Phoebe and a rabbit

I went down the country for a few days with Phoebe to see my parents. Now my parents' garden is huge and they take great pride in it.
So Phoebe wasn't around for a few minutes which means she's up to no good!
We heard her bark frantically and thought she was caught in something. So we ran to find her in the process of killing a rabbit. He was in a lot of distress and we got her away but she was in an awful state of excitement.
Thankfully my father came home and took the rabbit well away from Phoebe. (the rabbit wasn't quite dead so unfortunately my father had to kill it in order to take it out if its pain).
I must admit I found the whole thing distressing: The fact that Phoebe is a strong predator. My sister's dog was there and wasn't interested in the rabbit. He is mainly a lab. So we reckon that she's a good sniffer dog because she's a spaniel and he is mainly into guarding.

I also found it distressful to watch the rabbit and listen to him make those horrible noises. What is also quite worrying is the fact that I have 2 rabbits myself. They are safe from her but human error can always happen.
Thanks for listening,
Brid.

that sounds really awful, brid, a scene you'll never forget but would like to. poor bunny. sorry for your dad too, i'm sure that was sad for him, though an act of mercy. little phoebe is of course just doing what comes naturally, but what an awfu murder it must've been. a wake up call for you to take extra measures with your pet rabbits, i'm sure.

Brid, I know how you feel - I was upset when Chocolate caught and killed a wild mouse recently. Now it seems like she is always on the look out for another in the same general area under our deck. I've been trying to distract her. Hope your little girl doesn't try to bother your bunnies! :flwr:

It must have been awful for you..... I suppose its only their natural instincts coming out.

Merlin has a thing for birds, he's always shooting into bushes to see if he can find any - fortunately birds are a lot faster than him but I'd hate to think what he would do if he caught one ......

It is so difficult accepting that our Loving Cav`s could be so primal but that is there nature. I have noticed in Kayla that she has a hunting instinct, although she is such a big softie but if it came to mice or her favorite claim to fame `The Mighty Fly Hunter' she would nail one of them for sure.

Sorry to hear about the rabbit a really sad story but don`t be to hard on your little one as she was just doing what comes naturally.