. I’m not sure how much backyard homicide I can take!!

Does anyone else have this issue? Better yet, has anyone else solved this issue? I feel like they need a class in loving their neighbors. I also wonder if we had a bunny of our own that the dogs would understand that it was part of the family and they couldn’t hurt it. Because now I really want a bunny to join our family!

 

[F, Calla & Luca]

I share your pain. We had two bunny babies the dogs discovered a few weeks ago. Later on when I looked for the corpses they had disappeared. I made up several scenarios for why including the dogs having eaten them though I don't think they ever did eat prey before. Calla was quite sick about a week ago. The vet didn't think it had anything to do with the rabbits. Thankfully she is fine now. Rabbits do build nests in the stupidest places. I have no solutions other than what Karen offered. It's all nature at it's not so finest.

[Stacy]

I'm sorry Calla was sick. I'm glad she's better. I'm all about plausible deniability. If they're going to eat it I want to pretend that they didn't. Don't tell me about it, don't bring it in the house, don't throw it up on my bed. I know it's a thing that dogs do, but I would rather believe that it's not a thing *my* dogs do. 

[F, Calla & Luca]

I agree.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

As for having a bunny of your own, when I was in high school, my sister's stupid boyfriend (who may have been a rabbit in a previous life) gave her a bunny for Easter. 

It peed and pooped all over the house, all the time. If you let it out of it's cage, it rewarded you by peeing and pooping. You can't housebreak a rabbit. (And if anyone finds proof to the contrary somewhere on-line, keep it to yourself. It's my story and I'll tell it any way I like.) But what finally put my animal loving mother over the edge was that it also chewed up everything it could get to, including bedspreads, upholstery, custom stained baseboards and the alarm wires that were attached to them. Shorted out the alarm. 

Katie and Ava do not need a class in loving their neighbors. And you don't need a rabbit. 

[Stacy]

No rabbit pee and poop in the house please! I was talking to someone the other day - before last night's bunny drama and her daughter is selling baby bunnies for FFA and she said they were litter box trained for poop. But I asked where they peed, and she wasn't sure. I thought I would pass. And really, the antics of these two dogs is probably enough for one household!

[Carol and Banjo]

This discussion is way more funny than sad.   Karen.....I nearly peed my pants...."my sister's stupid boyfriend (who may have been a rabbit.....)    ROTFL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Thank you, Carol. I was hoping for a laugh or two and wondering if I'd lost my touch, lol. 

[Stacy]

It is funny!  I love it.

[Dolly Dykhouse]

OMG, I am sooo sorry....I can't help it but I am laughing like a loon over your narrative! I know it's not funny, I have an outdoor cat who LOVES to bring me gifts of half dead or decapitated critters; but that's her job to keep them out of the house. If my Henry did the same I would be looking to put him in doggy handcuffs!

But felons? LOL...I see doodles in stripped suits bwahahaha!

(Man I was no help was I?)

[Stacy]

Maybe I need to order them some orange jumpsuits. Convicted of bunny-cide. I'm glad you laughed, it was meant to be funny. I really do wish they wouldn't do it. It does stress me out. But if you can't laugh at the insanity what can you do? 

I blocked off the nest with one of the girls ex pens. I only hope the dumb momma is smart enough to realize that I left her room on both sides to get in there. It's the best I can do. At least I won't have to pry them out of the dogs mouth again!

[Barbara, Zoey and Zeke]

My previous dog was half cocker and half dachshund - now he was prey-driven!!!  Digging in my flower garden I would find baby bunnies that had been buried.  On our walks in the spring and summer I tried to keep in reined in more because, like you, I really hated that cry that baby bunnies make.  (I think it's more of a scream!!!)

But Zoey will just stand there and look at them.  The little ones take a long time to move and they do indeed "freeze"!  I had no nests in my yard with Lucky, but 2 this year with Zoey.  Thankfully she doesn't have as good a smeller as Lucky, or doesn't care as much.  I let him be outside a lot more than Zoey, because she can always find something to get into trouble with.  I must be on guard!  Flowers in pots, a hose, and a leather strip on my hot tub top have all been damaged.

Just be glad it wasn't like my neighbor's Lab.  He would catch bunnies and toss them up in the air and catch them repeatedly.  Now that was grizzly!

[Stacy]

That crying was horrific. They sounded so pathetic. 

That's the thing! They're not at all like your neighbors lab. I still don't think they are high prey drive dogs. They're more opportunistic. They're not particularly fast, so even though they chase the squirrels I don't worry too much about them actually catching them. It's only the babies of things that are endangered. One of the doctors at work was talking about a greyhound he had that caught like 100 squirrels during her life. I would have an even harder time with that. At least we only have trouble when everyone has their babies. They do okay once they've grown up.