That's right--you don't go off on your own; you walk straight along the road He set.
Alright, you've heard the expression, "Look what the cat dragged in", right? Well, Sunday night, as I was out jumping on the trampoline with my daughter, enjoying a gorgeous fading October sky, the dog went flying by. I caught her out of the corner of my eye, because she had this fluffy gray toy in her mouth and was quite giddy, even beyond her usual happy state. I slowed my jumping a bit to think through this sight. (I can't jump and think...it's like walking and chewing gum!) Here is what I thought, "What is that in her mouth? We don't have any gray fluffy toys?"
It was at that point that my brain caught up with my circumstances. That's not a toy is it? Oh no! That must be a live animal! I stopped jumping and basically fell off to the ground. I shouted at the top of my lungs, after I saw it didn't have any black and white on it, (think back to the "skunked" post) "LUCY DROP IT"!! She whipped around with an astonished look and at the same time her jaw dropped open. It was if she was saying to me...."Huh? What is WRONG with YOU? This is an awesome find." At that point, the creature she was carrying tumbled lifelessly to the ground.
As I scurried over to check out what poor helpless creature she had just mutilated, I realized it was still alive! Upon closer inspection, I saw that it was a very small fury baby bunny. I would have guessed it's weight no more than 4-6 ounces. I began preparing my daughter for the sadness that would certainly be taking place in front of our very eyes within the minute as we would surely be watching this poor little baby take it's last breaths. We waited. It continued to breathe.
I scooped it up and carried it to the porch where we could make it more comfortable. It continued to live, although motionless in my hands, it's little heart beat on. Eyes closed and completely limp, we set it in a little box with towels and waited, stroking it's sweet little head. This went on for at least an hour, when suddenly, it opened an eye...then the other. It looked around as though to say, "Where am I? Who are you and what have you done with my mother?!" With a great deal of hope, I willed it to get up. It did not.
The box (of course I had to continue the rescue I had started...you understand this right.?..) was gently transferred to the bath tub, where large soft rags were placed for a bed. I again explained that in all likeliness we would only be allowing a measure of comfort while the little darling breathed it's last breath. We softly tiptoed out of the room to allow a peaceful sleep.
An hour or so later, we faithfully entered to check on "Bunny" (now given a more official name....uh-oh..) and found her ("her" because my daughter says so...not because of any official pronunciation) not only awake, but sitting up. Well, gee...now we should probably give her a little sugar water to perk her up a bit. Maybe we should even read up on baby bunnies being rescued out of dogs mouths. There was evidence of mild trauma to internal structures. ( I will spare you the details in case you are squeamish, but she definitely was not ready to be flopped back outside to hop away.) More sugar water and a long explanation of anatomy and physiology to my ever optimistic girl, and we said good night to Bunny, knowing that we would not see her alive in the morning.
The morning arrives. "Well, hello Bunny..." who is now walking around her beautiful box bedroom! Four phone calls to vets and "wild animal know how people", many google searches, one eye dropper, one kitten bottle, one large bottle of Pedialyte, one can of kitten formula, one nail brush (to groom it's lovely fur of course....added by said daughter), eight old rags, two shredded up old newspapers, and four days later we still have a "dying" bunny who has now been named Muffin! I learned, through my research that baby bunny is still quite dependent on her mother as evidenced by the white streak on her forehead. That white mark is only there if the baby is still nursing! How incredible is that?!!
She looks pretty good for what she has gone through. My daughter and I tried to return her to her nest by the sinking pond, but we can't find it. We took her in the general area of where we presume it to be and set her down. She looked up at us and started shaking! She wouldn't budge. Not even an inch. (Insert heavy sigh....here....). Not sure if today will be successful for the repeat attempt at locating said nest or not, but we have another date with the field this afternoon. Judging by the sounds of her shredding the newspapers in the middle of the night, munching intently on leafs of green spinach, and cruising around the bathroom out of the box and tub...I think she is ready to return to her mother....and the field that is her true home.
Four hours have passed since the previous paragraph and I have wonderful news. My daughter bravely ventured past the fence into the tree laden field with Bunny curled up in her arms. Once on the other side of the fence, she was thrilled to see a little trail leading to a big cedar tree and a large thicket. She waltzed over to the path and placed Bunny gently down. Two seconds later that little bunny tore off down that trail and disappeared into the thickness of the green. Ahhhh....mission accomplished!!!
I have been reminded of some basic truths throughout these past few days. We shall call them:
The Bunny Beatitudes
1. Don't go off on your own cuz you might get eaten by a dog. (Like today's verse says.)
2. Life really is fragile.
3. God created us to withstand some immense trials and trauma.
4. It's ok to curl up in a quiet place and get some rest.
5. Frequent nourishment is very important to our survival. (Literally and spiritually.)
6. We all need a little help sometimes.
7. It's important to maintain a specific level of warmth to live.
8. A soft loving voice is much less frightening than a loud angry one.
9. Compassion is learned from practicing it.
10.There truly is no place like home.
11. God hears the prayer of a child.
Father,
Thank you for the life lessons that You keep bringing my way. Help me to be extra mindful and attentive to Your voice.
Amen
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