BEDFORD, MA—According to sources within the Bennett household, a short-haired and utterly doomed rabbit named Oreo was recently purchased in order to teach the family’s 8-year-old son, Toby, about patience and responsibility.
The ill-fated, 6-pound pet, which parents John and Kathryn Bennett had hoped would foster cognitive, social, and emotional growth in their child, is reportedly condemned to perish in less than two months from a combination of negligence and abuse.
“Toby is going to learn so many valuable lessons by taking care of Oreo,” Kathryn Bennett said of the hopeless creature soon to be subjected to increasingly unlivable conditions without any means of escape, until the morose rabbit dies prematurely and is buried in the backyard. “We are confident that Toby will become a self-reliant child capable of taking on more responsibilities.”
“Plus, it’s nice that we’re giving the rabbit a good home,” Bennett added incorrectly. “It’s really a win-win situation.”
John Bennett told reporters that feeding and cleaning up after the irreversibly damned rabbit would help build Toby’s character and establish a deep, rewarding bond between the 8-year-old and the animal certain to succumb to a harrowing and untimely death.
“Not only will Toby gain valuable experience with accountability and discipline, but he’ll benefit from companionship with Oreo,” said John Bennett, referring to the soon-to-be dead rabbit wholly dependent on the careless, inattentive second-grader. “Those two already adore each other.”
While a daily schedule of chores was reportedly created to help Toby care for the needs of another living being, the remiss 8-year-old is fated to complete the tasks less and less frequently in the ensuing weeks as Oreo’s chance for survival rapidly vanishes and the despondent creature edges ever closer to its inevitable demise.
According to the timetable, every morning after Oreo is violently shaken and prodded awake, Toby must provide food pellets and clean water to the ill-fortuned rabbit before forgetting to clean out the cage that will inexorably become contaminated by fecal matter and urine-soaked wood chips.
In addition, Toby has reportedly been asked to follow an equally ambitious grooming schedule complete with instructions for brushing Oreo’s soon-to-be matted fur and trimming any remaining toenails that haven’t previously been violently clipped down to splintered, bloody nubs.
“Oreo is going to be one pampered bunny,” said Kathryn Bennett, whose son’s incorrect handling and reckless care of the animal will inevitably expedite the doomed creature’s end. “What a lucky little rabbit.”
Though Oreo will unavoidably require emergency treatment at the veterinarian due to injuries sustained while being dropped on the floor, tossed around in the air, or dragged up a stairwell by the ears, Toby is said to be responsible for offsetting some of the costs with his allowance money—steps his parents have already discussed with their son while he distractedly bounced the defenseless rabbit on his knee.
The nominal attention to Oreo has reportedly intrigued Toby’s younger sister Olivia, 4, who has her own ideas for taking care of the unfortunate rabbit haunted by the ever-looming specter of death.
“We hope Toby learns a few lessons about sharing, because even though Oreo is technically his pet, Olivia wants to be involved,” John Bennett said of his daughter who will at first opportunity trim the rabbit’s whiskers and spill abrasive flecks of glitter into the tormented animal’s eyes. “Toby might have a hard time at first, but I’m confident he’ll be a big boy and let his sister help, too.”
While sources confirmed that Oreo’s upcoming death would go completely unnoticed by the entire family for several days, John and Kathryn Bennett intend to replace the deceased rabbit with another small animal for the 8-year-old to torture.
