The Loss of Myself By Holly Miller

Rating: Dealing with considerable grief and pain and angst.  Comes from deep
in the rent of my soul.  For the brave only.  NR

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The day was okay.  She did good in school and had flirted with the cute guy
next to her in art and with his cute friend.  She didn't have much homework
and was in a pretty good mood.  

In the back of the bus, she was happy.  Her little brother had skipped school
and was at the end of her driveway. She hated walking up alone, because it 
was so long, and they were out in the country.  Her closest neighbors lived 
about a mile behind their house, and they shared the first twenty feet of the 
driveway.  The neighbor's three children also rode the bus, and their mom 
was driving up to the end of the driveway.  

She got off the bus and sloshed through the dismal mud, not relishing a trip 
up the driveway. Her heart leaped for joy as she realized that her brother 
was holding her rabbit, She-Ra. She went up and pet and snuggled with her, 
cooing and nuzzling. The neighbors made a big deal, and as they were all 
oohing and aahing over the adorable bunny, she realized that her brother's 
eyes and nose were red. She figured maybe he really was sick. As the kids 
were piling into their mom's car, he started crying! SHe wondered what was 
wrong, and she asked him. In a voice wracked with sobs, he informed her that
a dog had killed their other rabbit. All went black, and she felt her 
backpack slip out of her fingers, as she fell to her knees in the snow, 
screaming. She was vaguely aware that the neighbors were asking what was 
wrong and that the snow was soaking her pants. She didn't care. All she could 
do was kneel and hit the earth and scream, tears streaming out of her eyes 
and freezing her cheeks. And she just sat and screamed.

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Later when she got up to the house she got the full story.  Someone couldn't
keep their dogs properly chained and leashed, and the dogs got loose, broke 
into the rabbit cages, and killed the male.  

How can such terrible things be allowed to happen to such innocent creatures?

Answer?  Stupidity, neglect, and human error.

That rabbit was sweet and kind, and patient and loving in a slow, gentle way.
He and the other had been attacked by other dogs about a year ago.  Human
stupidity.

They say that humans are the superior species on the planet, and that we have 
dominion over all the beasts.  Well, some people should not be allowed any 
dominion.  They just are not responsible enough! These people can't seem to 
remember that their "sweet adorable" puppy is descended from wolves, one of 
the greater predators on the American continent.  No matter how tame they may
seem, they contain the genetic material of killers, and when let loose due 
to human stupidity, will hunt, chase, and/or kill what they can. 

Others will argure that it is just as much the fault of the owners of the 
prey animals. It isn't. If the prey animals were outside in the open, out 
of their cages, it would be more of the fault of the owners, but if the
carnivorous pets were allowed loose, and they harry horses, it would be the 
fault of the dogs and their owners.  It should be the same with all pets. 

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She couldn't blame the dogs, for they were only following the Natural Order,
nor the rabbit, for it also took its place in the Natural Order, but since
humans seem to always live outside Nature, she could blame them.  
Unfortunately, she knew that the dogs had to be disposed of, and destroyed, 
because they had learned that that place was good hunting ground and would 
come back.  But no anger or blame except to the owner of the dogs.