Friday, March 13, 2015

Bunny on the Loose

Mom came bursting into the kitchen a couple of mornings ago shouting,  "Art!  Kay!  There's a bunny running around outside and he won't leave me alone!"

I didn't quite believe her.  I figured she'd mistaken a mongoose or feral cat for a bunny.  I've never seen a feral rabbit running around.  Wild rabbits let loose and multiplied by irresponsible owners have caused quite a bit of destruction in the islands in the past.

I got a laundry basket and Art trapped the bunny.

Now what to do?  Call the Humane Society?

We asked several neighbors and discovered that the bunny belonged to some neighbors up the street.

We were told that if we let it go, the bunny knew its way home.

It didn't feel right, but Art let it go and chased it toward its owner's home.



The next day, the bunny was back and must have imprinted on mom.  It followed her everywhere as she watered the plants.  It was also eating my decorative dwarf mondo grass. 

Mom said it was a little spooky because the bunny nearly caused her to trip.


I saw what she meant.  When I went outside to take photos of the bunny for this post, it went around and around my legs as I walked.

I texted a photo of the bunny to my brother who said it might be the ghost of the bunny that a friend gave me for an Easter gift when I was in college. 

I kept my bunny indoors and took him outside on a leash at night.  I never let him loose.  My bunny was white and lived a happy life for about 7 years.

POSTSCRIPT:  It was raining hard last night when the black bunny's family came to our door asking if we'd seen it.  I told them that I was concerned about it being run over if they let it run loose.  I also said it's nearly tripped my mother several times.  They said they didn't like keeping the bunny in a cage and thought it would be happier to run free because it knew its way home. They were actually just bunny sitting the pet for a relative.  Now that the bunny seemed to be lost they realized that they needed to keep the bunny within their yard.  They are a very nice family and I was happy to meet them.  I was worried about their bunny too.

This morning, there was no bunny prancing around mom and Art said he missed seeing him. I sure hope he's OK.

36 comments:

  1. Cute bunny! By the way it's winding around your Mom's legs you can tell it's not wild. Hope the family found it.

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  2. Awww...hope the bunny is okay. We have regs here in the neighborhood about animals running free...it is really protection for them as well as keeping them from being annoying to others. So glad your mom didn't trip on the bunny! Have a wonderful weekend, Kay.

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  3. Oh, how cute!! I do hope he's okay!! What fun pics for the day! Hope you have a beautiful weekend, Kay!!

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  4. \Certainly tame and liking the genteelness of your mom Hope they build a study fence that he cannot dig under!

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  5. Cute story! Glad Mum didn't trip. Speaking of cute - look at YOU!


    ALOHA from Honolulu
    ComfortSpiral
    =^..^=

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  6. I have to say I don't really understand the idea that pets are happier if they are allowed to run free. Just seems like an argument for not having a pet to me. If you have a pet, take care of it and take responsibility as well.

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  7. all is well that ends well! It was a nice visit, better that it was just that.

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  8. Check if that big dog across the street is licking its lips? 2 licks means its thinking about a nice big fire hydrant.
    3 licks means "....tastes like chicken..."

    just kidding! Dog humor is pretty brutal. Its because of the headaches they get from chasing parked cars all day.
    (My mom used to swear I was a cat in a prior life)

    walt

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    1. We have quite a number of dogs across the street, but they're all chained unlike the bunny. The bunny is smart enough not to go near them.

      You, a cat? Hmmmm.... I gotta think about that one. I'm thinking more saru since you are so smart, but also mischievous.

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  9. Good grief, I sure wouldn't let them sit my pet. How irresponsible of them. Wish you all had kept him or her. Tame animals do not know how to survive and don't understand about predators or cars.

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  10. You have an Easter bunny you shoud be happy

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  11. I had a French lop for some time. He didn't know his way home.

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  12. Oh gosh, I do hope the bunny is all right. That's not appropriate, to let him run loose like that. He'll get hurt. :-(

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  13. My mom had two bunnies that somehow - with all the fencing that was put up - managed to escape to the front yard where they hung out munching on all the plants. They were hard to catch as they can run. I did manage to catch one and put it in the hutch and mom felt sorry and let it go. Of course it escaped to the front yard again!!! We heard from our neighbor 3 houses away that they would go holo holo there and beyond. One day both disappeared and we found thru our other neighbor that 2 neighbors away had caught and kept them in the house. They are a pretty sneaky family and when they termite tented I saw 2 small animal carriers out to pack in their car but I couldn't see inside. My mom was heart broken but I told her bachi for letting them loose. Some people in their "kindness" to let their pets run free is doing a huge disservice. -N

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    1. So they 'adopted' the bunnies? I wonder if they thought they were feral bunnies. We really don't want bunnies to multiply here in Hawaii. Seriously! There are no natural predators and could really cause a problem, especially in the agricultural areas. They were getting to be a problem in our area in Illinois. And chipmunks? Oh gracious! Don't get me started.

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    2. Ummm... N? Are you somebody I know? Hmmmm....

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  14. I would never let a pet bunny outside alone. Never know when the hawks or owls are watching for one. Daisy had a pet bunny when she was a girl. She misses the rabbit.

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  15. the case of the missing black bunny....sounds like a good idea for a children's story or a blog post...lol!

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  16. Wild bunnies...great. Feral bunnies ...tragedy. Tame bunnies...look after them.

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  17. We had bunnies roaming our fenced yard when our children were young. Not a good idea. Sadly they got frightened and broke their backs while leaping suddenly on uneven grounds. Glad your neighbor's bunny didn't get hurt while visiting. You were such a cutie in college, Kay!!

    L...w

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    1. Awwww... gee... blush... You are too kind, L...w.

      They literally broke their backs? Sheesh! That's amazing!

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    2. It doesn't happen often according to the vet. She couldn't do anything for them, their hind legs were paralyzed. The side of the house had a gully (before we installed rain gutters) and I think when their feet fell in it they panicked. The bunny I had when I was little didn't do well outside it's cage either. The front paws grew outwards and the bunny couldn't hop normally since it roamed on a concrete patio.

      I need to read jainas review on my laptop then I will be satisfied that I can order it to be delivered? Never ordered a sewing machine by mail before. The price at $143 is definitely a bargain.

      L..w

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  18. We had quite a few wild cotton tail rabbits here for a while. Now I'm not seeing them again. Cats and coyotes are hard on them.
    Your bunny was cute and friendly.

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  19. Hi Kay, this is my first visit. I used to keep a pair of bunnies for my kids. They multiplied very fast and finally I have to give them all away. We all missed them but we couldn't take care of them anymore due to lack of space.

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    1. Hello Nancy! It's so very nice to meet you. Bunnies do have that ability to multiply rapidly which is why we have to be careful in Hawaii. Do you have wild rabbits in Malaysia? This black bunny was awfully cute and we actually missed seeing him afterwards.

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  20. That bunny looks evil to me. Beware!

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  21. I am very hopeful that the bunny has ended up with the sitters. I cannot begin to imagine caring for someone's pet and letting it run free. There was a time that I had a bunny for a pet and tried to housebreak it. The critter hid in our small closet and ate the cuffs off my husband's shirt sleeves. LOL

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  22. Oh no, that could have been so dangerous for your Mom with that rabbit right at her feet! And your photos of the rabbit, he looks a bit scary to me, forget black cats, I never knew a black rabbit could look so freaky.
    Also, it made me laugh when you didn't think that your Mom really saw a bunny in the yard! Reminds me of the 911 operator who was told there was a zebra on a busy highway here in Atlanta....they played it on TV..."Mmmm...what makes you think it's a ZEBRA?" The reply...."Well...it looks like a horse with black and white STRIPES, you know, a ZEBRA!".
    HA! (It had escaped from a small zoo in the area, so it was true also!.)

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  23. Remind me never to ask those guys to watch Kona for me.

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  24. We hope he is too. You three are such nice folks.

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  25. I hope the bunny is ok too. I hope they find it and keep it safe. I am so so glad it did not trip your mom and make her fall. That could have been really serious. Happy Sunday to all of you!

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  26. Hello, Just got home from a nice trip to Arkansas to celebrate George's birthday. I will blog about it tomorrow.

    Now--it's time to start working in the yard, cleaning up all of the 'junk' from the ice storm. What a mess!!!

    Glad you handled the situation with the bunny correctly.. You are right in telling them that the bunny had almost tripped your mother... They do need to keep it in their yard. Pretty bunny though.

    Hope you are doing well.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  27. Maybe it ended up on someone's dinner table.
    I never want to see a rabbit again. Part of my job at Heifer Ranch was raising rabbits (for potential Global Village dinners). Oof
    You and the big white bunny look so cute in your college picture. :)

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  28. What is it with people and their phobias about black cats, etc.? I honestly don't understand it. The black bunny is a cutie pie, hope it survives!

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  29. That's so sad they let it run loose. It is dangerous for all of them! Sad story, really.

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