toastier.org ; Save the rabbit

Driving along, I spotted a rabbit laying in the middle of the road. As I drew closer, I was saddened: the hind legs of the rabbit had been flattened by a car, gluing it to the ground. But the front was fine, and I saw the rabbit looking at its hind legs, struggling to move out of danger. It was sad and odd all at the same time. It was like watching a disembodied hand run around.

So I pulled my car to the side, dodged traffic and knelt beside the rabbit. It looked at me, helplessly and I looked back, hopeful. I assessed the injury and ran back to my car, grabbing some spare paper towels, a side of a cardboard box and plastic bags from the trunk. I went back, donned the plastic bags as my gloves, and gently scooted the side of the cardboard box beneath the flattened hind legs. It was a terrible mess, but I managed to gingerly move the rabbit onto the box. After making sure the rabbit was securely on the box (I said, "Are you okay, bud?" It just looked at me, wide-eyed; I took that as a yes), I placed a paper towel over the damage and carefully made my way safely away from traffic.

But none of this happened.

I couldn't save the rabbit. By the time I had pulled to the side, I saw in my rearview mirror the inevitable: a massive SUV, oblivious to anything on the road, barreled right over it. "Damn it," I cursed to myself. "God damn it."

—10 August 2008 ; 2 comments

No TrackBacks

TrackBack URL: http://www.toastier.org/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/261

Marianne on August 10, 2008 at 7:33PM

Aw, man. A similar thing happened with me and a tiny kitten one night. Pretty damn terrible.

Rachel on August 10, 2008 at 10:14PM

I'm crying.

Hi, my name is Amy. Be well, and say hello!