Destiny or Fate

I am not a religious person.  I don't believe in a higher being.  I do, however, believe somewhat in fate or destiny.  Not in so much as a sentient creature controlling my future, but more in that there is a certain order to the universe and if one chooses to pay attention, it can lead him/her down a path of self-contentment.  Today I experienced this very phenomenon.

I had several choices available as to my week-end excursion.  There were 2 poultry swaps and 2 rabbit shows.  Each having a major and a minor.  The major swap and minor show were about a 3 hour drive away, the minor swap 20 minutes (but I go every month), and the major show 2 hours away.  I chose the major show.  This was the first step on the path.

I went to the show with the thought of looking around to see if there would be any Hares present.  Being a rare breed it's not often you see them at nearby shows.  Especially with certain breeders no longer raising them.  I poked around at the show and much to my delight, there was 1 exhibitor with Hares there and he had a nice big buck for sale!  He was a little scruffy, but the body type was very nice.  The price, however was a little steep.  Too steep for me today, perhaps this isn't the path after all.  I made a counter-offer (more of a suggestion) on the price, he declined.  I figured he would.  So with some regret, I put him back in the carrier and accepted the breeder's information so that I could contact him at a later time to purchase stock.

Fast forward a little to the raffle pull.  I had put in tickets on 4 rabbits, 3 Mini-rex and a Thrianta.  I'm not sure what I was really thinking at the time with regards to the Thrianta.  Anyway, I won the nicest of the Mini-rex, a young blue buck with some potential.  I figured now I needed a doe for him, so I went looking around the showroom for a decent broken to go with the little guy.  I immediately went to a well-known breeder, but the one I wanted to choose was a little high on the price scale for what I was wanting (not that she wasn't worth every penny being asked!).  So I kept looking around and finally thought I'd found what I needed.  A broken lilac doe with nice color and an awesome looking coat for a great price!  I found the breeder and asked to have a look.  I flipped her to do a cursory DQ check and when I went to check the front nails, I was stopped dead.  One of her feet had matted fur on the inside of the ankle, further checking revealed some mucous from the nostrils, but the one eye on the same side as the paw was also matted around and below.  I held her up to my ear and detected a wheezing when she breathed.  I was utterly devastated.  The breeder standing beside me was equally surprised.  While it could just as easily have been caused by dust and stress, I couldn't afford to take the chance.  So I handed her back to him, borrowed his sanitizer, and thanked him for letting me look (he did pull her from his sales list, just in case).  I didn't see any other available animals of real interest in the room.

Just as I had resigned myself to going ahead with the first ones I'd looked at, the breeder of the Hares came over to me.  He apparently decided an empty cage was worth more to him than the difference between the price he'd set and the one I'd offered.  I bought the Hare in that very instant (before he could change his mind).

So this is how this particular string of events occurred, and could occur in no other way: 1) we chose to attend that show instead of any of the other events. 2) There was an actual Hare breeder at the show who just happened to have an available animal.  3) Even though I won a MR, I couldn't locate a suitable female at the time.  4) The one MR I found that I liked turned out to have some kind of respiratory issue, eliminating it from my consideration.  5) The Hare breeder decided to sell his available rabbit to me at my lower asking price, making it affordable for me.  If any of these things had changed, I wouldn't have the Hare!  That rabbit is essential to my continued herd improvement.

See... fate.