There seems to be an explosion of rabbits around the cabin this year; apparently they had nothing else to do over the long snowy winter. Their droppings are all over in the woodlot, under the drooping blue spruce, in the culverts and in the flower garden “She Who Must Be Obeyed” planted around the back of the cabin. Seamus found them, ate them and scared the hell out of me when he succumbed to the effects of eating the M&M sized pellets and began vomiting, having diarrhea, and exhibiting general listlessness. His general demeanor was one of depression; even his coat and skin felt harsh to the touch – if that makes any sense – not to mention his ears crinkled in a way that said, “I’m hurting, boss!”
It never occurred to me that there was anything to worry about having rabbits around the cabin. I mean, they’ve always been there. in fact, they’re everywhere and Seamus has never bothered with them or their droppings …until this year.
So, not having had small kids in the house for a lot of years, I reacted like a first-time dad: Seamus not being able to tell me what’s wrong, I dotted on him in any way that seemed to make him feel better. We spent a lot of time wandering the shores of Lake Michigan – his favorite place to run Up North – and spent a lot of time scratching him behind his ears.
The long and the short of it is, until we got his poop analyzed, and found out what the problem was, he got treated like a prince (not too different from his everyday treatment).
Finally, as the saying goes, “This too shall pass.” And it did. Now he’s back to barking at me if I don’t get the bacon going fast enough in the morning and wanting his ears scratched if I’m sitting with my arm hanging over the side of the chair. And heaven help me if I don’t let him ride along when I go somewhere.
Not too spoiled ….I wouldn’t have it any other way.
TD