Rabbit Adventure

So for the past few nights, when I let the strange rescue dog and special needs Spaniel out, they've made a dogline for the SW corner of our property. The rescue, much more of an actual dog, was obsessed with the space between an old ficus tree trunk and the neighbor's fence -- so much so that I had to back her out to get her back inside.

I figured it was a squirrel, or maybe a rat, both of which are ubiquitous in our jungle 'hood.

Then last night, around 8:30, as I pulled in, I saw a creature hop across the driveway -- sort of cat-like, but not exactly. I went to investigate, and saw it was a rather plump bunny rabbit -- white and black, and clearly not feral. It was too tame appearing, and the feral rabbits are either gray or straw colored...

It hopped around happily, but hopped away when I got too close. I decided it must be a lost pet. Wifey went to the next door neighbors, and found a darkened house, but indeed there was a plastic bin of food. I offered some to the bunny -- it ate it happily.

So Wifey texted our neighbors, who are a 30 something wife and late 50 something husband. Wifey thinks it's offensive that I refer to the wife as "the stripper," but since my humor is often as sophisticated as Adam Sandler's, I persist.

Both the stripper and husband answered the text. Indeed, it was their pet rabbit, and not to worry -- it lived outside, along with their tortoise. Wifey wrote that it WAS to worry, as we had dogs, one of whom would indeed eat the sweet, plump rabbit. The wife wrote back that she was already in bed (it was by now 8:40 p.m.) and her husband was on crutches, so he couldn't deal.

Wifey was worried. Would the sweet pet get otherwise eaten? We have feral cats, and possums, and all manner of snakes. I once saw an 8 foot boa perched on a tree in our back yard, close to the sweet, scrumptious looking rodent.

I convinced Wifey to wait until morning -- keeping our dogs at bay. Maybe the rabbit would find its way back through the fence.

Well, early this am, I went to fetch the paper, and there was the bunny -- looking at me sweetly. I tried to catch her (turned out it was a female) and fortunately no videos were around to record my attempts. I was, in essence, unsuccessful.

I would get near the bunny, and she would hop away, and I would chase her. The rabbit was, like Bugs, very rascally.

I then tried to shoo her back around the fence, to her home. No rabbit dice. She would stop about halfway to the street, and then double back, while I stupidly gave chase.

I went next door, and knocked hard on the front door. A nice Jamaican housekeeper answered. I told her about the rabbit. "No problem, sir," she said. The rabbit lives outside. Yes, problem, I explained. The bunny doesn't live where my dogs could, and would, turn her into breakfast.

So the housekeeper came outside, followed me next door, and I led her to the pet. The rabbit happily hopped over to the Jamaican -- she fed her regularly, it turned out. She nabbed her, and took her back home, to live happily with Mr. Tortoise.

Wifey returned from a dog walk, where out pups went after a dozen teenager peafowl who gathered on the other side of the house. I love that a bunch, or flock, or peafowl, is known as an ostentation of them.

I told Wifey, and the dogs, that we were now rabbit free. Wifey tore her favorite shirt trying to block up the corner where the little bunny made her way in.

So now we know who to NEVER ask to pet sit for us. I could just imagine a call "Hi -- we have little Bo, your special needs Spaniel here, and we have three huge Rotweillers looking to eat him." Next door neighbors "Wow. Ouch."  Adios, Bo.

For now, our property is bunny-free, and the dogs are back to chasing lizards. They're nobody's pets...