The Bunny Story

It all started a few weeks ago when the kids came screaming to the back door, "Mice! There's mice in the yard."

Stephen and I scrambled outside to see the horror. To our surprise, we discovered a burrow of young bunnies nestled, snug, and naive to the lives of their nearby neighbors next door- the Figerts!

So began the Bunny Saga.

Days later, after a pleasant evening sharing dinner with friends, we enjoyed the warm rains our grass and trees so desperately needed. In the car on the way home, we all chatted about the rabbits, how adorable and sweet we each thought them to be. Suddenly, like lightning, it dawned on us that the burrow must be flooded with all the rain! In no time, Stephen switched into high gear and rushed the car to the bunnies' site.  Contrary to our hopes, the poor little bunnies were floating in puddles with their noses just above water struggling to survive. Stephen scooped all four bunnies up and brought them inside. We dried them off; it was hard to tell if they were alive. We realized that they were indeed still breathing. We wrapped them up in a purple, jersey pillow case all cuddled together in a Tupperware. We were doubtful they would make it through the night.

That night Fisher prayed that God would save the bunnies. With grateful hearts we discovered the next morning that all four bunnies were warm, relaxed and very much alive. Stephen and the kids dug a new burrow away from the flooding zone and placed the little fuzz balls back into the hole. Stephen even went to great lengths by blow drying the bunnies' stuffing (all that grass and fur that they hide under in their burrow). Then, he patted the warm nesting in and hoped the mama rabbit would return.

We carefully watched everyday for any sign of the mother.  We learned that mama rabbits only have to feed their young once a day for five minutes, so apparently it is difficult to see a feeding and that's what we found. For three days we had not noticed the mother nor did the next appear to be disturbed. We even made careful patterns around and above the burrow so we would know if the mother had been there or not. On the third day, we were sorry to admit, but we were certain that the mother had not been to the burrow. That morning we called the Wildlife Rescue Center and later on, we took them to be cared for.

But that is not the end of the bunny story. As soon as we returned from dropping them off at the Wildlife Center, a neighbor boy explained that he had just seen the mother looking for the bunnies in the burrow. At that point we decided we would leave them at the Wildlife Center, but evening came and we watched the mama look for her babies. We could not take it a moment longer, Stephen called the Chief Rabbit Coordinator of Monroe County and went to her house to retrieve our bunnies. As night fell, he put little Jakey the football bunny, Lizzie, Silkie (aka Selkie), and Little Grunt back in their home. We were ecstatic to discover the mama continued feeding the little cuties.


We visited them daily (held them, pet them, play with them, etc.). In a blink of an eye, they grew up. Before we knew it, we went out for our daily visit and only two bunnies were left. Then only one remained. We kissed the little fur ball good-bye and the next time we came to check on it, the burrow was completely empty.

But that is not the end of the bunny story. While playing outside on our back porch just before bath time one dusky evening, a little furry bunny came bounding in to say hello. We held it, then let it down into the grass. It stayed around our feet and did not scurry away. It was such a delight to have our little familiar friend visit with us. Who knows, may be it won't be the last time a bunny comes to play. And maybe it is not the end of the bunny story. Nonetheless, the bunnies have been such a fun aside to our lives!