One evening the cattle dog and the feral cat teamed up against a small rabbit. The cat was stalking for the kill, and the dog would run around and cut it off if it tried to get away.
The dog was making so much noise that I came out to see what was going on.
I grabbed the cat and told the dog to go in the house. I kept them both inside long enough to give the bunny a chance of getting away.
Just this week my daughter let the dog out in the backyard to do his business (2 am in the morning!). She wakes up at 6 am and is climbing out of bed and sees a brown spot on her carpet. “Oh great - since when does he poop in the house?!”
Well - it was a baby rabbit - maybe a few days old. Eyes closed, not crawling, etc. But - it was alive. (90 pound mutt; Great Dane, Lab, pointer, etc.)
My wife called the animal rescue place. They took the rabbit, and said it wasn’t hurt at all! If we could find the nest they would bring it back to the mom, otherwise it only has a 20% chance of survival. We found perhaps the remnant of the nest - and hope that mom moved her family out of the back yard. No blood or fur anywhere, and no fur in the dog’s poop.
I spoke to them the other day and they said the little guy took to their formula, and he’ll be fine. My wife and kids know they they are on the bottom of the food chain, but I don’t need my dog messing with them. (The coyotes will do their part).
So for the time being I set up some chicken wire to keep him in one part of the yard that has grass and I know is rabbit free. I have seen another large “baby” that the rescue gal said is probably 2 weeks old - so must be another batch from another mom? (30 day gestation period, 4 months to maturity, less than a year life-span in the wild.)
Speaking of cats, I like cats well enough - but don’t care for them out in the neighborhood killing the little animals. Or to been eaten by the larger ones. One day leaving the driveway (suburbia) I saw a coyote carrying a huge cat in its mouth. I just had to chuckle “Poor guy thought HE was the mighty predator.”