The Capers of Canine Cohabitation

My mom is an animal magnet. But particularly an injured- or orphaned-animal magnet. (It extends to humans too - just ask anyone in our family.)

So during her recent visit, it was no surprise when I was greeted after work by two bouncing and highly excited youngsters babbling something about a box in the garage. My eyes narrowed. I've seen Mom's boxes before. They've contained the nearly unimaginable; for example, two ferrets found on the roadside and once, a newborn goat.

I was relieved on this occasion to find something relatively innocuous - two tiny rabbits - and to hear assurances that the kids understood they were to be set free after my viewing. One bunny was injured after having been pulled from the jaws of one of the most gentle dogs on the planet, whose grace and patience apparently do not extend to the hare family, not even the youngest specimens.


After I expressed an appropriate (or near appropriate, at least) degree of admiration for the captives, we made our best effort at reuniting them with their mother by releasing them where she was last sighted.

Later, to our relief, the rabbit family was seen together again.

Still later, unfortunately, a small, lifeless body was found in our yard, probably due to canine-inflicted injuries sustained before our intervention.

And still later, another casualty was sighted, probably due to canine-inflicted injuries sustained after our intervention.

Our only consolations were that perhaps there were more than two in the litter, and even if not, they are rabbits, for crying out loud. Surely there will be more!