Australia, Environment, History & Traditions

April Fool Ghost

Forestwood

“So I woke up and my beautiful Schnauzer pup is laying on the back patio covered in dirt with a rabbit in his mouth. The rabbit’s not bloody, just dirty. My neighbor’s kids raise blue ribbon rabbits. I instantly knew it was one of theirs. 😢

I took the rabbit away from my dog, rushed inside, and brushed all the dirt off it before my neighbors could come home. It was stiff but I heard some animals play dead when they are afraid, but I couldn’t remember which ones.

I quickly took it and placed it back in one of the cages in their back yard then I ZOOMED back home. (Don’t judge me 😒)

Not 30 minutes later, I heard my neighbour screaming like she’s seen a ghost, so I go out and innocently ask them what’s wrong?

They tell me their rabbit died three days ago and they buried it, but now it’s back in the cage.” 😳

April Fools!

Found on social media, this was not my story. It just might be a work of fiction, or an old joke, but I wouldn’t put it past a Schnauzer to go after a rabbit!

Apparently this very thing DID happen with another Schnauzer, their owner and a guinea pig. I am giving this author, (Kathy W.), the benefit of the doubt, but it is April Fools Day, isn’t it?

Not many folks have pet rabbits in Australia. Keeping them is illegal and there are fines unless you have a special permit. Without a natural predator to control numbers, introduced Rabbits decimated Australia’s bush in the early 20th century reaching plague proportions and thus were banned.

It is legal to keep the following variety, and give them to your Schnauzer!

home made fabric easter bunny

Published by Forestwood

A philosophic Aussie writes here at StPA, one who will readily admit to loving Scandinavia. I'm interested in global politics and what drives us to be who we are. Scratch the surface and you'll find a practical Environmentalist with an egalitarian bent, trying to unleash a little creativity via the written word. Scandinavian culture, literature and traditions are close to my heart, even though I'm Australian. Travel and courteous discussions greatly broaden the mind, so I travel if I can and am always up for a vigorous, respectful discussion. I'm an avid reader, a writer and I enjoy photography and crafts, particularly traditional art forms. I hope you'll find 'Something to Ponder About,' in my WordPress Community.

112 thoughts on “April Fool Ghost”

    1. I am glad you got a laugh out of the rabbit story, Ang. I don’t think I would like a rabbit ghost, it sounds a bit like that mythical creature, the jackalope. Is that what it is called? I recently heard the name but not the story behind it.

      Liked by 2 people

    1. Thanks for the April wishes, Donna. And Happy Easter wishes right back at you. Are you staying put for Easter or heading off somewhere?

      Like

    1. We need you to send them here to our country areas down south. The rabbits are a serious pest. Still it is a bit cruel to unleash dogs on them. It is a balance between the wild population not becoming too numerous and humane treatment of a pest species. How many huskies have you got?

      Like

      1. We have a dozen (we are mushers) and yes, I agree, turning the pack loose on wild bunnies would be tragic! Those cute stitched ones look like dog toys though. I may have to steal that idea and make them some for an Easter present. 🙂

        Like

      3. Oh, thank you! I will check that template out. We are recreational mushers and do it year round but living by Yellowstone park means that there is snow to run in more months than not. We just have to go further up in the mountains to find it, otherwise we do what they call dry land mushing. It’s super fun either way!

        Liked by 2 people

      5. I do have videos posted! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8mvgTWOohSv0gNqpnlvaKw We also have a blog my hubby and I started http://beyondthetetons.com too. It’s not too hard, we just worked on training our lead dogs to obey the commands for left, right and whoa. You don’t really have to teach them the command for go since they are chomping at the bit to do that anyway lol. They ALL have to learn “on by” when something distracts them, which is the hardest part. Otherwise it’s pretty easy and super duper fun!

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks, Janis. I do think my schnauzer is cute, but then I am terribly biased. We have a house full of schnauzer tragics here. We love bearded dogs. Happy Easter!

      Liked by 1 person

  9. The story would be better if the rabbit wasn’t stiff because it couldn’t both be in rigor mortis and have died 3 days ago. Or else, change it to the rabbit having died a day ago.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Oh! Perhaps I shall Jane. I was just transcribing. I don’t think we are meant to take it seriously.
      So rigor mortis disappears after 24 hours?

      Like

    1. The wild rabbits are hunted as they still present a pest to agriculture and the landscape, Laurie. You can see the problem here

      They introduced a disease to the rabbit population – myxomatosis which controlled the wild population.
      Pet rabbits are extremely rare. They are cute animals but we have a difficult relationship with them. The introduction of foxes was also a disastrous measure, as there is no natural predator for the fox….
      If you mess with one part of an ecosystem, there are consequences which are usually negative.
      I am glad you got a laugh. Happy Easter, Laurie.

      Liked by 1 person

      2. It was a bad mistake but it was not the only one they made when colonizing here. Did that happen in USA too? Back in the early days. The desire to bring in animals from Europe and UK to make it seem more homely, which in turn displaced some native animals?

        Liked by 1 person

  14. You completely took me in this time – and in the guise of your “beautiful Schnauzer”! (and even despite your title!) What a fabulous story for April 1!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I am sorry to fool you, but hope that you had a bit of a laugh from the story. The Schnauzer is not strictly mine, but lives with us as it belongs to my daughter. She just turned one recently. I had even arranged a doggie birthday party for her, as my kids don’t like to celebrate their birthdays with parties anymore. Unfortunately we had a snap lockdown in our city for three days and it had to be cancelled. All good though. We celebrated at home. Happy Easter to you, Ju-Lyn.

      Like

      1. Not at all, Amanda! a well-crafted convincing tale, which is so delightful – wand with such an exciting twist!

        Sorry to hear the party plans had to be changed, but it is good to know that your city authorities are able to respond so quickly to any threats which might arise.

        Blessed Easter to you all!

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Having the city respond to Covid threats quickly does give the public confidence, Ju-Lyn. The state government is very popular atm due to their abilities to keep us safe.

        Like

    1. No I don’t think I have. I did notice the font changed a bit on the editor. I am taking care to find featured images that present better though…Hope your Easter is joyful!

      Liked by 1 person

  21. Pingback: April Fool Ghost – kidolikid

    1. I thought it was a serious story at first, Mari, but I then began to question it as we have so few rabbits here in Australia. If they had replaced the rabbit with pet guinea pig, then I would have totally be duped!

      Like

  24. That was interesting!! At first I was feeling sorry for the rabbit, then a bit annoyed that you kept the rabbit in your neighbour’s cage without saying a word and at last got fooled by the whole story. Thank you for sharing this and giving me all the emotions in about a minute.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Exactly, Joyce! A roller-coaster of emotions in one story. Btw, it was not me in the story but a recount. A recount of an old joke, I suspect. But good for an Easter laugh!

      Liked by 1 person

  25. Pingback: the art of staff – Touring My Backyard

  27. That was hilarious. I didn’t know it was illegal to keep rabbits as they are often for sale in our area. Naughty people. My neighbour has so many living on her land she just cant bear to bait them so we are waiting for her shed foundation to break. lol. My sons horse used to kill them if they came into his paddock, very territorial horse, which is probably why we haven’t had them around for a long time. Great story. Hope you had a Happy Easter my friend.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I think some states revised their legislation recently. I don’t know why. It is bound to cause problems with pet rabbits escaping and flourishing as happened years ago. Then the foxes will proliferate and that will be a secondary problem. Who eats the fox? We don’t have bears only dingos, and then they will shoot them. All becuase of the rabbits. …..
      Funny about the horse, Linda. I can’t blame him if the rabbits bothered him.
      Happy Easter to you too. Are you getting the rains?

      Liked by 1 person

      2. The deluge that was predicted has stayed out at sea, apparently. Still, I am loving this soft rain in showers. It is glorious. It will be back to 30 degrees on friday.

        Liked by 1 person

  28. I almost choked laughing at this one. First I check the publish date because I thought I read it before. I’m sure of that. But it’s a great April fools post. 🙂 We have wild rabbits everywhere here but we also have coyotes so rabbits are dinner. So are the cats people let outside. So many missing cat posts on our neighborhood news page. Silly people.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Please don’t choke! A laugh is great but don’t have a mouthful of food when you read it!
      You may have read it before as some are certain it is an old joke and it is certainly not MY story. Nature is tough, so it is sad to think of Fluff the rabbit being dinner, but it is life!
      People losing cats? Gosh…. the neighbours here walk their cats on a leash and the cats have a caged run in the backyard. I think cats do remarkable well in this sort of environment as they are so self-contained. That is a positive. If a Tom cat wants to roam, it probably needs to be desexed. Did the cats go missing after the storm or does it happen all the time?

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I saw the story on FB this morning!! Then I laughed again. No food, just tried to inhale at the same time. 😉 There is a rule in the park that all animals be leashed outside and cats are not supposed to be let out without one, just like dogs. But ‘people’ here think cats are designed to wander and go to the bathroom in someone else’s yard so they let them out all day and if they don’t come back home, the beg the neighbors to look for them. There are fewer cats left by people outside than a year ago since the coyotes have now found their take out meals. I’ve seen cats here killing our birds. I like cats and I had mine on a leash as well when my daughter was young. Otherwise, she was indoors. Catio’s are a great idea and we are seeing them more often too. I put my daughter on a leash for a while too when she was young. 😉 Wish I could have when she was a teenager. 😉

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Lol at the teenager on a leash! I know the feeling, but thankfully we are now past that stage. It wasn’t fun!
        I don’t like the way cats are so unaccountable! No way following them to pick up after them, getting into fights with other neighbourhood cats and creating mischief. One cat used to taunt our former Dog through the fence. Mercilessly teasing her and snarling and hissing at her. Well, one day her number came up and the dog slipped through the gate as I was exiting the back yard. She chased that cat around and then they both disappeared under some of our bushes. There was a lot of howling from the cat and weeks later I found out later that the cat was not around any more. I was wracked with guilt but I thought this was perhaps the cat’s fault too, as it came into a yard with a dog in it and teasing the dogs for months. And I couldn’t really do anything about it, once it happened so quickly, though I tried. I don’t know what happened under those bushes but I would say the dog exacted some revenge. 😦

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you Nidhi. I am not such a fan of poetry although I do write it in moments when the desire hits me. I used to host a poetry challenge which was fun, but I prefer prose or non fiction writing now. I appreciate the invitation though. Thanks.

      Like

    1. Yes, it would be a concern that any rabbits might be infected with rabies and you would definitely not want your schnauzer to be hunting them. I didn’t think of that problem, as we are rabies free here in Australia. But we do have to watch out for cane toads, as they will kill a dog very fast.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. His veterinarian told me rabbits don’t carry the rabies virus, but I know that’s not true. Rabies in rabbits is rare, but it happens. Even rabies-free, that monstrous little canine of mine was still vicious!

        I’ve heard of cane toads. Like I’ve said before, almost everything in Australia is poisonous! LOL!

        Like

      2. Haha@ everything being poisonous here. The unusual thing is that cane toads are not part of the natural Aussie fauna! They were introduced from South America! In the 20th century. A biological catastrophe.

        Like

Comments are closed.