Well, Friday was a really sad day around here. We were awoken by the screams of our outdoor pet rabbits. My husband and I discovered a raccoon killing them. He had managed to unlatch the cage and was in full attack mode. We fought him off but he had already killed Duchess. The other rabbit Duke was shaking like crazy. To make a long story short, Animal Control felt that the raccoon likely had rabies so we had to put Duke down. The entire day was spent talking with Animal Control and vets, bleaching the cage and enclosure, and helping the children understand what had happened to their beloved bunnies. The rabbits were actually our big teen's pets and he was crushed. For those of you who follow this blog, you know how important animals are to our big teen and that he is planning a career in wildlife rehabilitation. He got up close and personal to the realization that sometimes an animal can't be saved and must be euthanized. Obviously, we didn't get any formal lessons done, but it is amazing all that you learn every day if you are aware. We learned so much from this tragedy.
- The little kids didn't know what a raccoon looked like, so we looked at pics on the Internet.
- We all learned more about rabies than we ever wanted to know.
- We learned up close and personal about stewardship. That was the hardest part of the day when my big teen realized that we may have been responsible in part for the rabbits' deaths because we hadn't secured the cage well enough. Such a hard lesson in being good stewards.
- This was another opportunity to process grief as a family, and I learned that teenage boys really do like hard physical labor more than talking to help them process their anger. My son weed whacked, painted the playhouse and moved several heavy things for me. He said it helped a lot.
- There is nothing wrong with wrapping up a rotten day with ice cream sundaes for dinner at our favorite ice cream parlor.
My dd (6) thinks we should replace the rabbits with a unicorn or horse, and the big teen thinks we should get a really large snake. I don't do snakes. We have a fur policy in this house ~ No fur, not living here.
Blessings,
Dawn
Oh, that is just terrible.
ReplyDeleteI used to have rabbits. I was so sad when my pregnant bunny had 10 stillborn babies one time. I was in highschool or junior high at the time and it still makes my stomach turn to think about it.
How awful to go through this!
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Laurie
That is just awful. My prayers are with your family. Was the racoon caught?
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry to hear about your bunnies. Those are hard but important lessons indeed! I am glad you were all together as a family and learned together from the experience. I am especially proud of you for finding time for ice cream in the midst of all the craziness.
ReplyDeleteOh, and you should really go for the unicorn!
Jamin
We were just telling our kids how raccoons are mean/vicious, that's terrible..poor bunnies! My kids saw a raccoon in the yard and came inside telling me how cute it was, yep kids they are cute but STAY AWAY!!
ReplyDeleteI think the ice cream was good medicine, or at least a soothing distraction. :)
I'm sorry for the loss of your beloved pets. My father in law keeps rabbits for all his grandkids and the kids were all upset when a possum got into the cage and killed several of them. I agree with your no fur rule. Someone keeps trying to give us an iguana.
ReplyDeleteNo thank you!
I am so sorry to hear this news. I can totally appreciate your son's passion and how devestating this must have been. However, the fact that you were able to turn this situation around for the better is a testament to Godly wisdom and great parenting. God bless.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry to hear about your loss. Loosing animals in not any fun especially when there are children involved.
ReplyDeleteThe Lord is gracious to you and gives you Peace!
What hard lessons for children to learn! But how important. Thanks for sharing your story.
ReplyDeleteThanks for a great blog. I just spent some time reading your recent entries and really enjoyed getting to know your family!! Thanks!
Oooohhhh...so, so sad! Well, at least you can chalk up some learning!
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry to hear about your rabbits. I know it is hard when we lose our beloved pets.
ReplyDeleteBlessings to you!
Laura
That had to be such a hard blow. You are such a good mom to help your kids get through this as you have. Hang in there. God bless you.
ReplyDeleteHow do we moms survive the stories like this that so many of us can tell. It isn't our own pain that's hard to handle, it's the pain in our children's eyes... and I'd have more trouble with the teen than with the little ones, his passion for them would be different and more intense.
ReplyDeleteSnakes aren't so bad... one can adapt... but if you change your fur policy just also have to have a policy of what happens if older teen goes off to college, etc. A few years ago I was back visiting my foster mom and my youngest foster brother was off taking a summer class in cartooning in California. She was left to feed the python the pinkies and she nearly lost her lunch on his floor the first time she had to do it. My sons took it over for her after that, at least for the duration of our stay. She ended up having dear snakey move out during Matt's freshman year... Matt was less than pleased (but then, he got the news after the fact, poor boy.) Blessings!
O that is so sad!! A couple of years ago we heard our dog barking like crazy one night on the front porch. My dd opened the door to let him in and a humongous raccoon ran in before the dog did. It jumped up on top of our piano. I scootched all the kids into the bathroom and shut the door (in case of rabies) and my dh managed to get it right back outside. It was skeeeery!
ReplyDelete