The “House Critters” Take a Bath

   The house critters are Big Bunny, Blue Booby, Ducky Duck, Henrietta Bobbie Bunny and Rainy Reindeer. Henrietta is the leader; she has the most experience dealing with humans. She trained the others, as they came into the house, to behave in ways that humans like. She did this so that they all get more treats. In her early days she learned quickly that wanting belly rubs and ear scratches got a better reaction than standing in front of the big cold box where food was stored. In many ways they all were like children that learn how to get what they want from their parents.

  Today was a beautiful spring day and the two older humans were doing yard work. Bob was cleaning out the flower beds and Barb was planting flowers in them and in pots on porches around the house. The critters knew that helping with this kind of stuff pleased the humans. Blue and Ducky were with Bob, he was actually providing them with treats while pulling out weeds and dead plants. There were insects that got knocked loose and worms that got uncovered, which were great fun for the two of them to catch and eat. They really weren’t helping Bob much but it kept him amused while doing a job that was not very rewarding.  Rainy and the bunnies were with Barb; they weren’t getting any treats but sure were having fun. Rainy used his hoofs to dig holes in the dirt for Barb to put the plants in and the bunnies hopped all around the area where the roots went in pushing the soil into the hole and tamping it down.

  When Barb ran out of plants they all went inside, as they were about to go from the entry way into the kitchen she noticed that the critters were covered with damp earth. Bob got told it was his turn to give them a bath. You may think “what is the big deal”, just put them a tub with some soap and be done with it. Well it isn’t that simple! There are specific needs for different critters, such as floating or sitting in the tub. You probably guessed that Blue and Ducky would be the floaters and the rest did the sitting, while actually more like laying down for Rainy. Then there is the small matter of water temperature with bunnies liking it very warm, Rainy liking it warm and water birds liking it cool. If you have a tub you may have noticed the end where the water goes out is a little lower than the other end. This helps with the water depth issue, but it and temperature take constant monitoring during filling the tub to make everyone mostly happy. We won’t even get into the amount of bubble bath that is requested and the tub toys that must be in the tub before any water is added.

  With all the critters and toys in the tub Bob starts the water. He had actually run it for awhile prior to critters getting into the tub so that the temperature is what Rainy wants, which is as close as he can get to what the others want. Then the bubble bath goes in at the deep end of the tub, which makes the bunnies complain that they are not getting enough bubbles. Bob splashes them which gets them bubbles and causes them to complain about being splashed. Rainy is in the middle of the tub and loving the whole activity until it is his turn to get washed. Bob started with the wash cloth on Blue and worked his way to the bunnies. When they were all cleaned up the water was let out of the tub then they all clustered at the deep end so the bubbles piled up around them before going down the drain. Then Bob turned on the shower so they all could rinse, soap is not good to leave on anyone’s skin let alone fur or feathers!

  Drying is a messy task as all but the bunnies like to start with the shake it off approach to water removal. This tends to get the floor outside the bath rug area along with cabinets and walls wet, which Barb doesn’t   like. Another one of the reason the critters like Bob to do baths; he is ok with them splashing while in the tub and just cleans up when everyone is done. After the shaking activity they get wrapped in a bath towel to actually get dried, which they all like unless while Bob has them in the towel he tickles. They all like this but have to hoot and holler because that is part of the game. Then they all got up on the bed to take a short nap because as you all know helping out is tiring.

  Turns out it was so short a nap it didn’t even happen! Big heard noises that sounded like Barb and Bob were having a snack and if there was anything the critters never missed it was snack time. They scrambled off the bed and out to the kitchen in a flash. There was a plate with crackers, cheese, carrots, and chips which they laid into with great gusto. Once again knowing what the humans liked got the house critters treats!