Saving the bunnies

Not our bunnies but this was their size

This happened back in 2019 but I wanted to write it down before I forget it.

We have a lot of rabbits around our yard and where you have rabbits, you have rabbit nests and rabbit babies. The rabbits here are pretty dumb. Their nests are very shallow and not well hidden. Our dog finds them easily and we have to keep her away from them until they grow up enough to leave the nest. Then, according to our dog, comes the fun part where she chases them all around until they realize it's dangerous and they go other places that are safer. Too bad the mother rabbits forget this when it's time to have the babies.

But in July that year, one really dumb rabbit mother built her nest right behind our house. There was no way to keep our dog away from them in this case. Every bit of advice I got was to NOT move the babies but I couldn't just leave them there, either. So, I gathered the four of them up in a box and put them where our dog couldn't get to them until I could figure out what to do.

I found that there is a Cape Wildlife Center in the town of Barnstable not too far from us. Well, before I could call them, we got a tremendous rain storm while I was at work. I worried that the box I had them in would collect water and drown them. So, I took off work, rushed home, picked up the bunnies and started to drive them to the Wildlife Center. The rain was picking up and the rain was coming down harder than I'd seen in a long time. The roads were really treacherous and I had to make a few detours around flooded roads or slowly drive through high water. The winds were screaming and a lot of trees were down, too. I finally found the Wildlife Center and was happy to see cars in the parking area.

But when I got to the door, it was locked. I thought maybe I was at the wrong building so I dashed between a few buildings and tried a number of doors as I was drenched by the still increasing rain. Finally, I found a side door that was open and I went in. I looked around and saw signs that people had been there - half finished coffee, glasses left on desks, lights left on and other things. It was like a scene from The Twilight Zone. I put the box with the bunnies beside a desk with a coffee cup and glasses on it and left a $20 bill to help with their care. I wrote a quick note on a piece of (what I hoped was) scrap paper. I looked around a bit more for anyone but left when I found no one.

It was an even worse ride back to work but I made it OK. I wrote an email to the Wildlife Center and continued with work. Later I heard that there had been tornado warnings (on Cape Cod???) and that the folks at the Wildlife Center had been sheltering from the storm. I got this note back:

"I'm sorry we missed you! We were all here, but the police dept called and asked us to shelter in place because of the storm, so we were in the basement. We did receive the rabbits and they are in care now in our cottontail ward."

I wonder if they heard me tromping around above them? I guess not. Later, I found out that a tornado had touched down just to the south of the Wildlife Center and I realized how fortunate I was. The bunnies didn't realize that their lives were in the hands of a mad man.