April 22, 2012

RIP Spunky. We, er, think....

I hadn't seen Spunky the rabbit during the day, but I didn't think much of it. He often hides in the bushes, or darts into the cupboard that houses the rubbish bins, and we can go for hours without a sighting. But by afternoon we were getting a little worried. He hadn't eaten his food, and when we came and pushed his bowl around on the pavers - making that scraping sound that always brings him running - he stayed away.
Baby Spunky

Strange.

And then it was evening, and my husband wandered outside.

"Er, Kerri?" he called (he is the only person in the world to call me by my full name).

"What?" I asked.

"Why is there dog poo on our grass?" (he is the only person I know who is not four who actually uses the word 'poo').

I ran out to the garden. Oh dear.

There was dog poo (to use my husband's term). A LOT of it. And there was a little bit of something else unidentifiable, that I shall not detail any further. And there was fur. Rabbit fur. SPUNKY fur.

And I knew immediately. A dog had been there, alright. A big dog. A mean dog.

It had to have been a fox.

How did I know it was a fox? Well, we have fences. High fences. The gates had been closed and there was no way in the world a regular dog could have climbed them. And I've spotted foxes in our area. Other people have spotted foxes in our area. AND THERE WAS RABBIT FUR.

So we are thinking that perhaps Spunky is no more. We are thinking that perhaps Spunky has gone to that big field of carrots in the sky.

But there is no body. So we can't be sure.

The kids are very sad, but they can't quite accept it, which isn't surprising, because I can't quite accept it either. Maybe Spunky is just down a hole somewhere? Maybe Spunky is asleep in a corner that somehow, we have missed? Maybe the big dog poo was just a bizarre coincidence?

Or maybe not. Maybe he really is gone.

"If Spunky is dead," my son said, "then at least it would have been quick. He would have died of shock straight away, right?"

Oh yes, I told him. Straight away. Very quick.

But sadly, I can't be quite sure about that, either.

15 comments:

  1. One of my very loved kitties, Nina, went missing for two days and was found dead Easter Monday. I'm so glad I found her as the wondering would have driven me batty. Oddly she had recently died when she was found so what she had been doing for the two days I'll never know. 

    My two year old daughter keeps me laughing though as she keeps telling the other cat off for being naughty and not sharing his crunchies with Nina. 

    Fluffy is amongst many other very loved animals lapping up the cuddles and carrots. 

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  2. First time I've ever heard poo called spunky.  Boy bands, yes. Poo, no.
    Alas, I fear the quick brown fox really did jump over the fence. x

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  3. Wah!! Don't like this story AT ALL!!
    BUT:-
    It's not too late to go out and do the old (parental chestnut, the) switcheroo! Spunky Mk 11, who mysteriously forgets what the old scrapey bowl signal means. And grew smaller. And is a girl.

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  4. All dogs go to heaven.

    So the fox that ate Spunky will be laughing it up on the clouds with plenty of rabbits to eat.

    So even if spunky goes to heaven, I wonder if he'll just always get eaten? If you get killed and eaten in heaven, where do you go then?

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  5. Oh that is so sad.  Foxes are unbelievable.  Our chicken coop has 2ft foundations, bird wire and a roof and that is the only reason that we are the only people in the street not to have lost chickens.  Mind you they still regularly try to dig in.

    Poor spunky, I'm sure it was quick.   Hope you and the kids are doing ok.

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  6. Kerri that is very sad, but at least Spunky would have died a happy bunny. He did after all, get to rest comfortably against your bosom. I swear he was smirking....... 

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  7. PS  To my knowledge, foxes do not go where a good sized dog is so we used to lock our rabbit up at night if the dog wasn't sleeping outside. Also, has anyone considered putting bells on their coops/cages to deter foxes or alert you at night? (Sorry for my community announcement but we have them too and this really saddens me!)

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  8. Anonymous Rabbit AdorerJanuary 13, 2013 at 11:29 AM

    He did die of shock, right? Right?!

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  9. RIP Spunky. :(

    Hope your kids are okay. We had a cat that simply didn't come home one night... we had a bad feeling that he'd gotten a bit up-close-and-personal with a car, as we lived near a busy main road then.

    The not knowing is really hard for all. *hugs*

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  10. Hi Kerrie,

    I just had to write to you and congratulate you on your book 'When My Husband
    Does The Dishes'. As I've been reading it I keep wondering if you live in my
    house in a parallel universe but like ten years ago. My 17 year old daughter,
    bless her heart, bought me your book for Mother's Day last year 2011. Yes I'm
    sorry but I'm still reading it and just between you and me I keep it in my loo.
    Not literally. But on a self in my en suite. So every time I go in for number
    twos...or a bit of quiet time I pick up your book. Hence why its taken me so
    long to read. (I'm only half way through). But as you already know in a house
    with three children as a working mum its hard to find time for self pampering of
    any kind. By the way 'The Engineer' lives in this parallel house. Anyway I
    just wanted to tell you how wonderful the book is and that I piss myself every
    time I pick it up. (Lucky I'm on the loo hey ) It doesn't get any
    easier, no matter what age they are, until they actually leave home. (My first
    has flown the coop this year to study at Uni.) Yay..! I feel I'm on a mini
    holiday now. Sorry...just had to express a little joy. I'm sure he'd send his
    washing home if he could. As they get older I've become convinced that
    they have this entrenched belief there's a magic fairy living somewhere in the
    house and she's the one who does the laundry etc, etc. Because when I ask them to
    help me say....wash windows they tell me I just make up jobs and I need to get a life.  I choked on my own saliva that day. Lol! 

    So I'll expect an updated version in six or seven years.

    Cheers,

    Donna

    P.S. I'm going to give the book back to my daughter in ten or so years. By
    then I'm pretty sure she'll appreciate it. Especially Toddler, Little Man and
    the Star Chart.

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  11. One year Santa brought me an empty Guinea Pig hutch.

    Years later my Mum confessed that Santa had also brought me two guinea pigs but the next door neighbour's dog had killed them during the night. Luckily, first thing on Christmas morning, my Dad had gone outside to check on them and found the bodies.

    My parents had concocted a story that Santa had provided the hutch and left a note that they needed to get the Guinea Pigs and Christmas was saved. Parenting genius!!!

    Sorry to hear about Spunky. Perhaps a memorial lemon tree?

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  12. Hahaha Do you mean toilet number 2 or follow up book therefore it being number 2 in a series?  Number 3 could be from the point of view of a grandmother. :)  Also sorry for my miss spelling of shelf.  What must people think?  Putting it on a self.  No there isn't two of me though most times I wish there was. 

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  13. Oh no! I read that with my hand over my mouth. That's such sad news. If he is up there in bunny heaven, I hope our old bunny Flopsy is showing him the ropes and keeping him in good company. Here's hoping he makes a surprise return...

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  14. The logistical side of me is trying to work out at which stage the fox deposited the poo. I'm guessing a fox doesn't poo while it's rabbit stalking - which can only lead me to believe it was a post "snack" poo. Oh dear god, is it possible it's a spunky poo??

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  15. So sad and so sorry to hear he may be in pet heaven.If he is I hope my loving gentle  tiny dog Max, who I lost just before Christmas keeps him company.xx

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