Funny. One day last week I remember thinking to myself, Gee. It's been a while since we've had any critters in the house.
(Those of you who've been around here for a while probably remember the birds, bugs and mice my kids have taken in over the years.)
And then Friday morning, Joshua came running into the house with a baby bunny he'd nearly run over on his way to school. It's eyes were not yet opened, it wasn't in its nest, and Joshua wanted to know if we could keep it until it was big enough to make it on its own. What could I say???
We quickly put it in a box filled with grass - set upon a heating pad - and Joshua went off to school. Friday night we went to the pet store to get food for our new baby, and the kids went to work caring for Curious George.
It was a true joy to me - watching my children work together with a common goal. They didn't fight or argue. They had the good of the bunny in mind, and were somehow able to put aside their differences in order to care for him. Honestly, this amount of peace is a rare treasure in my home!
By Saturday both of the bunny's eyes were opened, and as we did more research through the weekend we decided it was time to release the baby back into the wild.
Soooo, Monday night we took him to a wooded area and Joshua dug out a little nest - filling it with grass and cotton to assist with warmth. While Joshua was sad to say good-bye, Curious George went right into his new home and seemed to like it there.
It hurt my heart to see Joshua so sad, but more than that, I was glad he'd been successful in helping the bunny. He has such a tender heart, I know it would have been crushed if the bunny had died. As it is, he's learning to care for others and he's also learning that sometimes we need to say Good-bye.
God, please use this experience with the bunny to grow Joshua's compassion capacity, and to help him learn what it means to trust You for all our needs.
Just wondering - Did you rescue critters when you were a kid?
15 comments:
Still do rescue critters. Currently have 6 rescues from local shelters. It all started with a frog, when I was 5. Tried to wash the little guy with soap, so my mom wouldn't think he was dirty. Well, he peed on my little brother who went running to mom, and thus began a love of rescuing critters, fury, scaly, creepy and crawly that has lasted over 25 years. (I'm not allowed to volunteer with the shelter anymore, because I'd bring them all home)
I've never been a "critter" fan, but having 2 boys has widened my horizons a bit.
This was the perfect critter story. You saved Curious George, had the fun and excitement of a new pet, it was a great family project and THEN sent him to his new home. (Otherwise, i could see you now out walking the rabbit each day...haha)
Ashley - Wow. Your kids must love it!!! Are the six yours for keeps?
And I'm curious - did the soap help the frog? LOL!
My ADHD ME - Having boys wil do that for you. *grin*
My kids were actually talking about how fun it would be to get a harness and walk the bunny. And now they're talking about wanting a pet bunny. Sorry, NOT when we have two rats and a dog. *sigh*
What a sweet story. What a wonderful lesson for your children. How awesome it is to help out nature but remember that they love their freedom in the wild!
Very sweet story!! (and a pretty cute bunny too!). So heartwarming to see our children's heart for life, isn't it?
Such a sweet prayer for your baby (Josh)... and what a terrific adventure! Hope that bunny knew how lucky he was getting to hang out with you guys. :)
(my dogs find them and break their necks, and my hubby shoots them with his bow)
Ha!
Blessings-
Amanda
Leslie - And that was a good part of the lesson - remembering where the bunny was created to be. Hard to say Good-bye, but the right thing to do isn't always easy.
Patricia - Yes. And that some boy who showed his heart for life is now annoying our dog with a toy gun. My, how quickly things change. LOL!
Amanda - I have a feeling he felt luckier to not be hanging out with us. That was an interesting part of his growth to observe. At first the bunny was calm and not at all hesitant to be handled. But as he got stronger, he put up a chase. I think that was a good sign.
(And we kept our dog away. *grin*)
Aw what a precious little bunny! I love how your kids all pulled together to care for him.
My sister and I had rabbits when I was a kid. We had two cages in the back yard for them to live in but we let them out to enjoy the yard a lot. They enjoyed more than the yard and mine had babies. The babies ended up getting out and we didn't find all of them. I sure hope someone like Josh found them. :)
Praying for you today my friend.
Love you!
Edie - "Enjoyed more than the yard." LOL!!!
Thanks for praying. You're a blessing.
awwww precious little thing!
Oh, that little bunny is sooooo cute! I'll bet it was very hard for the kids to let it go... but obviously for the best.
When we were kids, my brother found a baby bird and it lived in a shoe box for awhile. Other than that, I don't remember any wild critters -- just the domesticated variety, like hamsters who escaped during the night... but that's a different story... :)
Cute bunny!! No we did not rescue critters. Not sure why. Don't even remember any critters around. Maybe we just looked like the types that would not be a safe haven for critters.
Leah
Libby - I agree.
Sara - Hamsters who escaped during the night? My sister was experimenting with some white mice for a biology project and one of those little guys escaped, too.
Found its way into my mom's room.
She.was.not.happy!
Leah - Is that your mother I hear smiling? *grin*
No, really, I don't mind the critters. But some days I wonder why we get so many of them!
I didn't rescue any animals myself, but I wanted to say we used to have bunnies when Maya and Brin were babies. Then, I told Chris we had to give them a new home! I couldn't take care of our babies AND the bunnies (and that was only when we had 2! I don't think Dane was even on the way!) As I was reading your post, I got teary-eyed that you had to release him into the wild. He looked so helpless. BUt good for you! Ahh! I probably would have kept him even though it probably wasn't the best option!
And can I say the comment before me is annoying? Because it is!
Gianna - That's one reason I would NOT get a pet until the kids were old enough to help. I just didn't need one more thing to take care of!
Joshua got teary, too. But, yes, it was the right thing to do.
As for the annoying comment I deleted it. (Wish it was that easy to get rid of all annoying things. LOL)
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