Chance, the reluctant hero...
Under a cut because there are pics
There's this strange looking plant/bush in the middle of my front lawn.
It's a Yucca flaccida...yep.
I hate it. I'd much rather have a flowering tree. It's hard to mow the grass around it because there's no separation and in the spring, I get these random daffodils that pop up around it.
And I just installed a cable run in the front yard to allow Chance to roam about and he's constantly wrapping the lead around the bush and getting caught.
So I just want it to go.
Yesterday, I was outside in the front playing catch with Chance. I threw the ball and it landed in the Yucca bush. Chance excitedly jumped in to get it. And I heard an indignant squeak. Once. Twice. Thinking it was a bird, I pulled on the lead and made Chance come to me. Something darted out of the bush and I realized that it wasn't a bird at all.
I immediately grabbed Chance and ushered him back into the house. I approached the bunny and picked it up (didn't even try to run away) and then I noticed that there was another one. I picked that one up as well. And then...
I found a total of four kits. They were tiny and shivering (it was ridiculously cold yesterday!), so I held them close and they cuddled against me! Of course I wanted to take a better pic, so I brought them inside and went to get my camera. I put them in a bowl, which was a bad idea, because they all scrambled to scurry out. And with Chance inside the house....well it wasn't a good idea to let them get out.
Unfortunately, my camera wouldn't recognize the memory card, so there are no cute bunnies in a bowl pics. I brought them back outside and placed them inside the Yucca bush. I brought Chance outside and he immediately tried to find them. So I put him back in the house. I searched the plant and found the burrow. I didn't know that they lived under the plant. I knew that I had to put them back inside the burrow before they were exposed to the wind and dropping temperatures.
I dug around and found one of them within a few minutes of searching, under the tall grass around the plant, and placed him inside his home. I found another on top of the bush, just as my sister arrived to pick me up for dinner.
She loved the baby bunny.
And wanted to keep it, but I made her put it back. I searched around the plant, in the plant and around the yard, but couldn't find the other two bunnies. It was quite possible (and likely) that they had found their way into the burrow by themselves. And if the weather was nice, I would've left it alone. But it was cold, nearing the 30s, and I felt guilty for making them abandon their home in the first place. I continued to search, but I couldn't find anything.
Running out of options, I clipped a leash onto Chance's collar and brought him outside. I walked him around the bush and gave him the command to 'find'. Chance has a very keen sense of smell. Within 30 seconds, he was sniffing around the tall, somewhat flattened grass around the bush and dove in, emerging with something in his mouth. I told him to drop it and he immediately let go. And we found the third bunny.
Unharmed. Bully breeds are not known for having a "soft mouth", but Chance is an exception. He's caught three birds and now a baby bunny and didn't hurt any of them. He's got a very high prey drive (loves to chase the cats around the house), but he never crosses the line beyond playing.
After returning the third bunny, I brought Chance around the bush and along the entire front yard, but he couldn't find the last one. So I'm pretty sure that it made its way back home on its own.
I went out to dinner and when I came home, I went to check on them, but nearly walked into (literally) the mama!bunny. She darted away into the next yard, but later I spotted her back in mine.
So now I can't remove the Yucca bush. It's a BURROW and I've already named the babies after the Weasleys. That also means that I can't let Chance roam around the front yard (after spending $30 for the lead kit), because he's zoned into the scent and immediately goes to investigate the burrow.
There's this strange looking plant/bush in the middle of my front lawn.
It's a Yucca flaccida...yep.
I hate it. I'd much rather have a flowering tree. It's hard to mow the grass around it because there's no separation and in the spring, I get these random daffodils that pop up around it.
And I just installed a cable run in the front yard to allow Chance to roam about and he's constantly wrapping the lead around the bush and getting caught.
So I just want it to go.
Yesterday, I was outside in the front playing catch with Chance. I threw the ball and it landed in the Yucca bush. Chance excitedly jumped in to get it. And I heard an indignant squeak. Once. Twice. Thinking it was a bird, I pulled on the lead and made Chance come to me. Something darted out of the bush and I realized that it wasn't a bird at all.
I immediately grabbed Chance and ushered him back into the house. I approached the bunny and picked it up (didn't even try to run away) and then I noticed that there was another one. I picked that one up as well. And then...
I found a total of four kits. They were tiny and shivering (it was ridiculously cold yesterday!), so I held them close and they cuddled against me! Of course I wanted to take a better pic, so I brought them inside and went to get my camera. I put them in a bowl, which was a bad idea, because they all scrambled to scurry out. And with Chance inside the house....well it wasn't a good idea to let them get out.
Unfortunately, my camera wouldn't recognize the memory card, so there are no cute bunnies in a bowl pics. I brought them back outside and placed them inside the Yucca bush. I brought Chance outside and he immediately tried to find them. So I put him back in the house. I searched the plant and found the burrow. I didn't know that they lived under the plant. I knew that I had to put them back inside the burrow before they were exposed to the wind and dropping temperatures.
I dug around and found one of them within a few minutes of searching, under the tall grass around the plant, and placed him inside his home. I found another on top of the bush, just as my sister arrived to pick me up for dinner.
She loved the baby bunny.
And wanted to keep it, but I made her put it back. I searched around the plant, in the plant and around the yard, but couldn't find the other two bunnies. It was quite possible (and likely) that they had found their way into the burrow by themselves. And if the weather was nice, I would've left it alone. But it was cold, nearing the 30s, and I felt guilty for making them abandon their home in the first place. I continued to search, but I couldn't find anything.
Running out of options, I clipped a leash onto Chance's collar and brought him outside. I walked him around the bush and gave him the command to 'find'. Chance has a very keen sense of smell. Within 30 seconds, he was sniffing around the tall, somewhat flattened grass around the bush and dove in, emerging with something in his mouth. I told him to drop it and he immediately let go. And we found the third bunny.
Unharmed. Bully breeds are not known for having a "soft mouth", but Chance is an exception. He's caught three birds and now a baby bunny and didn't hurt any of them. He's got a very high prey drive (loves to chase the cats around the house), but he never crosses the line beyond playing.
After returning the third bunny, I brought Chance around the bush and along the entire front yard, but he couldn't find the last one. So I'm pretty sure that it made its way back home on its own.
I went out to dinner and when I came home, I went to check on them, but nearly walked into (literally) the mama!bunny. She darted away into the next yard, but later I spotted her back in mine.
So now I can't remove the Yucca bush. It's a BURROW and I've already named the babies after the Weasleys. That also means that I can't let Chance roam around the front yard (after spending $30 for the lead kit), because he's zoned into the scent and immediately goes to investigate the burrow.