A Rabbit’s Christmas; Not Everything It Seems
(Not Real, but it could happen…don’t let it)
Cinnamon sat in her cage and groomed her foot. She was trying to
contain her excitement, but it was so hard! She was to go to a new
home today! Some funny, tall rabbits with little hair, just like her
adopted mommy, had come in and looked around. They had wanted a
bunny for a Christmas present for their 7-year-old son. They looked
at all the bunnies for sale, but they had finally decided on her. It
was so exciting!
She hopped around her cage a bit, prancing and preening. All the
other rabbits were happy for her. She was going to go to a new home
where she’d be loved and give love! What could be better?
Soon the funny rabbits came to get her. A little sadly she said
goodbye to her mother and siblings, but nothing could really dampen
her excitement! They put her in a shiny new cage. It had a brand new
water bottle and a sparkling feed dish, too! It even had some toys
in it for her to play with! Cinnamon could control herself no more,
and she leapt up in the cage, brushing against the top.
They pulled up to a nice house and brought her inside. The boy ran
up and exclaimed in joy. He liked her! Oh, she was so happy! He took
her out and played with her. They had such a grand time, that
Cinnamon didn’t want to stop when it was time for the boy to go to
bed. She knew it’d be okay though, because now she had someone to
play with for the rest of her life!
The first week was wonderful. The boy, Nathan, played with her often
and always made sure she had food and water. Then Nathan had to go
back to school. Cinnamon understood that he couldn’t play as much,
but sometimes she really wished he could be on vacation again. He
still played with her pretty often, and he always took care of her,
but each day he seemed to get less and less interested in her.
She grew into a healthy adult bunny, but now Nathan really didn’t
handle her much. One day he even forgot to feed her. She spent the
night curled up in her cage, hunger making her stomach hurt. She
began to think that Nathan didn’t love her anymore. He stopped
playing with her altogether, and pretty soon it was his parents who
came to feed and water her. They never took her out, or even pet
her. They just gave her food and water.
The cage that she had thought so pretty became a prison. Her toys
had all been chewed up out of boredom. She started chewing on the
cage, just for something to do. It became habitual; she chewed and
chewed, though she knew she’d never chew her way out. Then, one day
she pulled a tooth. Oh, it hurt! She had trouble eating, but
Nathan’s parents paid her no heed. Her teeth grew back, but they
were crooked and overlapped the wrong way now. Eating became a
difficult chore, and she only ate enough to stay alive.
Finally the tooth just got to be too much and she didn’t eat at all.
She lost weight rapidly, going from thin to very bony in just a few
days. If the funny rabbits had even noticed, they did nothing about
it. Cinnamon grew weak and tired. She had given up on life, and she
knew that it’d be over for her soon. She thought of how excited she
had been that day; how she thought she’d have fun with the for the
rest of her life. She had been so wrong. She wondered if her
brothers and sisters had gotten good homes, or if they lay dying in
a cage somewhere, alone and cold. Her eyes grew blurry, but she did
notice one last thing. Lights. Flashing lights adorned the house,
just like they had when she had come here. She closed her eyes and
one last breath escaped her mouth.
—————-
Cinnamon was a fictitious rabbit, but her story, or one like it, can
be found unfolding all across the world. People buy rabbits as
gifts, or even for themselves, then when the excitement of a new
animal wears off, the rabbit gets forgotten. As breeders, we are
responsible for trying our hardest to assure each rabbit gets a good
home. We need to spend time talking with prospective buyers,
especially around holidays when buyers are apt to think how nice a
pet would be for a Christmas gift without thinking about how much
care a pet requires. As rabbit owners, we need to make sure that we
care for and spend time with our rabbits for their entire life. We
need to make sure that if we, for some reason, can’t keep them, we
find them good homes where they will be loved. Pets are for life.
They don’t just need care and love whenever you have the time and
desire to give it to them. They need it every day, even if you’re
busy!
Usagi no Tsukiyo Rabbitry