Thursday, July 17, 2008

Dog attack kills 4 rabbits and damages hutch.

You certainly have set backs in development work, it would not be so rewarding if you did not. For those with sensitive constitutions I would recommend that you skip this blog entry since it contains a few graphic pictures.

I spent the night outside of the village visiting another Peace Corps and came home to find my front gate left open from the neighbor children coming into my yard while I was gone. As I went to my backyard for my rabbits morning feeding I was immediately confronted with carnage.

White clumps of rabbit fur lay everywhere as I came around the corner of the house. I found myself looking at one my rabbits head laying on the ground, pieces of legs and ears scattered around.



With shock I opened the first hutch door to find that the bottom of the screen had been ripped out. My rabbits had been attacked by a neighborhood dog. The dog had come in the night, ripped at the bottom of the cage until the wire was a wide enough gap so the dog could reach in grabbing one rabbit at a time devouring them until all 4 rabbits were consumed.




The rest of my remaining rabbits were okay with the exception of my oldest large female, I could see where the dog had yanked back some of the wire to try to get her, she has an injury on her foot.



Video of my first reaction of coming home to the carnage:


I know it was a dog because the next night I was awoken at 2am from strange noises in the backyard, I looked out my window to see a large pit bull mix dog underneath the hutch trying to rip out the wire again to kill my rabbits. The dog had slipped through a hole in the neighbors wall this time. I came our of my house at 3am with my machete and flashlight with murderous intentions for this dog. The dog must have sensed the brewing violence within me because he cleared out before I made it to the backyard.

The next day I had the neighbor seal up the hole with sheet metal and I have not had any trouble since.

All I can say is it was valuable lesson and it could have been worse with me losing all my rabbits.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This has just exactly happened to me this morning at 2am. except we didn't hear them and there was 2 dogs, a boxer and another. Also my rabbit had just given birth. We woke up to find 2 of the 3 (maybe 4) 6 day old bunnies on the floor, stone cold. We have looked for the missing kit/kits and the mummy but not seen them. We are hoping and praying the mummy is looking after the missing kits and that they are okay and come back in time ( a few days)we know that the dogs haven't killed the mum as they went to the neighbors house next but luckily they woke up and they had nothing with them and there is no blood in my garden, there garden or the space between. Fingers crossed they come back, I miss them:'(