CHAPTER 26 – Spa Day
One morning after breakfast, Dad came over to Abigail and said, “Guess what? It’s spa day!” Abigail wasn’t sure what that meant, but she could always tell when Dad was up to something. She ran to her bolt-to spot, but there were pillows blocking the entrance. “Uh oh,” she thought.
Thinking quickly, she ran into the dining room. But Dad had set up the ex-pen and he closed off the door after she entered. “Oh sweetie, don’t worry, it’s not a bad thing.” She tried to run from Dad, but he caught her and gently picked her up in his arms. Abigail struggled to get free. “Easy there,” said Dad, “I’m not going to hurt you.” Abigail wasn’t so sure about spa day.
Dad carried Abigail over to the couch where he had a towel, nail clippers, a flashlight, and a brush waiting. “I don’t like this!” thought Abigail, as she again struggled to get free. Dad wrapped the towel around her so she couldn’t. “We’re just going to trim your nails,” he said in a soothing voice. “Since you're an indoor bunny, you're not wearing your nails down digging on the carpet.”
Abigail had noticed her nails were starting to bother her when she walked on hard surfaces, and she had been digging more frantically to wear them down. Dad shined the flashlight through her nails to check where the clear quick was, to make sure he didn’t hurt her, and carefully and quickly cut off the tips in front of the quicks on each nail. Abigail wasn’t crazy about being messed with, but she trusted Dad and tolerated it.
“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” he asked. Next, he unwrapped her from the towel and set her in his lap on top of the towel. He petted her, and while he did, he checked for any lumps or sharp points under her skin. It was important to catch any abnormalities early. Dad knew that rabbits have a way of hiding anything that ails them.
Then, he rolled her over on her back and checked her butt. “Ooops, you’ve got a poopy stuck to your fur. Let me pull it off,” he said. Abigail stared up at him and thought, “Daaaad! This is embarrassing!”
Then Dad checked her teeth to make sure they weren’t overgrown. Dad also knew that rabbit teeth were constantly growing so it was important to make sure they were healthy. Abigail had many things to chew on to keep her teeth whittled down, so her teeth were fine. Dad shined the flashlight in her ears and checked to make sure they were all clean. They were. She had passed her physical!
Finally, he placed her back in his lap, right side up. “Let’s brush some of this loose fur off of you.” He gently began brushing her. At first, Abigail struggled. But after a while, she thought, “This feels kinda nice!” Soon, she closed her eyes and relaxed.
Maybe spa day wasn’t so bad after all!
