Well, it happened. After all our talk of baby rabbits, nature taking its course, blah blah blah, I succumbed. Actually, anyone who knows me could have already guessed I would have succumbed. I spent countless hours last year nursing a house finch (Squeaky), who ended up dying, a robin (Squawk) who ate his weight in worms every day!, and a gopher snake named Charlie, who had been traumatized by dogs.

This year it's the rabbits. I've been really hesitant to mention this on here, as I wanted to see what became of them first, but the time has come. Last Sunday, we were out as a family pulling up the nefarious "leafy spurge" that's taking over our property. Shadow, our German shepherd, was running at large in the pasture. She went to one of our three clumps of cultivated rose bushes, and the next thing you know all heck broke loose. There was screaming and nashing of teeth, and everyone was screaming that she had found a nest of mice. But it was a nest of two or three week old rabbits.

Two were dead when I got there, but three were still in the nest, unhurt. A fourth had escaped into the rose bush, and although I searched and searched it was in vain. So being the softie I am, and figuring the mom wouldn't come back to a nest filled with that kind of destruction, I took the three babies under my wing.

It has been a trying several days, but they are all still with us. All FOUR of them. Yes, I went back a couple of nights later, and number four, Solo, had made it back to the nest and was crouched there waiting to be reunited with her siblings.

They are still drinking the kitten meal replacement we bought them, but all but one can eat alfalfa, dandelions and grass. One of them almost died this morning, but I stayed by his side and nursed him. I figured he would die, so when it finally looked hopeless I returned him to the nest. When i woke up a few hours later (I was up all night at work, so I had to come home and take a nap after taking care of Roamer), he was almost back to normal. Yes, you could have seen a grown man in tears.

So here I sit typing beside a box full of "Lucky," who miraculously survived being crushed to death by Clay, Baby, Solo and Roamer. They've survived so long I'm actually starting to let myself relax, but this morning's scare has made me a nervous wreck again. Geez, this is like being a father of quadruplets!

So there you go. I'm a softie, and now anyone who cares to venture into my discussion board will know it.

Oh, and by the way, I have another confession to make while I'm on it. I wouldn't really "plug" the cats that are at large in the neighborhood. I hate that they kill the songbirds, but I've only actually killed one cat, a stray cat that would come daily through our yard and take out a baby chick for breakfast. That cat finally had to go, but that was back in 1982. Other than the cat on the freeway the other day, and the cat under my patrol car in 1992, no cat has fallen prey to me since. Oddly, the cat I shot and the two cats I ran over were all yellow. Hmmm.... What's up with that?

Kirby

First, you KNOW I have to dredge up your post from April 16th...

Well, Gina, there is one point to be made here. I did say "Nature will take its course." Unfortunately, loose house cats running around in the woods is NOT nature. I enjoy animals, but irresponsible cat owners letting their cute little kitties run around and wreak havoc on songbirds and other wildlife is not, in my mind, "Nature." But don't prod me any further on my thoughts on this subject. I know there are cat lovers lurking here.... :)

Hmmmm. And what about loose dogs??? And those irresponsible dog owners???

Kirby, that website that Kaye mentioned (www.debmark.com/rabbits) had some interesting information about baby rabbits. I know you meant well and you're doing all you can, but, the next time, at least try to let them be for a little while. If you had cleared the area, I would bet my life that mommy bunny would have returned to the ransacked den for her remaining live babies.

Now you're making me feel bad about that baby rabbit I found all over again. How could you possibly think I did the right thing and gave it it's only chance by leaving it, when you did the complete opposite?! Now I feel like a horrible ogre that walked away to let it die. Well, at the same time, at least yours are doing okay so far. You should try to find a vet that rehabs wildlife. They are probably better eqipped to handle this situation. Good luck. I hope it all turns out for the best. Keep us posted.
G

Gina, Gina, Gina. You want revenge so bad it hurts, huh? Hehehe. Well, guess what--my comment about irresponsible cat owners still stands. Shadow was loose, all right. Loose in my own pasture, where I could have her back to me with one command. When people let their cats loose, I know they don't stay in their yard, and they certainly don't come back with one command, not unless they're starving and think it's time for "din din."

Yes, I have to admit I was trying to make you feel better about the rabbit. But now that you hurt my widdle feewings, I have to also admit I think most times if you find a two to three week old rabbit it stands as good a chance with you as it does with its own mother, especially once it's been touched by human hands.

The mother of these rabbits was never far away. I had no doubt of that. But she was far enough. The hole she had dug was basically no more than a mixing bowl in the ground. No tunnel, no way whatsoever for little rabbits to escape a big predator--such as my doofus digging dog or a marauding cat. I knew there was a chance that mother could come back to those babies, but unless she's willing to dig a hole they can actually hide in, she doesn't deserve them. My little baby Roamer never got his teeth in well, and he already died yesterday, but his siblings are all weaned, and guess what that would mean? He would have died sooner if I hadn't taken him in and fed him. A mother rabbit will nurse until the babies are weaned, then leave them to their own. If one of them still wants to nurse because it has no teeth to feed--too bad for it. The weak die in nature, the strong survive. Look how well starlings have done all over the country! At least all the starlings except the ones who were unfortunate enough to try nesting in the roof of a guy with a .22 and an attitude.

There you have it. You know what's funny, though. You talk about "baiting!" I could hear all your comments ringing in my ears before you even made them Gina! I could have written that letter for you! :) It's SO easy to get you going.

Kirby

Disclaimer: To anyone new in here, (or anyone who's been around, just as a reminder), Gina and I are good friends. I wouldn't tease anyone else like this, so don't think we're viciously at each other's throats. If you don't have a friend that you badger back and forth the way Gina and I do, you probably think we're crazy! Okay, maybe that part's true!

YOU talk about digging holes with backhoes...HA! Well, you would need a...aaaa...ummmm, what would you need to dig a hole with? Uhhh, I don't know, but whatever it was, it would have to be bigger than a backhoe. Bait me! :)

(And YOU, Kirby, are JUST AS EASY to get going as I am! You KNOW you are!!!)

Now you've got me all fired up that I can barely think :)

Thank you Gina for mentioning irrisponsible dog owners and loose dogs.
I don't worry much about stray cats... So far I've not had any damage done by one of them BUT DOGS !!!!! That's a differant story.
During the past 20 years I've had t shoot several dogs that were chasing/chewing/wounding or stampeeding the bigger sheep over the new lambs. jin the past 30 days I've lost 10 head of sheep to dogs and have at least 4 more with wounds bad enough that the sheep limp around on three legs.
Two large well fed and cared for Black Labs have attacked here at home at least twice. so I moved some of the ewes to a differant pasture with 4 foot high net wire fence all the way around. In less than 24 hours they werew attacked by 2 dogs and I have at least three of my most productive shhep limping and walking around with their heads hung down and all stressed out.

Too many folks moving out from town to the country and letting dogs out for a while to do thier thing.

And since I can't identify them they remain ANONOMOUS....

DELL

Hi Mule

We have a chocolate Lab. She wouldn't attack anyone. I'm surprised you have two vicious Labs attacking your sheep as they are usually a very friendly breed.
But these must be two rogue Labs working together. Dogs are much more dangerous in any small pack. Sorry to hear about your sheep.

I swore I was going to lay off the web board for a while and try to get Disciples of the Wind finished, but when the subject rolls around to dogs I just can't NOT chip in.

Dell is absolutely right. When dogs are allowed to run wild they will get into all sorts of trouble. I have no doubt the labs that attacked the sheep are nice, docile animals, Paul. They are surely not "rogues." They are bored dogs doing what bored dogs do--prey on the weak. That's where a dog's instincts lie, and they always will. Yes, there are vicious dogs, but all dogs, when there are two or more, will resort to pack behavior, and that includes the closest thing they can find to hunting: attacking helpless livestock.

When I worked for the Fish and Game I obverved a "pack" of two dogs--golden retrievers--chasing a herd of deer around a mountain. Deer in the winter are very susceptible to weakness and disease. Any exertion can bring on sickness and death, and here these dogs were chasing them.

The next day, on my day off, totally illegally, I took my .30/30 back to the ranch where we were working. I tracked those two dogs, finding somewhere between 5 and 10 dead, mutilated fawns on the way. I can't prove those dogs killed these fawns, but it's a good bet. They didn't eat them. They chased them for fun until they succumbed and died. The dogs might have even dragged them down and killed them once they caught them, but even if they hadn't caught up, if they had chased them enough the result would have been the same. I found the dogs, and the closest I could get was 200 yards across a canyon. With open sights on my rifle, I was only able to get one of them, and when I reached it fifteen minutes later it was long dead. It wore a collar and the name "Sheba." I called the vet, who traced it to a house 11 or more miles away. This incident led to one of the most poignant short stories I've ever written, one, I might add that I've never shared with anyone.

I hated to kill that dog. I've only ever had to kill two dogs. But it was the dog or the herd of deer. With his companion gone, I never saw the other dog again. I regret that Sheba had to die, but given the same choice I would act the same again. Dogs, like cats, should not be allowed to run loose. Cats kill songbirds by the tens of thousands every year, and thanks to starlings and sparrows there are all too few colorful songbirds left as it is. But I know I'm preaching to the choir here, although I beg to differ with anyone who lets a cat outside and claims it is always near their feet. That is not in a cat's nature!

By the way, here's a good cat story for you. I was fifteen years old, working out in the garden. Along came one of those cats with long gray hair. He started rubbing against my leg, and I picked him up gently to pet him. He was purring to beat the band. He turned and looked into my eyes, still purring like crazy. Then, for no obvious reason whatsoever, a wild look came into his eyes and he laid into my face and jumped down. Needless to say, I've never trusted a stray cat much since. At least when a dog acts friendly you know he's likely to stay friendly.

Okay--back to writing! Don't expect me back here any time soon, at least until the "storm" is over!

Kirby

Kirby - that cat that scratched you in the face - why didn't you just run him over with your car? :)

Now, the story from the cat's perspective...
I was walking along one day happy as could be and came across this stray guy. I had some fleas on my back, and he was nice enough to stop what he was doing and scratch me. It felt sooo good, so I purred. The next thing I knew, this big oaf picked me up off me feet and got this wild look in his eye. I didn't know if he was gonna eat me or what, so I laid into him. Needless to say, I'll never trust a stray guy again. They're too unpredictable. At least with dogs, you know how to deal with them :)

I know you won't answer this, so get back to writing.
See ya.
G