A Flashback Friday presentation from July 4, 2023
The damn lagomorphs are coming. They are coming for your garden. Yep! On my block alone, I have to slow down driving several times daily to avoid creating “road pizza” from the busily hopping bunnies crossing the street from one suburban buffet to another. Our dog, Max, has advised me that every day is now an existential crisis for his peers in our neighborhood. Traditional dog/lagomorph customs have broken down – the traditional woof and chase technique no longer deters the beasts. They have sufficient numbers to mob a valiant pooch interested in protecting the family mansion from their munching.
Just a few years ago, a neighbor pointed out the cute bunnies under her porch, I pointed out that they were merely immature munchers of my lettuce, and I did not take kindly to her sheltering them with such obvious affection. Last winter, they trimmed the blueberry bushes to the snow line, began raiding the bird feeders, and one hopped onto the porch to taunt the dog.
This trend is worrying because we have coyotes, fisher cats, owls, hawks galore, and even a few eagles. Nothing seems to stop the multiplying bunnies. However, Max, sometimes referred to as the “hound,” has pointed out to me that our yard has suffered relatively few depredations this growing season; salad crops undisturbed, kale unnibbled, and so on down the line of crops.
THE PATROL
This is due, of course, to the intensity of patrol actions on the part of his team of neighborhood dogs and himself, barking bravely through the night to keep the yards safe. Bowser notices a rabbit and starts the chorus; Tony picks it up, and soon Trey adds in his yowls. Down the street, Honey and Cooper soon join in. Soon, the neighborhood is alerted to the threat, and the dastardly lagomorphic invaders are forced to retreat toward the woods, away from the lush lettuce, carrots, and other goodies.
By now, Max is Basking in the Reflected Glory (BIRGing) of the efforts of the local CCC ( the Coordinated Canine Corps). I ask him to sit, lie down and give him a treat. Then I attempt to explain to him that the noise complaints from all that barking and howling have the neighbors preferring the quiet munching of bunnies to the racket provided by the dogs. Max insists that, like Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now, he and the CCC are misunderstood – the Bunnie War must be won by any means. Loss of sleep is a small price to pay for freedom!
In miniature, the dog/lagomorph crisis is part of more significant problems in our society. It’s the old situation where the solution is worse than the problem, making me concerned for the future.
Max, however, assures me that the CCC will continue its valiant crusade to free us from the bunny apocalypse.
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Still a delightful rabbit “tail” lol!
How is it this year? I’ve noticed in my neighbourhood that the rabbit population fluctuates and cycles over a few years, balancing up with changes in predators and the environment. Last year, not a single rabbit in my backyard, this year, just one so far.
This year I’ve seen only one that is a regular, but chipmunks and other things are all over. They fly bellow the CCC’s radar I think.
We live on an incredibly busy cut-through street a half a breath away from a bustling downtown. We have at least one cottontail in the ‘hood (the past year or so), but since that comprises a network of streets (upon which heavy construction has been a daily plague for months), I’m thinking maybe we’re seeing more than one… Why? Nearly 40 years, now, of never seeing them around here.
An urban ‘hood bunny? A tough character, don’t mess with him. Seriously they seem to have started to adapting to urban living recently.
😄Great, ‘hood bunnies.. And here we were thinking the cockroaches would be the last to go someday! Maybe the bunny swell is due to an utter dearth of neighborhood outdoor cats? Everyone hereabouts went and adopted dogs during the Covid times — and neighborhood cats kinda disappeared even before that. 🤷
I think we had pretty much the same thing happen around here. very few street cats left. Our guys only go out on harnesses – vet bills are too expensive.
I hear that! Back when the kids and I lived in housing for a bit, our two cats only went out on leashes / clipped to the clothesline. Neighbors found it hilarious, but it worked — those cats lasted!
Hi Max! I saw a rabbit once. Your pal, Teddy
Max, the whole story is he saw a rabbit ONCE 5 years ago and he hasn’t forgotten it. When we walk past the place where the lagomorph what hanging out, minding its business, Teddy STILL goes over to see it. Keep up the good work.
Shhh! I was just thinking that I’m surprised no rabbits have been munching my garden yet (though the crows, squirrels, slugs, and voles – yes!). Don’t say it outloud or I fear they will arrive. Let’s share the dog patrol. Maybe if it isn’t every night, but every few nights, the neighbors will think it is acceptable.