CHAPTER 162 – The Garden Party
Abigail was worried. She had never lived at a shelter before, but Bentley had. He told her what it was like. She looked up at Dad and thought, “Dad, Bentley said the bunnies at the shelter live in cages until they are adopted. Is that true?” Dad looked at Abigail and said, “Yes dear. Unfortunately, that’s the only way we can house them right now. There are too many of them to find foster homes for everyone. It’s still much better than where they were, though.”
Abigail had spent the first year of her life in a cage. She knew how frustrating it could be when she wanted to run and play but bars were in her way. She thought, “I feel really bad for those bunnies who are stuck in their kennels 24/7. I wish there was something we could do.”
Abigail pondered for a bit and then her face lit up. “Dad! I haves an idea!” she thought, “Let’s throw a garden party for them! We could set up a bunny park in one of the rooms at the shelter. I can bring my garden party décor. I’ve been dying to try it out since all the Bunny Hops were canceled last year. Then, all the bunnies could come out to play and they could meet each other. Please, Dad. Please?”
Dad smiled and said, “Abigail, that’s a great idea! Let me check with Lisa, the shelter manager, and see if she’s OK with it.”
A few days later, Dad returned from bringing greens to the shelter bunnies and announced, “Abigail! Guess what? Lisa likes your idea. The garden party is a go!” Abigail was so excited, she binkied and ran across the room. Abigail quickly set about sending invitations to her garden party to all the bunnies and the staff at the shelter.
Three days later, they arrived at the shelter to set up the garden party. Rabbit Haven volunteers Tom, Vicki, and Nicole supervised the garden party while James and Becky took advantage of the rabbits being out to clean their kennels.
One by one, the bunnies who had been fixed arrived at the party. Q-Tip, a white bunny with tan ears, was the first to arrive. He could hardly believe his eyes as he looked around the room. There was soft fleece on the floor, tunnels to hide in, and a garden café in the back.
He could smell fresh greens and hay and hopped over to the café. Abigail introduced herself, “Hi, I’m Abigail. Welcome to my party! There’s Salad Central over there with fresh greens from my favorite produce market DeMartinis. Over to your right is the Gourmet Hay Buffet with three kinds of hay from Small Pet Select. At the back is the dessert bar with fresh apples and bananas. Oh, and there’s some fresh willow, too. Help yourself!”
Houdini, a brownish Martin, wasted no time and headed straight to the dessert bar. Kenai a white bunny with an adorable face, munched quietly on greens at the salad bar. For two hours, the rabbits were free to roam about, eat, or just hang out. They were so happy to be out of their cages. Kenai binkied as he left the café. Pam a large English Spot mix, amused herself by trying to squeeze into the tight space behind the door several times.
Smitty, a black and white rabbit, came up behind Abigail and chinned her. “Whoa!” exclaimed a surprised Abigail, “Hello there!” Smitty said, “I think I love you! Thank you so much for doing this! I was going stir crazy in there.” Abigail understood, she said, “I know what you mean. I still remember my long days in a cage.”
Smitty continued, “Look at all this food! I’ve never tasted some of these things. So yummy!” Abigail replied, “This is what we eat at the House of Buns, so I wanted to share it with you!” Smitty asked, “I hope we get to do this again.” Abigail replied, “I’ll talk to my Dad and see.” Smitty thanked her again and hopped off to explore.
Abigail was happy. She had been waiting for over a year to throw a garden party for rabbits. And what better group to do this for than a bunch of bunnies waiting for their forever homes. She hoped they would all be adopted soon.
Abigail throws a garden party for the bunnies at the shelter to give them a chance to come out and play.
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