I saw this sign on Percy Street today:
“STOLEN!!!
WTF? Last seen on washing line in our
BACKYARD! The person responsible,
who, incidentally, ought to be ashamed
(no matter their affliction), stole a
bunny from a baby. A gift at birth and a
child’s favoured comfort at bedtime –
We want it back – next time steal the
car instead.
(613) 298-6874″
I totally get where they’re coming from. My son had a cherished bunny named Bunny when he was a little guy. It was a gift from his Auntie Flo when he was born. He loved that bunny to pieces. He couldn’t leave home without it, couldn’t go to sleep without it. (And we managed just fine without a car, by the way.)
More than once we had to get off a bus when we were halfway to wherever we were going and go back home for Bunny because we’d forgotten him and he was Absolutely Essential to Jamie’s happiness.
One night at bedtime, when he was about two years old, Jamie said Bunny was gone. I looked everywhere. Eventually I found him in the vegetable crisper. (You know you’ve looked everywhere when you start looking for stuffed animals in the fridge.)
“What’s Bunny doing in the fridge?” I asked, perplexed. Jamie just grinned at me, and I realized he’d actually hidden him there on purpose, to delay bedtime…his first act of duplicity!
Once in awhile I’d have to wash Bunny because he smelled like someone had been sucking on his ears and peeing on him for years. Jamie would sit by the washing machine until Bunny was done, then they’d have a quick damp snuggle between the washing and the drying. Bunny would then go into the dryer and Jamie would sit by the dryer and wait for him.
Bunny is 31 years old now. Jamie outgrew him, but I never did. He lives on a shelf in my bedroom and I’d still be devastated if someone stole him. He’s my favourite relic from Jamie’s childhood.
I hope those people get their bunny back.
(But what kind of thief steals a stuffed bunny from a clothesline? Drunk kids? A dog?)
I just finished washing my 10-year-old’s stuffed monkey (Big Wheel) about 10 minutes ago, and they’re having a warm-from-the-dryer snuggle right now. My kids’ sleep buddies are like family members, we are definitely keeping them forever and always.
I can’t imagine any person taking the bunny from the line. It must have been an animal – maybe a squirrel or a raccoon? So sad.
Drunk kids. Animals aren’t that cruel.
I opened the post office door for a woman pushing a baby stroller a few days ago — she was also dragging a four-year old. As I was leaving, I found a bunny on the floor… chased after her for two blocks to get it back to them. Victor lost a toy bunny while we were out for a walk when he was two, he got over it by the next day, but I know how much it meant to him.
I’m guessing a squirrel took the bunny. They have been known to run off with anything they consider nest-worthy.
I still have a pajama pet (Morgan, a basset-ish looking doggie) I got as a 7 yr old. He’s slowly dry-rotting; I figure that by the time I’m senile he’ll be kaput. So it works out, as long as I don’t try to move or (God forbid!) wash him. I’ll be 60 in a couple of months.
I can’t imagine why anyone would take a bunny from a line!! You would think that just the fact that it was hanging on the line would make someone stop and think that it would be the treasured possession of a child (big or small). I do know that squirrels will take anything they think will enhance their nest.
I’m glad that Bunny has a treasured spot in your home.
I still have a doll that my Dad bought when I was little, and I wasn’t that much of a doll person, but I’d be devastated as well if someone took it.
I got a couple of shots of you at Andrea’s wedding: one, two.
For the record: not me.
A cat. There’s a cat in Bristol, England that steals things from laundry lines – the news article is at http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/aug/19/cat-burglar-norris-bedminster-bristol .