THE STORY OF FOO

I had always thought that bunnies were cute cuddly creatures that other people had as pets. I thought that way until the cold and rainy night that Foo found me.

I was pulling into my driveway when I saw a flash of gray bolt in front of my car. I remembered thinking that I couldn’t have seen a pet rabbit because pet rabbits didn’t belong outside. I went inside and told my husband that I saw someone’s pet rabbit outside and that it was too dark and rainy for the bunnie to be outside on his/her own.

We grabbed blankets, carrots and a flashlight. We were ready to track down and catch that beloved pet rabbit! I was sure that there was a sad child waiting at home for the return of their bunnie who had escaped. Boy was I wrong!

Now anyone who has ever tried to catch a rabbit outside knows that this is a most difficult task at best. We were determined! We scoured our street with no luck. We turned on to the next street and spotted our man! There he was this little gray bunnie cold, scared & shivering huddled up against a stone cat statue watching our every move.

My husband and I made a plan of attack. I would go one way with the carrots and he would go the other way with the blanket then we would ambush the little guy. I walked slowly up to the bunnie expecting him to bolt and never to be seen again. Imagine my surprise when he let me pick him up.

Not only was I able to pick him up, but he tucked his head in my coat! I couldn’t believe my luck. We walked to our house and promptly called the SPCA to see if they could come and get him so that he could be reunited with his family.

It was about 11:30 pm and the humane officer was about an hour away on an emergency call so the operator asked if we could keep the bunnie over night.
We set up a bed, water, food dish and pottie box for the little guy in the front room. After all of the excitement it was time for all of us to go to bed.

We had just got into bed when I said to my husband “You know that little bunnie that we rescued? Well I think that he has decided to stay because he is asleep on my pillow.” That night the little bunnie clicked his teeth together and licked my face all night long. I remembered thinking that I wish we could keep him, but I was sure that his family missed him.
The next morning we called the SPCA and told them that the little bunnie could stay with us until his family came for him. His family never came looking for him.

We found out from our neighbors that he was a birthday gift from a mother to her 27 year old son. Her son never wanted a rabbit so he gave him back to his mother who never wanted a rabbit so she threw him outside to fend for himself.

The SPCA was able to tell us that they had tried to catch Foo for 3 months.
Apparently he was living under some apartment buildings in our neighborhood scavenging food where ever he could. Our neighbors had seen him playing with our cat in an empty field. One neighbor had even caught Foo and taken him in only to put him in a cardboard box on their porch.

Foo was just biding his time until he had the right opportunity to hop into our lives. It’s hard to imagine anyone throwing this innocent amazing little guy outside. He has so much personality and charisma that everyone falls in love with him!

Foo has slept in our bed since the day he found us. He started out with a corner of the bed and has since moved onto becoming a total bed hog who has to sleep with his chin on my pillow. He loves to watch movies with loud noises and has to be a part of everything that goes on in the house! He also loves sitting on the back of our couch watching the world go by.

You can’t help but to fall in love with this adorable creature. After all that Foo has been through it is hard to believe that he still has an amazing attitude towards life. We spoil Foo as much as possible. He deserves the very best! After all, he found us and changed our lives for the better. We are forever indebted to him.

Foo started our love affair with rabbits.

Melissa Walchli, written in 2004

Update:

Foo was with us for about 9 years. He passed away very unexpectedly on
3-10-05 @ 5:15 pm. He hopped, played and ate his favorite treats (green dudes aka pellets) up until the very end.

We left for work the morning of 3-10-05, kissed his beautiful head and told him that we loved him. His Poppa stopped by the house later that afternoon and found him in serious distress and immediately rushed him to the vet.

The vet’s office could not save him. Foo died on his own with his Mom and Poppa watching over him, kissing him, telling him that they loved him as he took his last breath. Foo was buried in a beautiful box made by his Poppa with his name spelled in raised letters on the top. He will forever sleep with his little body conformed to his Mom’s arms holding him.

We are still trying to comprehend that our little boy has gone and left us.
Our hearts are broken and we can’t imagine our lives without this little 3.5 pound bundle of love. Foo will be missed more than we could ever express in words. He was our little boy. We were so lucky that he found us that rainy cold night so long ago.

Melissa & Paul Walchli