The Flopsy Chronicles: The Final Chapter

The gloom and doom of my last Flopsy post was premature: the four bunnies made their peace and managed to snuggle together happily for two more days. Two left together one night, leaving the final two in the nest. Rabbit-rearing success! I was feeling confident that we were home free, and there was no need for me to stress about potential dog/bunny run ins. How wrong I was. One afternoon I happened to glance out the back door as I passed by and noticed Sumner acting very … focused … about something. It was a head cocked, tense body kind of posture that I’ve seen before. Sumner was on the hunt. For one of my babies. I had a feeling that he’s stumbled upon one of our little furry friends that had left the nest, so I hurried out to prevent the carnage. I could tell just by the way he was standing that he hadn’t connected with the bunny yet, but I knew he was close to doing so. I was just four steps away from him when I heard a familiar “Yi-yi-yiiiiiiii!” that made me feel faint. Flopsy! I grabbed Sum and hustled him inside. When I returned I found the bunny in the same spot sitting very still. I gently picked him up. More “Yi-yi-ing” ensued (his little mouth was open wide as he cried and I spotted his two front teeth!), and I checked for damage. He looked fine until I transferred him from one hand to the other and saw … blood. Oh, Jesus, Sumner. What did you do?! I couldn’t find an open wound, but one of his back legs looked a little worse for wear. He was in shock, and I couldn’t send him back out into the world in an altered state, so I put him back in the nest with his two remaining sibs. Injured Bunny changed positions in the nest and surrounding areas several times as the afternoon wore on, so I felt confident that his wonky leg was temporary. The next day, no bunnies. The three felt confident enough to leave the nest, and happily, haven’t been seen or heard from since. By the two legged and the four legged members of our household. Happy trails, little friends. We saved your asses, so please leave our garden plot alone!