My partner and I were hiking out at a friend's farm, taking a much needed break from our Covid anxiety. While walking through a large field towards the creek, I heard our friend's dog a few yards back. I turned around and saw that Bonnie had caught something and she was tossing it up in the air, grabbing it and tossing it again. I screamed for her to come to us, but she's a wild farm dog and doesn't know any commands. She trotted off to get some water and I ran up through the field to where the creature was. Bonnie had caught a rabbit. He was breathing hard. My partner turned him over to see if he had any wounds, and he lept away. We could see that his back left leg was paralyzed.

My partner took a photo of me placing my hands in front of the hare, as a way of introducing myself. I wanted the rabbit to see that I had no intention of harming it, and then I scooped him up, folded him into my shirt and carried him all the way back to our friend's cabin. I don't know why I did this other than that I felt like it's one thing for a rabbit to be injured or killed by a hawk. This felt like it was our fault for bringing our friend's dog on the walk with us, and I couldn't just leave him injured in the field. An amazing thing happened when I picked him up and cradled him against my heart - he calmed right down. We ended up driving him, tucked in my shirt, the hour back to town. I had this foolish idea that I would call a wildlife rehabber and immediately drop him off into their care.

However, it was Memorial Day weekend in the middle of a pandemic and of the 10 places I called, none picked up. I made a little place for him in the shower. I turned a cardboard box on it's side and put towels inside it for a nest, and then a dish of water, a dish of oats, and some carrots and dandelion greens on the floor of the shower stall. I thought we would only have him for a day or two, but that day or two turned into a week. Every day I would clean out the shower, put new towels in his box, and fresh water and fresh food. The rabbit never seemed scared of me so I ended up plucking all the ticks off of him. When I cleaned the shower, I would put him in his clean box and carry him into the kitchen and close him in there. Meanwhile, I was calling every single vet in Lexington to see if they knew a rehabber or if they would look at him and tell me if I could release him, but nobody would help me. It's illegal to house a wild animal, so nobody would look at him, even though I made it clear that I just wanted to take him back to his home in the field.

One woman told me I could put him in her barn with her rabbits, and that they loved sugary cereal. Of course, sugary cereal is about the worst thing on earth you can feed a rabbit. I started to imagine a place for him. I imagined a vet out in the country who lived in an old Victorian country house on a circular drive, surrounded by fields. I decided that I would take care of him as long as I needed to until I found the right person to give him to. Then, I suddenly remembered a client of mine who I know has rescued all types of animals. I called her and she gave me the name of her vet in Midway, Kentucky.

The vet said that it was no problem and to drive him out to her. So that last day, I left him in the kitchen, and it was the first time I actually saw him escape out of his box! He was running around! It seemed like he was ready. My neighbor brought us strawberries from Elmwood Farm and so Bunya had a few strawberries on his ride out to Midway. When we pulled up the country lane, I could not believe my eyes! The property and house were exactly as I had imagined them! The vet was located in an old Victorian farmhouse and she was so incredibly kind, she took him and treated him for a few days before giving him to a wildlife center and never charged me a cent. Apparently his paralyzed leg was due to a neurological condition and not the dog. In the end, I felt the rabbit gave me an opportunity to care and nurture a small piece of our wilderness.