One of my reasons

Finley enjoying the sun through the window

Every single day of my life I have four little reminders of why I purchase cruelty-free products. Rabbits are commonly used for animal testing, but in our house rabbits are safe. Here, their job is to be happy. My job is to keep them happy and relatively comfortable. In return, I receive their affection and daily interaction.

Some of you won't 'get it'. And that's why I'm posting about my bunnies. To show that they are awesome pets and should not be used in testing for the newest miracle cosmetic cream (or anything else either).

Finely's story isn't the most amusing (stay tuned down the road for Behr stories). Finley is pretty low-key and I'm not sure that she realizes that she is a rabbit. However, Finley is a super special bunny. Finley is the bunny that has taught us the most about rabbit behaviour. She forced us to work for her affection and we had to learn new ways of approaching her...which basically means that she is the boss and she will receive attention on demand. She would do this by not-so-gently nudging our feet, and then hopping across the room to reach her 'pet-me' location.

Finley is also the most manipulative bunnies we've owned. She typically only acts like a bunny if no one is looking. She would do her binkies/races/destruction in another room and then pretend it wasn't her. Uh, yes Finley. The carpet chewed *itself*. But really, you would start to think that *is* a possibility since it would be so out of character.



Finley snuggling with Behr

Finley's also the boss of the bunny room. She sends other bunnies out to explore and report back to her. She also keeps the others in line in some magical way. I'm not quite sure how she does it.
 
Finley joined the family six years ago. She's estimated to be eight years old, which is elderly for a rabbit. These days, Finley's job is to relax, which is good since she can't do much else. She has become quite arthritic and incontinent with age. She's also deaf and has a tumour in her ear. She gets a cartrophen injection once monthly, metacam once daily, and gabapentin twice daily.

The good news? Over the years, Finley has proven that she's a trooper. She's had a few health scares and we almost lost her multiple times. But she's not done yet. She lets us know this every day with her excitement to eat and the enjoyment she gets from snuggling with her main-bunny Behr and her other-bunny Zayne. Some days, when she's up to it, she will move beyond the rabbit room into the living room (mostly when no humans are looking). And if we do catch her, our job is to stand perfectly still. I'm good with that. I enjoy seeing her explore because I don't know how many more days I will get to spend with her.


Finley loves her blankets

 As the owner of an elderly rabbit, I get peed on and flicked at. I'm no longer her favourite person and am often avoided. However, once the yucky medicine is finished, I will sometimes get licked for my efforts to keep her healthy. And so I go through a lot of laundry (from being peed on) and I pay significant amounts of money to keep her comfortable.

And I purchase cruelty-free products because every bunny deserves a chance to be loved and respected like Finley.