Poor Artie

We returned home yesterday from 4 very relaxing days in the Lincoln/Omaha area.  Unfortunately, we knew something was amiss when we opened our garage door to the sight of broken glass.  Here's our tale.

The night before we left, we heard a loud noise in the garage.  We looked at each other and commented that something must have fallen.  Don't think we even bothered to open the door to investigate.  The next morning at 4:00 a.m. my husband heard another loud noise coming from the garage.  He opened the door between the kitchen and garage, turned on the light, and saw something scurry under the car.  He opened the garage door to let "it" out.

We left at 6:00 and "it" was the topic of conversation for most of the day.  Was "it" a opossum?

Sorry to all those opossum fans out there.  I couldn't find a public domain photo of a cute little opossum!

Or was "it" an armadillo?

I know it probably looks odd to see one right side up since they are commonly seen right side down along the side of the street.

Or was "it" a bunny rabbit?

By mid-morning, I'd convinced myself it was an armadillo..........oh.......and we'd named him Artie.  We thought about him a few times during the week but had other things to think about.

Flash forward to our arrival.  There sitting by the rear tire of the car was ------- a bunny rabbit.  Poor little bunny must have been so frightened and thirsty.  He ran from side to side under the car, not wanting to leave the garage.  Hubby unknowingly left the door to the kitchen ajar as he went in the house to get the car keys.  So here I am trying to coax Artie out while not stepping on broken glass and fabric he'd managed to find and wanting to make everything OK. 

Somehow I lost sight of Artie and by now realized the kitchen door was ajar.  My first thought was that he'd slipped in the house.  Oh my goodness!  So many wonderful hiding places in a fabricaholic's home! 

I spent the remainder of yesterday looking under the vehicles thinking I'd spot Artie.  Every time something rustled in the house, I jumped to investigate.  Hubby came home with a terribly sore throat and runny nose so between caring for him and worrying about Artie's condition, I was worn out. 

I haven't seen any sign of Artie today and expect (hope, hope, hope) he is fine.  It rained yesterday so any grass he ate should have been nice and wet so he's probably rehydrated and feeling much better. 

We have to call the garage door people this week.  Artie was so desperate to escape he chewed a good portion of the rubber seal.  The glass jar he broke was on a shelf 5' off the ground.  Poor little guy must have been beside himself with fear when the jar shattered. 

So.  Moral of this story, if you hear a sound in the garage you'd better investigate thoroughly.  Mom suggested I keep a pan of food and water in the garage every time we leave for a few days.  I may just have to do that!