Written by Matthew J. De Reno Monday, 07 June 2010 07:16

Hares Don't Make Good Tortoises And Other Life Lessons

Yesterday I was out walking with my daughter when we happened across an injured rabbit (read: metaphor for your poorly designed website). The rabbit stood there in the sidewalk and did not want to run anywhere, despite our English Setter, Coco, pawing at the ground around it (read: metaphor for your vicious competition). My daughter, 6, was concerned for the rabbit (read: your business means well, it should just be well). My dog was licking its chomps (read: your competition is ready to pounce). 

Upon closer inspection the rabbit appeared to have suffered a nasty wound just below its right eye (read: poor navigation, site usability, slow web hosting, etc.). Perhaps it was a dog or a cat that wounded the rabbit? (Read: did you do the site yourself). I told my daughter we should keep going as there is not much we can do for it (at least I thought).

Okay, I will stop with the metaphorical explanations... (for now).

No luck.  About twenty feet along, she started bawling. She desperately wanted to help that rabbit. She told me I should put it in my hat, take it home, and let Mom put some disinfectant on the rabbit's wound.  Her tears convinced me I should give it a try.

"Okay," I said, "You hold Coco's leash, while I do this... I can’t' carry this rabbit and have Coco pulling on the leash at the same time..."  She took the leash from my hand.

I walked closer to the rabbit and the poor thing wouldn't budge.  It simply stood there with a fairly gruesome laceration under its right eye.  I put my hat down and was ready to scoop up the poor creature. I stared at it closely, afraid to touch the dying animal.  I paused, rethinking my course of action.  Was there someway I could convince my daughter that this rabbit, despite our good sentiments, was not going to make it? 

Just like that, Coco's large snout snapped in a blinding motion.  The rabbit was snatched from the hat!

My daughter screamed. Coco had the entire rabbit's head in her mouth.  Breaking free of our hold on the leash, Coco bolted across the street, while the rabbit’s body flailed wildly from her mouth.  Coco dashed in circles in the middle of a fairly busy street and I couldn't catch her. Besides Coco’s safety, I was afraid she was going to bite the rabbit's head off—right in front of my daughter! Cars slowed and horns blared. 

Finally, I got hold of Coco's leash and she let go of what was left of that poor lifeless creature. My daughter was in tears. 

I was able to console my daughter and explain to her there is a life lesson to be learned here: Nobody did anything wrong.  We wanted to help that rabbit. We wanted to do the right thing.  Coco was only doing what was in her nature. The rabbit is now out of its suffering. And such is the way of the world.

She finally calmed down enough that we could complete our walk. Later she seemed to come to grips with the way of things.  It made me think if I ever told her the tale about the tortoise and the hare.  It probably didn't make much sense now.  Later that day, I logged into my website and fixed some things while looking over my shoulder for my dog.