Miss Helen:

We were much saddened by the news of the untimely dispatch of Bella the Bunny. Bella is and will continue to be sorely missed.

Still, as a friend of Lucy [the dog], I feel I should come to her defense. Please consider the following:

1) The fact that Lucy was observed in the vicinity of the victim shortly after the sad event does not constitute proof of her guilt. In this cruel world, bunnies do come to tragic ends by any number of means other than murder.

2) I submit that the report I heard, in which Lucy was seen "standing over" Bella, was unfairly prejudicial to my client. Lucy might just as surely have been trying, in her limited capacity, to render aid. A dog is larger than a bunny, and even the most sincere resuscitation attempt can look sinister at a suspicious glance. Furthermore, Lucy might have arrived too late, and was merely looking tearfully down at her fallen comrade, heartbroken in the hopelessness of the moment.

3) Stipulating for the sake of argument that Lucy might have been involved, albeit innocently—and this should not be construed as an admission, only a speculation—still that involvement would in no way rise to the level of criminality; it would be merely indicative of something on the order of enthusiastic "roughhousing" which in this case innocently led to tragedy. Dogs, after all, have only their jaws with which to playfully grab their friends; and even an experienced animal like Lucy might miscalculate the customary force of a playful grasp versus the soft delicacy of a bunny. Did not Romeo accidentally—and to his regret and grief—slay Tybalt with the merest prick of a friendly sword? Can we ask more caution and restraint of a Dachshund than of Shakespeare's immortal characters?

4) Finally, dogs through the ages have chased bunnies. They know no other approach to them. Chasing bunnies is bred into dogs without their knowledge or consent. And throughout those long ages, bunnies caught by dogs have suffered ill fates. It is the nature, after countless generations, of the dynamic between the two species—regrettable, certainly, but neither the fault of dog nor bunny. No, it is Nature's fault, this dreadful, long history of fatal clashes. As the wise Prince pointed out at the conclusion of the story of Romeo and Juliet, even though we are innocent of Nature's crimes, yet... "We are all punished!"