I went for a walk in my neighborhood today and came across a small, white bunny. Next to him was a large, opened bag of kale. Some sonofabitch decided they didn’t want it anymore and left it to fend for itself, be rescued, or, I guess, die. It is clearly a domesticated animal.
So now I get to spend hours trying to figure a way to help a bunny survive. All the while fantasizing about locating the piece of shit that did this and dropping them off at the South Pole with a bag of kale.
mmm
Maybe check with your nearest animal shelter to see if they know of any bunny rescue groups?
Hope things work out for him/her. Very cute little one.
South Pole, okay. No kale!
Seriously, good job, man. I’m glad you were there.
I could never understand what went through the mind of somebody who ‘released’ an animal. I would never intentionally do such a horrible thing.
I did once accidentally release a Quaker parrot into the wild. His wngs were clipped (the humane way where feathers are cut and then grow back. NOT the cruel permanent way). I felt guilty that the bird was confined to my parent’s condo. Occasionally, I would take him outside. The bird did not like the outdoors. He would crawl up onto my shoulder and demand to go back inside. One day, I was taking the bird out and forgot his wings hadn’t been clipped lately. He crawled up onto my shoulder. The wind blew a branch so that it touched his back. He reflexively flew off and was gone. I spent the next week carrying a cage, bird treats and yelling “Pretty bird!” and wandering around the development. Security was called on me one night. I explained what I was doing and why. The guard wished me luck.
I never found the bird. Dad died a year later. The parrot only liked me and Dad. Both he and Mom would have been miserable in the same household. Quaker parrots are illegal in here in Pennsylvania. So, I couldn’t have taken him to live with me.
I still feel monstrously guilty.
An accident. Let’s assume someone took the bird in, and called you names on some other message board.
Florida, where my folks’ condo is, has many flocks of wild Quaker parrots. I hope he found one and is happy.
There used to be a bunny in my old ‘hood. He was cute (of course) and I think he belonged to some kids in a nearby apartment. Several times, the bunny seemed to be out alone and unsupervised; at least twice I had to evict him (or her) from my driveway as I was heading out.
One day, I saw some lady grab the bunny off the sidewalk. She went round to one or two places on the street – not mine – presumably asking about it. She gave up within a few minutes and left in her SUV with the bunny. Yes, an authentic bunny-napping! Assuming the bunny was not being held for ransom, I imagined it would be receiving better care and attention in its new home.
I would like to assume the OP’s bunny is in for a similar fate.
Pet rabbits need a constant supply of fresh water; a bowl will suffice but they’re very good at tipping it over – sometimes just for fun! A hanging drip bottle is better. Kale is OK, but buns need timothy hay and lots of it. Go easy on sweets: small pieces of banana, likewise pineapple (which is highly recommended for keeping hairballs from becoming a problem). And some kind of fenced in, cage-like area high enough so they can’t sail over the top, or climb out (I’ve seen it happen). Rule of thumb is: One cubic foot of cage for each pound it weighs – e.g., a 5 pound rabbit needs a minimum “room” 2 feet x 3 feet x 1 foot high, roughly. If you were planning on keeping it, give me a holler and I will bore you to death with pet rabbit tips.
The bunny’s not talking, huh?
I join you in Pitting the piece of shit who dumped this extremely cute rabbit by the side of the road.
Thank you for picking up the little guy.
This is exactly how we ended up with our white bunny. The first weekend of COVID lockdown, we went for a hike. When we got back to the trailhead, we saw that somebody had dumped him with a pile of food.
I heartily support this pitting; he stood no chance where we found him. He was absolutely fearless of another person’s dog that was lunging at the leash, it was getting dark, and this park has both foxes and coyotes, so we took him home. He was pretty easy to catch. Our local vet didn’t deal with “exotics”. By the time we talked to a shelter the next day, my daughter had swindled us into keeping him.
Aside from chewing through electrical cords and burning off his whiskers a couple of times, he’s a pretty cool l pet.
My now dearly departed chihuahua was left behind–in a dumpster at mom’s work. She was very young, too young to have gotten there by herself. We volunteered to take her because we’d recently lost our previous chihuahua.
We comforted ourselves by saying they at least released her where there would be food and that people actually go back and check. But I still imagine her just getting squished by the schools trash had she not been found.
Unfortunately, she was always a bit weak and wound up dying. But at least she got around 7 or so years with a loving family.
I support this pitting. OP, you are a true Good Samaritan, for taking the bunny in, and asking about caring for it. I’m afraid I have no bunny tips to share, but I do have a similar story.
Late December, 2003; and it was extremely cold here in Alberta–perhaps about -30C (-22F). Some very cruel person dumped a young cat and her three kittens in a cardboard box by the side of the road near a rural community. The young mother did the best she could to keep her kittens warm, but would end up losing half an ear to frostbite. Thankfully, somebody like the OP found the little family, and took them into to the Calgary Humane Society (CHS).
Not long after, my wife and I were looking for another cat, and went to CHS. Long story short, we ended up with the young mother, whose kittens had been adopted out. CHS gave us her backstory. We named her “Fiona,” and she was with me for 18 wonderful years. Through many ups and downs, she was a comfort, a companion, a playmate, and a just-plain-terrific cat.
There is a special place in hell for those who treat animals so cruelly as to abandon them in such ways. OP (and others who have adopted abandoned animals), you did well. I hope you can look after the bunny; or if not, I’m sure that you will find a loving, forever home for it.
I can imagine a stupid-but-not-malicious person naively assuming, “Hey, rabbits are wild animals. If I release this rabbit into the wild, it’ll be right at home.”
That cat is doing their absolute best to start a friendly wrestling game with the rabbit.
The rabbit obviously doesn’t speak Cat, and isn’t recognizing the signals; which would be utterly clear to another cat, or at least to one who grew up around other cats.
– I don’t think rabbits play that game anyway, do they? It strikes me as a predators’ game. Both cats and dogs play a version of it, though the invitation signal is quite different.
Years ago we had neighbors who got a couple rabbits as pets for their kids. The dad built a nice wooden hutch in the back yard for them.
Then one day one of the rabbits managed to escape, and IIRC, it was out for a couple of days before they were able to corral it again.
A few months later, we started seeing little 'uns that looked like this:
So apparently they do at least hear the, um, ‘call of the wild’ in some sense …
Sometimes a pet just doesn’t work out. It’s sad, but it happens. But in that instance, taking it to a shelter and turning it in as an “owner surrender” is the responsible thing to do. Dumping it on the side of the road is unconscionable.
Joining in the chorus of kudos to you, @Mean_Mr.Mustard, for stepping up and being a mensch. May your cats sleep through the night and only hock up hairballs in your HOA president’s lawn!
Google “rabbit rescue near me”. There is almost certainly a group who can either foster the bun, or help set you up to keep it yourself.
Just be forewarned: rabbits are NOT low maintenance pets. They are, however, very affectionate and rewarding pets.
You did a good thing. I’m slowly coming to the conclusion that a high number – maybe even the majority? – of my my fellow H sapiens are just human pieces of shit.
I grew up on a small piece of property in the country that abutted a county park. The park was rural, no kids play area or picnic spots so wasn’t particularly popular. But people knew about it. Over the 12 or 13 years I lived there we had probably 50 kittens show up on our doorstep. Easily 4 or 5 a year. Shitheads would take a litter of kittens to the park, drop them off, and skedaddle. Since our house was the closest human presence from the park the abandoned kittens (and once, a puppy) would make their way to our front door. My dad invested in a Havahart trap for the more feral ones and my parents became first-name-basis familiar with the folks at the local animal shelter.
People suck.
You need to turn down your heat. Your rabbit’s melting.