The Pampered Rabbit

by Tina Nolan

  As soon as Fern spotted the dish of fruit and veg, she made a dash across the platform. Hop-hop, hop-hop. She was there and tucking in, head down, with her sharp teeth chomping.

  “Cute!” Eva beamed. “Thanks for inviting me, Annie. I wouldn’t have missed this moving-in day for anything!”

  “Fern’s fur is pale brown – like toffee ice cream!” Eva gushed. “She’s got big, big brown eyes and the cutest nose…!”

  “Yeah, yeah – don’t go on about it,” Karl told Eva as they sat in Reception next morning. “I saw the rabbit myself, if you must know.”

  Eva looked surprised. Then she felt silly for showering Karl with every detail of Fern’s appearance. “Really? How come?”

  “I was at George’s house yesterday. He lives next door, remember.”

  “But that doesn’t explain how you actually saw Fern. She didn’t escape into George’s garden, did she?” Eva knew that George Stephens had a rabbit of his own who might not be too friendly towards a newcomer.

  “No, don’t stress,” Karl insisted. He was busy entering some new arrivals on the Animal Magic website. “Billie and Beauty – two fluffy abandoned guinea pigs…”

  “So?” As usual, once Eva had her teeth into a subject, she didn’t let go.

  “So, George and me – we happened to look over the fence while Mia’s dad was building the rabbit run.” Karl concentrated on the keyboard. “Can you give these playmates a home together?” he typed.

  “Oh, you just happened to look!” Eva exclaimed. “Don’t tell me – I expect you offered to lend Mr Logan a hammer and some nails. Next thing you knew, you just happened to be having a cosy chat with Mia again!”

  “Actually no,” Karl muttered.

  Eva wasn’t really being mean when she teased Karl about Mia – in fact she’d quite like him to have a girlfriend, she decided. And Mia Logan seemed nice, with her shiny, dark cropped hair and warm smile. “Anyway, what did you think of Fern?” Eva rubbed the top of the counter with an antiseptic wipe, ready for the next arrival. So far this morning, they’d taken in Billie and Beauty, plus a black dog called Parker and a white cat called Snowflake. Poor Parker had been left behind when his elderly owner had moved into a care home, while Snowflake had come to them from an empty house in Clifton.

  “Fern’s sweet,” Karl said. He logged off and stood up, setting off for the intensive care unit where they were still keeping an eye on Cocoa’s progress. “But I wouldn’t go over the top the way you, Annie and Mia do,” he added as he left.

  “Hi, Mum – how’s Cocoa?” Eva called later that morning. She was in the yard with Holly, still teaching her the hoop trick. Holly had made friends with the plastic hoop now. She liked to seize it between her teeth and shake it about.

  She yelped with delight when Eva rolled it across the yard. But when Eva held it and cried “Jump!” she still sat right down and stared at it with a puzzled look.

  “Cocoa’s improving rapidly,” Heidi replied. She leaned back against the porch and took a couple of breaths of fresh air. “Nice morning,” she murmured. “It feels like spring is on its way.”

  “Jump!” Eva told Holly, holding the hoop in position. No response. “Good – I’m glad Cocoa’s going to get better.”

  Heidi smiled. “Before you know it, you and Holly will be taking her for walks by the river. She’ll be running in and out of the banks of daffodils.”

  “Then we’ll find her a perfect owner!” The future for the stray dog seemed bright to Eva. She glanced up as Mia Logan appeared at the gate. “Hi, Mia! Is everything all right with Fern?”

  “Yes, she’s fine,” Mia answered. “Mum’s visiting next door, so I thought I’d see what’s going on around here.”

  Eva grinned. “Mum, this is Mia,” she explained. “She’s moved to Earlswood Avenue.”

  “Ah, you’re the girl with the magnificent rabbit hutch!” Heidi recalled Eva telling everyone about it at breakfast. “I don’t suppose you want a couple of new friends for your rabbit, do you?”

  “Hey, yes – Sally and Sara!” Eva nodded, thinking of the two black and white rabbits in the small animals unit. “There’d be plenty of room in your new hutch.”

  Mia shook her head. “No, sorry. Fern needs time to settle in to her new home.”

  She took a deep breath. “Actually, you were right, Eva. That’s really why I called round,” she confessed. “I put out Fern’s food yesterday teatime, the same as usual, and when I looked this morning, she hadn’t eaten a thing.”

  “So you’re wondering about her loss of appetite?” Heidi checked. “I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about at the moment. As you said, you have to give her time to get used to her new surroundings. Remind me – when did you move her in?”

  “Yesterday,” Mia said quietly.

  Heidi smiled. “Well then. Really – there’s no need to worry. Just carry on as you normally do – give her fresh fruit and vegetables as well as her usual feed, and change her water every day. I’m sure you know all that already.”

  “Thanks,” Mia replied. Heidi’s advice seemed to have reassured her, so she turned to Eva. “Is Karl in?” she asked. “I wanted to ask him about our science homework.”

  Next day was Monday, and Eva was late for the school bus.

  “No, Holls, not today!” she sighed, as the boisterous Border collie tugged the green hoop into the middle of the kitchen floor. Eva grabbed her school bag and patted the puppy goodbye.

  “You forgot your party invitations!” Eva’s dad yelled after her. “I thought you wanted to hand them out at school.”

  “Oops!” She ran back to collect them. “And your lunch box!” he added, holding it out for her.

  “Oops again!” At last she had everything and hurried to meet the others at the bus stop.

  Soon the bus appeared round the bend.

  “How’s Fern today?” she asked Mia.

  “The same,” came the quiet answer. “I was telling Karl – she’s still off her food and she just kind of sits there. She doesn’t want to play or anything.”

  “Maybe she needs a toy inside her hutch,” Eva suggested, climbing on to the bus after Mia.

  “I already mentioned that – she’s got loads,” Karl reported from behind. “I’ve told Mia that she should bring Fern into Animal Magic after school today if she’s still worried.”

  Eva nodded. Karl had hit upon the right solution. “Mum will check her over,” she promised. “Yes, bring her in – it’s a good idea.”

  Fern sat on the counter in Reception at Animal Magic.

  Her head was hunched into her shoulders, and her soft, droopy ears trailed on the shiny surface.

  “Not a happy bunny,” Heidi agreed. She slid one hand under Fern’s rear end and one under her chest, then turned her over to feel her abdomen.

  “That seems OK,” she reported, “and her ears and nose are clean. Her teeth are OK, too.”

  Mia listened carefully. “Fern’s never been like this before,” she told Heidi, who went on examining the patient. “She’s usually really lively and pleased to see me. But when I got back home from school today, she sat in her bedroom, moping.”

  Heidi put Fern back down on the counter and stroked her. “There are some common problems that would make a rabbit feel miserable – ear mites, for instance, or overgrown teeth.”

  “Oh no!” Mia assured her. “I give Fern lots of things to chew on.”

  Heidi nodded. “Yes, as I said – her teeth are absolutely fine. And what about her droppings? Are they normal?”

  Mia nodded. “Everything’s normal, nothing’s changed – except for the fact that we moved house and Fern’s got a new hutch.”

  “Which is like a palace for rabbits!” Eva broke in.

  “So I really think there’s nothing seriously amiss,” Heidi decided, giving Fern one last stroke and putting her back inside the pet carrier. She saw Mia’s mum finish her phone call out in the porch, then come in through the door. “You can take Fern home to
her lovely new hutch!” she announced cheerfully. “I’ve just been telling Mia that as far as I can see, there’s absolutely nothing to worry about.”

  “What’s wrong, Eva?” Mark Harrison was surprised to see her slumped in front of the TV. “Why aren’t you out with Holly, doing your agility training?”

  It was Tuesday, and Eva had been home from school for half an hour. She lay on the sofa with Holly snuggled beside her.

  “I just called the Kennel Club and it turns out Mum was right – puppies have to be fifteen months old before they allow them to enter agility competitions.”

  “Hmm.” Her dad nodded sympathetically, then sat down on the arm of the sofa.

  Eva frowned as she recalled her phone conversation. “The man said Holly was way too young to even join a class.”

  Mark nodded again. “So? That doesn’t stop you from teaching her yourself. Like we said, Holly might be a quick learner.”

  Yip! Holly heard her name. She pricked up her ears and scrambled down to the floor. Then she ran and dragged the green hoop from the corner of the room.

  “See!” Eva’s dad grinned. “She’s dead keen.”

  “I know,” Eva sighed. “But…”

  “But nothing!” Mark cried. “Come on, girls, let’s get training!”

  So they went into the yard and Mark held the hoop while Eva ran up to it and jumped through. “Like that!” she told Holly.

  Yip! At last a light dawned in the puppy’s eyes. She ran to the hoop and with a neat skip and a hop, she was through.

  “Yesss!” Eva gave her dad a high five.

  “Again, Holly – again!”

  “So we’re having a good week.” It was Wednesday, and Karl was putting Cocoa on to the website, along with Parker and Snowflake, while Heidi was speaking on the phone to Jen. “I’ve told you about the party a week this Saturday. And, yes, we’ve been busy in the surgery, but Eva has still found time to teach Holly to jump through a hoop!”

  Eva grinned. “Tell her we’ve moved on to the weave poles!”

  “Oh, and weave poles – whatever they are,” Heidi added.

  Eva took the phone from her mum. “Hi, Jen! It’s a line of poles spaced out across the yard – I’m using Annie’s jumping poles – and Holly has to weave in and out of them as fast as she can. The trouble is, she keeps knocking them over…”

  Karl stood up from the computer. “Can I speak to her?” he asked. “Hi, Jen. How’s the course?”

  “Interesting,” Jen said. “I’m learning lots of new stuff.”

  “Mum’s putting you on speakerphone. Are you doing anything about rabbits?”

  “As a matter of fact, yes,” Jen answered. “Why do you ask?”

  “Is it normal for a rabbit to go off its food and mope around when it’s moved to new surroundings?” Karl asked. “Only, there’s a friend of mine, and her rabbit’s got a new hutch. Plus, the family has moved to a new house. Mum’s examined her, and she can’t find anything wrong.”

  “But your friend’s still worried?” Jen asked.

  “Yes, she was off school today. Her mum rang in to say she’s got an upset stomach, but I was talking to Mia just yesterday, and I know she’s making herself sick worrying about Fern.”

  “Hmm.” Jen thought for a few seconds. “And the rabbit’s teeth, eyes and nose were all fine? And there’s no swelling around the eyelids and head?”

  “No, there’s no sign of any viral infection, no problems with diarrhoea,” Heidi chipped in. “I think it’s probably a case of the owner being overanxious, and in fact pampering Fern a little too much. My advice was to leave her to settle in quietly.”

  “Fair enough,” Jen agreed. “And if all else fails, you could suggest a companion rabbit for Fern. That often does the trick.”

  “We already did that,” Eva cut in. “Mia said no.”

  Jen had run out of ideas. “It sounds like you’ve done all you can for now. I guess you’ll just have to wait and see.”

  “Or try again with the companion rabbit idea,” Karl muttered. “Thanks, Jen. Enjoy the course. See you on Saturday. Bye!”

  “You know we were wondering the other day – is Fern lonely?” Karl said.

  Eva, Annie and Karl had got off the school bus next day and gone straight up Earlswood Avenue to visit Mia, who was still off school with an upset stomach and a headache.

  They were all sitting on the grass around Fern’s hutch, but there was no sign of Fern herself.

  “She’s in her bedroom,” Mia had told them. “And she’s hardly touched the food in her dish. I’ve been checking all day. And she hasn’t even come down the ramp to use her new run – not once!”

  They all stared at the long, empty framework of wire netting and wood which stretched half the length of the Logans’ lawn.

  “Mia’s making herself poorly,” Carrie Logan had told Karl, Eva and Annie when she’d answered the door. “Not only do I have a sick rabbit on my hands, but now a daughter making herself ill with worry as well! Anyway, I’m glad you’ve come to cheer her up.”

  “…Lonely?” Mia said now. It was obvious she hadn’t given this another thought. “I’ve had her a year and she’s never seemed lonely before.”

  “But rabbits like company,” Karl explained. “They often get bored when they’re by themselves.”

  “I couldn’t have another one!” Mia shook her head. “If Fern had another rabbit in her hutch and I had to feed and brush them both, she’d get jealous.”

  “Maybe at first,” Karl said. “But she’d soon get used to it.”

  “No, Fern’s too special.” Mia sighed. She was so worried about her beloved pet that she couldn’t see that Karl might be right. “Anyway, Mum and Dad wouldn’t let me. They already think I spend way too much time fussing over one rabbit, let alone two!”

  “That’s a point,” Annie admitted. “I know what my dad was like before we got Rosie. He thought it was enough hard work looking after Guinevere and Merlin without taking on another pony.”

  “But that’s different!” Eva objected. “We’re talking about rabbits here. They’re not half as much work.”

  “Oh yes they are!” Mia frowned at Eva. “Every day I have to clean Fern’s litter tray and put down new bedding. And every week, I have to disinfect the hutch. Then there’s the brushing and feeding, and making sure that Fern doesn’t try to dig her way out of her run. Then I have to spend at least an hour every day playing with her and keeping her happy…”

  “OK, sorry,” Eva mumbled, realizing that she should have known better.

  “…I even take Fern for walks on her lead!” Mia insisted, tears brimming up and falling down her cheeks. “That’s when she’s well enough…”

  “Don’t cry,” Eva said, offering Mia a crumpled tissue.

  Mia nodded and blew her nose. “I’m sorry. I’m just so worried about her!”

  It was then that Fern decided to come out. She poked her blunt brown nose through the opening, then shuffled forward on to the feeding platform, her long ears flopping over her face. She blinked in the daylight.

  “Oh, Fern, there you are!” Mia sighed.

  She resisted the urge to open the hutch and cuddle her. Instead, she, Karl, Annie and Eva watched nervously as Fern made her way towards her feeding dish. “There – nice apples – your favourite!” she said.

  The little toffee-coloured rabbit sniffed at the fruit. She nuzzled at the mix of loose oats and flaked, dried vegetables, edged around her dish and took a sip of water from her bottle. Then she took one more sniff at her dish.

  “Lovely, sweet apples!” Mia whispered. “Yum-yum!”

  But Fern seemed to shake her head.

  “Oh, she’s trembling, poor little thing!” Annie said.

  “And she’s definitely not eating,” Eva added. She watched Fern lift one paw to her face and scratch beneath her ear. Even this seemed like too much effort and she soon gave up, shuffling back into the darkness and silence of her room.

  “Fern’s
so not well!” Annie said to Eva as they left the house ahead of Karl, who’d stayed behind to catch Mia up on the schoolwork she’d missed. The two girls walked down the hill towards Main Street.

  “I know!” Eva agreed. “But the trouble is Mum, Jen, Karl and me – we can’t think of a single thing to do to put it right!”

  “Thirty-five seconds!” Eva clicked her stopwatch as Holly finished the weave poles. “That’s the fastest ever – you’re amazing, Holls!” It was late on Friday afternoon and Eva and Holly were getting in a quick training session.

  The puppy ran to receive her reward – a pat on the head and a crunchy dog biscuit from Eva’s pocket.

  “Talk about a quick learner!” she said. “And you’re not even six months old.”

  Holly looked up at Eva with her bright brown eyes. She wagged her tail, hoping for another delicious treat.

  “Hey!” Eva crouched down to cuddle her beloved puppy. “You’ve got a couple of new grey speckles on one of your front paws – I’m sure they weren’t there before!” Taking Holly’s paw, she examined it in detail. “One, two, three, four – they were already there. But these two have just appeared, I swear!”

  “Talking to yourself?” a voice said as a car door slammed.

  “Jen – hi!” Eva was pleased to see her mum’s assistant. Jen looked nice and relaxed in jeans and a slim-fitting pink shirt.

  “I thought you weren’t due back till tomorrow?”

  Holly gave a yip and ran to greet Jen.

  “The course finished at midday. And you know me – I can’t stay away from Animal Magic a minute longer than I have to!”

  “Hi, Jen!” Karl poked his head out of the Reception door. “Guess what, Eva – three lots of people have made appointments to see Cocoa this weekend.”