A dilemma is a situation requiring a choice between equally undesirable alternatives and I have one right now. Here it is.
For months before we went away on our latest vacation I had a friend of mine beg to take Quincy Dog the next time we needed a dog sitter. So I knew when the time came I could call on her.
Well two weeks before we left she needed help with her animals. She had chickens, a cat, a bunny and a dog. We cared for her animals while she was away. I had to drive about 20 minutes or so to her home and feed and water them and kept her old dog here with me. When she got back, she gladly took Quincy Dog with her while we went on the cruise.
When we got home, I asked her husband at church that morning how my dog behaved. He had a strange look on his face. I knew Quincy did something. I figured he chewed something, peed on something or maybe took a dump in the house. No such luck. It was much worse than that.
After church she came up to me, and I could tell she was struggling with the news. She told me that Quincy killed her rabbit. I was shocked. He's never done any such thing. I've never seen any agression in him at all towards other people or animals. We have a cat. No problem here.
She said they put the rabbit in the house since it was so cold out. It was in a hutch. Like most hutches it had an open front area with wire mesh and the back was made of wood with straw in it. It had a small opening that the bunny would hop in and out of that little room in the back
Well I guess the dog did have a fascination, they said, with this rabbit. They could see quite clearly his interest. He would sit and stare at that cage.
One day they left the dog and the rabbit alone in the house for over seven hours. When they got home the cage was completely destroyed and the rabbit lay dead on the floor. No blood. No open wounds, just dead. They, as well as I, figured he took this as a toy, maybe shook it and when it stopped moving it was no use to him. They could see that it must have taken some time for the dog to get into that cage. He somehow flipped the latch and got in but not before completely destroying the cage. I'm wondering how he could have gotten into that back wooded section. The rabbit must have been in terror hiding out in a back corner. There was only a small opening, way too small for Quincy to get in there. How could he do this?
Well both owners assured me, while they were sick about this when they got home, were now okay. They pleaded with me not to treat Quincy unkindly as they were ok with this now. This is what happened.
At first they cried. They immediately isolated the dog in another part of the house and were wondering how they could continue caring for him. He had been sleeping in their bedroom but not that night. They went to bed sick about this. The next morning, Dan got up, read his bible per usual and something in there spoke to his heart. It had to do with harboring wrath. He shared it with his wife and they both decided they couldn't be angry over this. The dog, part hound, did what was natural and it was partly their fault since they could see Quincy's fascination over this rabbit. Afterall they loved this dog and even looked forward to his visit before all this.
They released him from the isolated room and were amazed at what the dog did next. He has a way of "smiling" when he's in trouble. it's very obvious. Anyhow he had that look on his face as he went around and licked each one of their hands. They have a 10 year old daughter as well. They knew that Quincy was making ammends. They said when they first got home that night before Quincy didn't move a muscle off his bed. Very unusual. It was like he knew what he had done.
Now right there in church when I was told all this, it brought me to tears. I was very upset. I had cared for this rabbit myself two weeks or so before. I was very angry with Quincy and thought my husband is now going to finally kill this dog. I was immediately led to feel that I should not only replace the rabbit but also the cage.
Then I found out that this is no ordinary rabbit, although to me it didn't look unusual. A special breeder has already been contacted. My husband informed me today that he was told the cage cost a thousand dollars. For a bunny hutch?
I didn't tell my husband the news until we got home from church. His first reaction was he felt no responsibility. He said this dog and rabbit were in their care. We were in Florida. How is this our fault? If we lent them our car, and the car rolled down the hill after they parked it, and then damaged their fence, is it our fault or theirs?
So like I always do I went to scripture to find an answer. I found this in Exodus 22:14
"If a man borrows an animal from his neighbor and it is injured or dies while the owner is not present, he must make restitution. But if the owner is with the animal, the borrower will not have to pay. "
While it's not exactly a complete fit, it's pretty close. In this case it's the owner's pet that died. So what to do?
They are expecting us to pay the complete costs, and my husband is saying, it's not our responsibility. I'm feeling like Solomon here and thinking maybe we should split the costs even tho I am not wanting to help fund a thousand dollar bunny cage. I have no idea the cost of the bunny. I'm afraid to ask.
Our Associate Pastor said he was glad it wasn't him making this decision.
So what would you do in this situation? Pay for it completely? Not pay at all? Split the costs not out of responsibility but out of grace and friendship?