After an hour of nonstop barking I went to the neighbors house

[Leaf]

The neighbor dogs have been going nuts all morning. Non stop barking, fighting and having a fit.

They were quiet for a while, but acted up again. After about an hour I walked back to their property to see what was going on.

Their home made hutch was knocked over, several rabbits were torn up and one was in a nest box hiding for all it was worth.

I couldnt do anything for the other rabbitsbutI brought the one that was hiding home. I'm honestly halfway tempted not to tell them I have the rabbit. They do nothing to keep the dogs away from their rabbits and every now and then we "chat" at the property line when they have the urge to gripe about their dogs getting another one of the rabbits they spent $5 on (PLUS FEED!!) at the local sale.

I really dont know what breed she is but I'm guessing a rex.

 

[tundrakatiebean]

:nonono::soapbox

You did the right thing saving that poor bunny!

He's beautiful! His fur doesn't look very rex-ish to me...

 

[naturestee]

What a beautiful girl! Such a sweet, angelic face. I can't believe how horrible your neighbors are!!! Kudos to you for saving the poor thing from a painful death.

IMO, she looks like a Blessing, or maybe Destiny or Hope. I like Blessing, it's also the name of a child in a book series I read recently.

Edit: She has a rexy body but not rex fur, so probably a mix.

 

[JimD]

Leaf wrote:

I'm honestly halfway tempted not to tell them I have the rabbit.

Don't tell them....they'll never know anyway!

 

[bigtommyg]

You'd be much better off to tell them now than for them to find out later and have some form of recourse. I'm guessing that if you can show an animal control officer that these people haven't been properly chaining their dogs and have been knowingly putting other animals at risk, you won't be held at fault, though you may have to go through some other legal process for adopting the rabbit officially. I can research that for you some if you let me know what state, county, and city you're in (and assuming their local ordinances are available online).

 

[Luvmyzoocrew]

I say (which is probablly illegal) dont tell them and dont take the bun back. if you dont take him/her back dont tell ANYONE what happened and that you have a new bun. If someone was to find out and they question take your new bun to someone elses house for a while, maybe have take the bun to a vet as a "record" of sorts. i am evil , iknow but there is no way that they should ever get that rabbit back, they have a total disregard for the rabbit, and others by what you have said. Idont know if i would want to wait out a legal way,because unfortunately you arent guranteed that you would get the rabbit back.The only thing i could thi nk of is taking the bun to your local humane society saying that you "found" it and that you want to adopt it, it is doubtfull that they will even think one survived if the others were shredded.

so sorry to hear about the other buns, but thank god you were able to save one

 

[Bunnicula]

Boy, this is a tough one. The part of me that loves bunnies more than anything says keep it and don't tell. But the part of me that has to live with myself and my decisions says that if I were in your shoes I would have to be open and honest.

I do think the idea of taking it to a local shelter might be a good one. Could you take it there and report what you did? I don't know. I mean...lying and hiding the rabbit from your neighbors certainly won't build a positive basis for any communication with them in the future about anything...and it couldget you into some major trouble. Of course, reporting them to the authorities won't build a bond with them either. But at least you'll know that what you did was legal and honest.

It would be great if you could have gotten pics of the situation...but that was probably not a possibility.

I can really understand your feeling torn over this. And, honestly, I don't know what I would do...any decision would be a tough one.

Know that whatever you do, we're all here for you!

-Mary Ellen

 

[juicyjuicee]

Don't tell them!!

 

[Leaf]

The neighbors still aren't home. They are usually scarce on weekends.

I don't think filing a report would do any good, the dogs are theirs, on their property and the only livestock the dogs harassed/killed were their own. Endangerment to an animals welfare may be possible, but since the rabbits were in housing in shade, with food dishes and water bottles nearby (everything scattered when the hutch went over) it would be a hard pressed citation.

For now at least, she's taking it easy here.

 

[seniorcats]

JimD wrote:

Leaf wrote:

I'm honestly halfway tempted not to tell them I have the rabbit.

Don't tell them....they'll never know anyway!

I agree. 99.9% of the time I am an honest person. In this case, I wouldn't say a word. Why volunteer the info you saved one rabbit? If it were someone who came looking for her and expressed loss and sorrow - maybe I would them have a long talk with them. But with the other rabbits torn up and this one likely to go the same way, I would keep my mouth shut.

We 'stole' a cat in similar circumstances - he showed up at our house with a huge festering abscess. We took him to the vet, treated him- he also had terrible coccidia - and they never came looking for him. The next year, when therir horses were roaming loose by our barn, I called her to come get them. When she came to get the horses, she saw the cat and siad she said she thought he had crawled off and died. She knew about the wounds and did nothing. Fortunately, Mugsy kept running away from her so we kept him and he still with us at age 16.

Why on earth did they ever get rabbits at all? I think you are a hero for rescuing the bunny.


Edited to add: You can always stick $5.00 in an envelope and mail it to them anonymously to repay the $5.00 they spent.

 

[naturestee]

In a case like this, what they don't know won't hurt them. If they know you have her they might harass you, etc. You could call the cops about this and just not tell them about the bun you saved. They'll probably think the missing one ran away. Make sure to tell them that the neighbor has mentioned this happening before and yet they have done nothing to change the situation. Therefore they are knowingly putting the rabbits into a dangerous situation that has proven fatal before. Even if they don't end up being charged, maybe having police talk to them will make them think twice about letting their "pet" bunnies be dog bait.:grumpy:

 

[Leaf]

This is probably a stupid question, but Im not sure why she keeps licking me. Is it a nervous habit, or a prelude to a bite? I admit, I've been handling her a lot since I brought her in but I'm not too sure what she thinks about everything.

 

[seniorcats]

My bunnies lick when they are happy and loving me. I think you made a friend.

 

[JimD]

keep the bunny

don't say a word

keep the bunny

don't say a word

keep the bunny

don't say a word :expressionless

(....licking is mostdefinitely a sign of affection and gratitude.)



:inlove:

 

[Luvmyzoocrew]

i just have to say again,lol, dont let them know

i am not a dishonest person but this is a situation, been there done that, they have had rabbits that this has happened to before and they dont care. bless your heart for taking the bun in, if you dont tell anyone how will she find out, even if a while down the line she sees the bun, you could have gotten it from the same place that she did.

i was wondering if they are gone couldnt you call the humane society and see if you can get them out there to actually see it, then let them know that this isnt the first time.

 

[MsBinky]

They need not know. If they find out, just say you found it roaming the streets and thought it had been set free. You saw no "Missing" posters so thought it was done voluntarily. If they fight you, give them 10$. Twice what they paid. Since they don't care, I doubt they'd refuse that. Lol.

I would never give it back to them. Good on you for taking it home :biggrin2:


Btw, any bunny that licks you is telling you "I love you and thank you" I think that's enough to let you know that even SHE doesn't want to go back there

 

[TK Bunnies]

OMG!!!!! That's horrible. POOR, POOR, POOR bunnies. How could somebody do that to their rabbits?!?!? That really p**** me off.:grumpy:You really need to have a talk with them (more like a telling off, or a yelling at). :nonono:

I think that you should keep the rabbit and ethier,

a) not tell them

b) say the rabbit escaped when the hutch fell over

c) burry the 2 poor little bunnies that the dogs got and make a 3rd hole and fill it in saying that all 3 rabbits died while actually keeping that little guy

d) wirte them a mean anomose letter telling them exactly what happened and expressing your feelings and tell them that if they don't take better care of their animals you'll call the local SPCA

No matter what you DON"T give the rabbit back with out telling them exactly how you feel, what you'll do if this happens again, and showing them this forum.

:rant:

Leaf wrote:

What a little cutie!!!!! :inlove:

-TK

 

[TK Bunnies]

MsBinky wrote:

They need not know. If they find out, just say you found it roaming the streets and thought it had been set free. You saw no "Missing" posters so thought it was done voluntarily. If they fight you, give them 10$. Twice what they paid. Since they don't care, I doubt they'd refuse that. Lol.

I would never give it back to them. Good on you for taking it home :biggrin2:


Btw, any bunny that licks you is telling you "I love you and thank you" I think that's enough to let you know that even SHE doesn't want to go back there

:yeahthat:I agree with every thing MsBinky said.

If they put up a fight, just fight back.:duel

 

[bigtommyg]

Leaf wrote:

The neighbors still aren't home. They are usually scarce on weekends.

I don't think filing a report would do any good, the dogs are theirs, on their property and the only livestock the dogs harassed/killed were their own. Endangerment to an animals welfare may be possible, but since the rabbits were in housing in shade, with food dishes and water bottles nearby (everything scattered when the hutch went over) it would be a hard pressed citation.

It doesn't matter if the dogs were theirs and on their property under a lot of local leash laws. If the dog is outdoors and could get loose, even by jumping a fence, not chaining the dogs could be illegal in and of itself. The danger to other animals is just evidence of WHY that's illegal.

Plus, if this is not the first time this has happened, that's evidence of multiple-offense cruelty to animals and gross negligence.

The main reason you need to get the law involved, IMO, is that there's no question you DID break the law. You went onto someone else's property and took one of their animals. Just as taking an abused kid yourself is kidnapping, taking an abused animal is still theft. The local authorities, however, are authorized to confiscate abused animals. Your offense will probably be forgiven if the rescued bunny goes through a normal chain of custody, that is, if animal control "officially" takes her and then you adopt her from them.

I'm just concerned about YOUR getting in trouble over an otherwise obvious good deed.

 

[pumpkinandwhiskersmom]

DON'T TELL THEM, AND LOVE THAT SWEET BUNNY THE WAY THAT BUNNY HAS NEVER BEEN LOVED!!!! Sorry to shout, but those stupid people deserve to be kept in the dark....what do they care, anyway??? They are the ones who are in the wrong....and this time, just like in math, two negatives will definitely make a positive in that Blessing's life! Good job!!!! And the licking is a sign of love and affection, at least here in our house....just by the buns, tho.....lol