Special bonds: Terry and Emily
/Emily started volunteering at HEEFS in 2017. Since this was her first experience with farmed animals, she felt most comfortable with the bunnies, and that is where her training, and love affair with Terry, all began. “When I first met Terry, all I could think about was how big and fluffy he was!” says Emily. “I could also tell that he was totally sizing me up with his very expressive eyes and distinct head movements.”
Terry and Emily immediately bonded over, among other things, their Type A personalities. “Terry is an incredibly clean bunny,” explains Emily. “I completely appreciate and empathize with him in that regard!”
As their friendship blossomed, Emily loved to snuggle Terry, but was also very careful to always respect his boundaries and acknowledge his feelings. For example, Terry loves to snuggle, and will nuzzle right into Emily arms, but when he has other plans, he certainly lets her know, and she lets him go about his bunny business!
As a regular volunteer at HEEFS, Emily gets to spend a lot of time with Terry, learning his likes and dislikes, and one thing she has noticed is that Terry is a bit of a diva when it comes to having his picture taken! “Sometimes I will go visit Terry in his outside pasture to take photos for the website or for a special occasion and it’s almost as if he poses on cue. Usually when Terry spots me, he will come running up to see what is going on and even strike a pose or two!”
“It’s funny that my special bond is with Terry,” explains Emily. “I’m actually allergic to bunnies, so after visiting with him, and hand-feeding him some of his breakfast, or delivering his favourite treat of carrot tops, I usually spend the rest of my shift sneezing!”
We asked Emily to share a special moment she has had with Terry. “Shortly after I started volunteering we had to close Bunnytown for some repairs. To ensure the bunny residents continued to receive enrichment I would take Terry outside to another area of the farm for his daily dose of vitamin D, a snuggle and some outside running time. One day I took him out front of the barn and, although he was perfectly content sitting on my lap, he was incredibly intrigued by all of the other residents who he normally wouldn’t ever have seen. We sat for a long period of time with Davey (a rooster resident) as they both watched the sheep and goats graze. Terry eventually fell asleep, contently, in my lap.”
Thank you, Emily for being such a special friend to Terry…he’s one lucky bunny!
