I've got good news/bad news...

[Cowgirl]

I'll start with the bad....

My daughter has a lively 7 yr old male cat. Well, this morning I was looking through the window into the backyard, and 'kitty' was walking around, so I watched him. Suddenly he pounced on an area only about 5 ft from our home, and I heard a squeel. This really caught my attention, and to my surprise, he carried off an adult cottontail bunny, went through the fence, and disappeared. I was bummed - I love all animals. So, I grabbed my shoes and went outside searching the area and found the remains of a nest in the tall grass. My loyal dog came up to me ( I'm really a dog lover - esp. now) and I showed her the nest. She got excited and started 'sniffing' the area (she wouldn't hurt a flea), when suddenly she found something. She backed away, and I saw a baby rabbit! I picked it up, and it was bleeding just a little.

Well, here comes that darn cat again, and he laid down in the yard about 15 ft away, just waiting for his chance to get back to the nest. Suddenly my dog chased the cat away, she never bothers kitty - it was as if she was saying 'You've done enough damage here - go away!' Again my dog came back and started searching again, and I was too, carefully moving the tall grass. We then found baby #2!

Of course as soon as my kids saw the babies they were really excited, and then I told them what kitty had done, and they felt bad for the babies. So now we've adopted the two. They are eating and doing well so far.

I took them outside this evening and sat in the grass with them, letting my dog 'investigate' the babies for a few minutes. Shadow, my dog, just laid beside us with her nose down on the grass, as if trying not to scare the little ones. Shadow is soooo sweet.

We live in the country, and I am hoping that perhaps we can release them back into the wild when they are old enough - we'll see.

Kathy

[almo]

Great! Now you've done it, you've made a grown man cry.

It's a great thing you have done. God bless you Kathy...

[Cowgirl]

Thank you!

Shadow is so very loyal, friendly, and a great watchdog.

I adopted her as a grown 2 yr old from a local animal shelter - that was almost 7 years ago.

She is a Blue Heeler / Terrier Mix.

[Cowgirl]

At least these bunnies will not end up like the bunny at www.savetoby.com

Kathy

[almo]

At least these bunnies will not end up like the bunny at www.savetoby.com

Kathy

That is just sick.

[jar_e]

Beautiful shots Kathy, and a touching story. And, to all happiness, savetoby.com is a hoax. Read about it here with numerous links to reliable sources as snopes.com.

[almo]

Beautiful shots Kathy, and a touching story. And, to all happiness, savetoby.com is a hoax. Read about it here with numerous links to reliable sources as snopes.com.

Well that is good, but it's still sick.

[ACArmstrong]

Good luck, Cowgirl. We had the same thing (basically) happen last week. We tried to rescue the orphaned bunny. We did everything we read to do to help raise an orphan cottontail. The first two days he was fine and eating. On Memorial Day, we found him gasping for air. That night. He died.

I did a little more research on the net. According to what I read, wild bunny kittens almost never survive even under the care of a professional vet with experience with wild rabbits. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I wanted to prepare you.

Your photos look just like the ones I took of our little guy. May he rest in peace.

[mjs1973]

Good luck Kathy! You are doing a great thing.

[paulnj]

Sick yes, but what about the morons who gave him money?

Kathy..... GREAT FOR YOU! I have raised a few rabbits, squirrels, raccoons and even a fawn....... But always gave them to a rehab to get them RELEASABLE

Rabbits make good pets though, cats DON'T ;)

[natatbeach]

great story---she remnds me of the mom dog in the movie Babe...what sweet little bunnies....lucky you.

[Cowgirl]

update-

We've had the babies almost a week now, and all is fine. They are growing, and getting more active! Names - Thumper & Fiesty (runt with tiny white mark on forhead). Fiesty is the one who had been slightly injured and was more 'jumpy'. They are very use to us now, and seem relaxed.

I take them outside for some fun in the yard everyday, and Shadow greets them very happily. So far, she has not shown any aggressive behavior to the bunnies, although she did lick her lips a little too much the first day or two. The bunnies hop right up to Shadow, and they touch noses. I've got to get a shot of that! You just don't see that everyday!

So far their favorite food is apple -they go nuts and nearly fight over small pieces of apples!

See ya'll!

Kathy

[Liz]

The bunnies hop right up to Shadow, and they touch noses. I've got to get a shot of that! You just don't see that everyday!

Great.......I look forward to seeing them.

Liz

[Todd Patten]

Shoot! What a story! I'm with everyone here, I absolutely love animals. All types. Cats, dogs, skunks, gophers, dear, snakes -- it does not matter. I just feel as if they are the ones that "own" this planet. We're just rude visitors My wife thinks I am crazy because I won't kill a bug in the house (except ants), I'll take them outside! Given that, I think the PETA folks are nuts

We need to see a photo of the dog and bunnies together. This has to be a top priority!

Don't be mad at the cat by the way. It's what they do. It's that whole "circle of life" cliche.

RE: SaveToby.com. I was pointed to that site a few months ago and I laughed my butt off. The whole thing is such hilarious "black humor". An obvious fraud if you read through it. If there are idiots who donated, they deserve to be scammed. Then there are the folks who emailed nasty letters. Talking about extorsion! Um, it can't be extorsion unles you are forced to do something.

I mean, think of the genious of it. There are some people who love cats. Some who hate them. Some people hate dogs. Some love them. Everyone loves bunnies! They represent everything innocent and cute (unless you have a garden ). They are the most harmless animal out there. So, to put the bunny in impending danger is going to receive an emotional reaction from just about anyone. The humor was dark and tongue-in-cheek. Glorious!

Shoot, the site made it on the Today show!

[another view]

although she did lick her lips a little too much the first day or two.

When she goes for the salt and pepper, watch out! ;)

Great story, thanks for sharing and I hope all goes well. There are a lot of people who (at least in IL) are licensed wildlife rehabilatators and they can probably give you advice too if you ever need it. Our dog sitter is one and she has some great stories.

The savetoby thing - somebody tell me that the dollar amount isn't real... please... I know some people do stupid things but, really...