This is my post for #freewriters 2590 prompt fragment of life hosted by @mariannewest
Dogs make great companions. They are loyal and know when you are feeling low. They come to comfort you, and if you get hurt, they are the first to run and try to help you feel better.
The bad thing about dogs is they kill wild animals who come into their yard. Not long after we acquired our granddaughter's dog, she found a rabbit nest and had a baby rabbit in our front yard. We searched for the nest but could not find it. I kept watching the dog and she went into the woods behind our home. I followed her and saw her digging at an old flower pot. I walked over to it and could tell it was a rabbit nest so I put the baby back in it. The next day the baby rabbit was gone, I like to think the mother moved it.
12-2-23
Fast forward another year, and I see the same dog jumping on something in the front yard. It was a baby rabbit and she had killed it. Not far from that one was another baby rabbit. It was a small fragment of life. I tried the same thing as last time, watching the dog, but she never went back to the nest. What was I going to do with it?
I turned to an expert, Google. I researched how to care for a newborn rabbit, and by reading about them I figured he was not yet a week old because his eyes were still closed and his ears were lying down. Google said they need to be fed goat's milk or kitten milk. I fed him canned goat milk.
I remember one time he was not using the bathroom so I googled it and it said the mother would lick the baby rabbit's bottom and this would help them "go". No, I did not lick it!! I dipped a Q-Tip in warm water and rubbed it on his bottom, after a couple of tries, he went. That was the only problem I have had while raising him.
It is hard to believe that I have already had him for a year, yes, Rudy is one year old.
Last August this dog had a baby rabbit and even though I wanted Rudy to have a friend, I did not want to raise another one, but I tried.
I had a small cage that I put him in and I put that cage inside Rudy's cage so he would get used to him. Rudy climbed on top of the cage and peed on the new baby so I had to put a towel on top of it to catch the pee.
When I fed him, he would pee on me, so I named him Little Pisser. I was getting attached to him but.
Little Pisser did not make it, I do not know if it was something I did or if it had internal injuries from the dog.
photos are mine
Pretty interesting stories. Your dog, later, didn't attack Rudy?
No, we taught them Rudy is our buddy. When I fed Rudy I let the dogs sniff him and I would say he is a baby, he is our buddy, and now the dogs pay him no attention and he does not run and hide when they come to his cage.
Years ago when we got baby chickens we brought the dogs around them and told them they were our buddies and let the chicks grow up with the dogs being around. The dogs left them alone when they were bigger and we let them roam the yard. The chickens would chase the dogs, a rottweiler, and a dachshund, then the dogs would chase them, it was a game they played. The dogs could have grabbed them at any time but never did.
Raising wild rabbits often ends in their demise. I tried once, but mine died too. It was such a sad experience. Glad to see your first rabbit is doing fine. ♥
Everyone told me he would die but he is still going strong, so I had full confidence in raising another one.
I'm so happy he made it. ♥