Pet rabbit credited with saving couple from fire

by JeffHuang | July 25, 2008 at 03:15 pm

933 views | 0 Recommendations | 15 comments

You hear these stories all the time. Dogs dialing 911 when owners collapse on the ground, or dogs rescuing someone when they are drowning. Pet rabbit saving lives is something I have not yet heard.

A pet rabbit is credited with saving a couple from a fire that swept through their home in the southern city of Melbourne.

Metropolitan Fire Brigade commander Mick Swift said the husband returned home from a night shift early Thursday and heard the family pet, named "Rabbit," scratching at the couple's bedroom door half an hour after he had gone to bed.

Swift said the husband, whose identity has not been released, discovered a fire in a back room and smoke spreading quickly through the house. He was able to escape the house with his wife unharmed.

Swift said the rabbit saved the couple from injury.

He said the blaze caused substantial damage to the house before it was extinguished by four crews of firefighters.

I really enjoy these stories. The bond and trust between pets and their owners personified at crucial moments like these.

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TrickyVicky1971

at 03:51 on July 26th, 2008

Thanks for the Invite.. Rabbits are very intelligent animals.. It does not surprise Me that a pet rabbit could save lives!

TrickyVicky1971 has contributed a photo to this story.

dave0527ky

at 04:13 on July 26th, 2008

OUR FAMILY WAS TAKING A DRIVE IN THE COUNTRY AND SEEN THIS RABBIT SITTING HERE. AT FIRST I THOUGHT IT WAS NOT REAL BUT AFTER A CAREFULL LOOK I COULD SEE ITS EYES MOVE. WE WATCH THE RABBIT FOR ABOUT FIVE MINUTES AND THEN DROVE OFF. THE RABBIT JUST SAT THERE.

dave0527ky has contributed a photo to this story.

Marcela Ramos - Publimagem

at 04:30 on July 26th, 2008

Thanks for invite!

Marcela Ramos - Publimagem has contributed a photo to this story.

marina vrgs

at 05:36 on July 26th, 2008

cute and brave! :]

holliesanders

at 05:38 on July 26th, 2008

Thank you so much for inviting me. Unfortunetly the bunny in my photo pasted away about 2 weeks ago we had him (Nibblet) for 7 years. So i am glad that he can live on with photos of him. Thanks Hollie Sanders

heczone photography

at 05:48 on July 26th, 2008

My rabbit photo was taken at a farm in the Bracon Brecons, recently, so isn't actually my rabbit!

Lori415

at 08:46 on July 26th, 2008

This is Roger the rabbit. :-) Roger was rescued by my daughter in a field near the Erie Canal in our town. He seems pretty happy to be held....

Lori415 has contributed a photo to this story.

abedj

at 08:51 on July 26th, 2008

I have a friend that is getting a degree in genetics. I suggested a great project for her graduate work: Create a rabbit that only eats weeds. Well this rabbit is close. In a garden of carrots, beans, potatoes and much more, this rabbit has not caused any damage and has helped. I delayed in putting up a fence around the garden and so far do not have a need. I came home to find this rabbit new in the neighborhood and he heats the clover and other weeds around the garden. The rabbit is not too scared and thus allows me to watch his daily activities.

abedj has contributed a photo to this story.

Zelda

at 09:00 on July 26th, 2008

I do some photography work for our local SPCA. This is one of many rabbits up for adoption at Bucks County SPCA in Lahaska, PA. If you have a chance, please visit their web site at : http://www.bcspca.org/

XOZ has contributed a photo to this story.

Lilith S

at 09:13 on July 26th, 2008

I just want to say rabbits are cute, cuddly and beautiful. But they are also very smart which they don't usually get a lot of credit for. But maybe the bunny who saved the couple from the fire will be an eye opener for some people. Also on a sad note the bunny in the photo is my Samantha and she passed away last Sunday July 20, 2008. She will be greatly missed.

Lilith S has contributed a photo to this story.

Ricardo3G

at 11:56 on July 26th, 2008

This is my rabbit Haji. He's a Lop Eared bunny. I rescued him awhile ago when I was working at Petco. The familly that brought him in could not keep him anymore due to the fact that they where moving out of state. So I took him and now he's running around in my front yard happly enjoying his new home with me.

Ricardo L.

Ricardo3G has contributed a photo to this story.

jenniferboyett

at 12:16 on July 26th, 2008

Meet Benjamin! He's my new pet rabbit. He's a Dutch rabbit who, I'm told, was rescued about a year ago during a confiscation of 100 rabbits from someone's home in Louisville, Ky. I adopted him from the Arkansas Pet Rabbit Network. I recommend pet rabbits to responsible pet owners. They make wonderful indoor pets.

jenniferboyett has contributed a photo to this story.

kevin94403

at 12:46 on July 26th, 2008

Besides being extremely cute pets give us a "sixth sense".

kevin94403 has contributed a photo to this story.

happybun

at 15:00 on July 26th, 2008

This is Soldier. He received this name because he survived being neglected very badly. He is a wonderful bunny with a great, silly personality. He loves cuddle time.

I would also like to say that I think it is truely amazing & wonderful that the bunny saved it's owners (slaves) lives. This is just another way proving that rabbits make great pets, they are smart, loving, and care deeply and love us unconditionally. They each have such different personalities and I wish I could meet the bun who saved his owners (slaves) hehee.

happybun has contributed a photo to this story.

MettaMomma

at 19:58 on July 26th, 2008

The picture shows my rabbit Amaiya. She is bonded to Sumana, her sister from the same litter. Sumana looks like a rabbit version of a sealpoint siamese cat. I got these rabbits two years ago as my youngest child prepared to leave the nest to go to college. They keep me from coming home to an empty house. As for their smartness: Both rabbits were smart enough to recognize my husband ("banana man") when he returned home from two months abroad. The minute they saw him, they stood on their hind legs to beg for their favorite treat that he gives them twice a day when he's home. The bunnies, though, were too dumb to recognize each other when they were separated for 8 hours when Sumana had an operation. After Sumana returned home, I had to keep them separated for a couple of months because they kept trying to attack each other even though except for the brief separation for Sumana's surgery, they'd been together since they were born.

I loved the story about the rabbit who saved his owners.