Sick Rabbit Blues

Nick: There I am, Curious-George-Passed-Out-on-Ether shirt and all, petting a very prostrate rabbit. My younger one (not pictured) developed something--I hope not a lung infection, we'll find out next week--that causes her to sneeze uncontrollably. This afternoon, my older rabbit (above) caught it, and I'm very worried. You may think I'm being stupid or sentimental--I'm not--but I consider him a member of my family, as deserving of concern and affection as any parent, sibling, or spouse. If you want to tell me to get over it, consider how you would feel if your brother or sister, husband or wife, mother or daughter, suddenly got cancer. No big deal, right? Get over it? Animals are aware enough. They feel joy, they get depressed, they have a sense of humor. Treat them with the same respect you would any sentient being. Worry when they get sick. Share their blues. Goddamn it, why are living things so frail? At this moment, tonight, I agree with the Marquis de Sade. I hate nature, that cruel and indifferent whore. Fuck her.