Baby bunnies.... THAT'S how I view life....

Last week as I rushed to complete one last work out, get the final planks of the deck screwed down, a shower and off to the dentist by 9:45 a.m. I heard the all too familiar squeals of new born bunnies in distress.

As I looked around for the sound I spotted Abbey gingerly carrying something in her mouth, with that, "dang, I'm going to get in trouble" look in her eyes. I told her to drop them, which she did and ran to pick them up... they seemed mostly unhurt... just full of dog drool...

But this left me with a dilemma. I didn't know from where she got them.

I held them close to keep them warm and watched Abbey. She's not to bright sometimes... she went right back to the scene of the crime!!! There she mouthed a fourth baby bunny. This one was not as lucky. It had a few lacerations and a chunk of its tiny little ear missing and bleeding.

They required attention... medically, to clean up their wounds and physically, to block off the hutch from Abbey but keep it accessible to the mommy bunny when she, hopefully, would return at night as usual.

With a handful of bunny babies I hustled into my (soon to be vet student) son's bedroom to rouse him and get his help.

When I first showed him my handful of bunnies he thought I was holding baby birds and asked if I intended to chew up food and spit it back out for them to eat and teach them how to fly. He then rolled back over, attempting to go back to sleep.

I promptly informed him that they were not baby birds and that he needed to get up and help me!! He rolled back in my direction, asked what they were then, took a look and said, "Damn, now I've got to get up... cute factor."



As he rose from his bed he provided me with a verbal list of all the medical supplies and instruments he would need (tweezers, small sharp scissors, cotton balls, hydrogen peroxide, antibiotic ointment), grabbed his new stethoscope (a requirement for class), filled a hot water bottle, swiped a towel and prompted me to follow him to the kitchen table.

There he covered the hot water bottle with the towel and laid out the bunny babies to keep them warm while he worked on them. After I delivered the required supplies, I attended to the enclosure.

I had to work fast. I still needed to get to the dentist... the planks and shower would have to wait until I got back.

Fortunately, the bunny hutch was under one of my benches which is basically wooden planks that slide into two concrete ends, so I could screw nailers into the cross planks and then attach horizontal boards to box them in.... the mommy bunny could get in through a hole in the side of the concrete ends...

Must work quickly... only have 25 minutes....

Bang nails out of old deck boards which I had held onto to make bird houses(why didn't I do this when I meant to?), measure, cut(dang, the wood is dry it's splitting), predrill so they don't split, screw in the nailers(dropped a screw where did it go?), attach the planks (doesn't matter if they aren't perfectly straight or centered)... only five more minutes before I HAVE to leave... done.... double check work... dang, the planks come down to close to the hutch. Abbey will be able to dig at them and get them back out... (think)...(attach more naiers? build it out?) ah! Move bench!!! (Can't, too heavy... sunk into ground).... Ben!!!! Lift together, move bench, hutch safely in middle... dang... now the bench is higher from being moved.. the planks need to be unscrewed and lowered or Abbey will just go under them.... but I'm beyond out of time... I really have to leave and Abbey will get to them before I can get back....



So, I asked Benjamin to please unscrew the planks and lower them. Now, had I not pulled him from his warm bed and sound slumber in the first place I'm sure his response would have been different, but he gave me a line about not doing it, that, "whatever happens, happens".... "if it is meant to be, it will be"....

That's when my "pressed-for-time-frustrations" came out and I snapped at him a bit to get him to comply... but it was at that moment that I realized it wasn't just being pressed for time that was driving me... it was much deeper than that....

I realize that these baby bunnies might end up food for hawks, foxes or a passing feral cat.... but I had committed my time and energies to do whatever I could to right what my dog had made wrong, and wanted to do it to the best of my ability.

Why would I go through all the efforts and just stop/give up when I hit a bump in the road? Why would I go this far and then not take the final step which could make success possible, but without, would assure failure?

As is with anything I do in life. If I'm not going to give it my all... 100% of me... then why even bother getting involved in the first place. Do a job... do it well... And make the best outcome, possible.

*****

Just five days later...I had to know... so I checked today.... best outcome possible.







Oh... and MAJOR cute factor!