Man saves Rabbit from drowning

sensibleken

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/brave-owner-hops-to-rescue-after-rabbit-is-thrown-into-river-2812811.html

THEY say cats have nine lives -- but one lucky rabbit clearly has a few to spare, too.
A daring rescue took place after the animal was thrown from a bridge on Sunday night. Its owner jumped into the river after the unfortunate animal, saving it from drowning by a whisker.
The incredible rescue happened at around 8.30pm at O'Connell Street in Dublin city centre.
Around 200 people watched as the man, who is believed to be homeless, dived from the bridge into the murky waters of the Liffey to save his pet rabbit after it was cruelly flung from the bridge by another man.
He then clung to a ledge under the bridge, cradling the rabbit in his arms, before being rescued by the emergency services.
When he and his furry friend emerged, the waiting crowds cheered his bravery.
After the incident, the man and his rabbit were given food and water by a local homeless charity.
A bystander who saw the incident said it was a crazy thing to happen.
"The man dived in after he saw his rabbit in the water. He thought the rabbit would drown. There was a large garda presence after a few minutes. Thankfully they were both okay."
Gardai questioned a number of people before arresting an 18-year-old man. He was taken to Store Street garda station where he was charged with a public order offence and a cruelty offence.
He was released on bail and will appear before Dublin District Court on July 21.

hurray for the guy for having the balls to jump into the liffey after him. It seems it always left to the homeless to rescue anything out of the liffey. Anyone remember that bus that crashed into the river a few years ago?

Glad to see they arrested someone for it too

Tallon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRU_lEqus5o

aoife2k

I saw this on thejournal.ie yesterday... there were some horrible horrible comments made about the man who jumped in.

It warmed my heart to see this, that poor guy just wanted to save his rabbit.
Shame on the person who threw it in... sick people in this world.

Owen

Homeless people need pets too, but there's a wino in Cork with a collie, and it must be the fattest collie I've ever seen. The dogs legs are splayed out because of it's stomach, and it can barely walk, it's coat is completly matted, and the dog is not in a good condition overall. Half of me says it's proabably his only friend in the world and let the two of them be happy together, and part of me says the dog needs some medical and remedial attention too.

sensibleken

aoife2k wrote: »

I saw this on thejournal.ie yesterday... there were some horrible horrible comments made about the man who jumped in.

It warmed my heart to see this, that poor guy just wanted to save his rabbit.
Shame on the person who threw it in... sick people in this world.

Its the journal.ie. along with politics.ie, after hours and the comments section of youtube its pretty much a denizen of bigots and cowards. I wouldn't pay much attention.

Sigma Force

Hope the rabbit finds a home because the streets are no place for it, and many shelters don't allow pets. Rabbits need space to run about, fresh grass, good quality hay, neutering, vaccinating etc. how can he afford to do all that I know there are animal charities that treat medically but what about the right food etc.

It's not often people are charged with animal cruelty the fact it was so public probably helped.

katharinewheel

Sigma Force wrote: »

Hope the rabbit finds a home because the streets are no place for it, and many shelters don't allow pets. Rabbits need space to run about, fresh grass, good quality hay, neutering, vaccinating etc. how can he afford to do all that I know there are animal charities that treat medically but what about the right food etc.

It's not often people are charged with animal cruelty the fact it was so public probably helped.

This rabbit is with a man who literally risked his life to save it. An owner who clearly puts his animals' needs ahead of his own.

How many thousands of rabbits are sold each year to families getting one for their child? Who then end up sitting in a hutch all day because the child then loses interest and the parents have no time for it. And release the poor animal into to the wild where become easy prey for foxes or cats, because y'know, "rabbits can live in the wild". I personally own 6 rabbits. I know other people that own rabbits and i know of people who own rabbits. I took in a rabbit from a woman who surviving on apple peel and cheap supplementary rabbit food because she was convinced her rabbit was allergic to hay and grass and could only drink mineral water! (She having bought the rabbit as surprise present for her daughter's communion and wanted rid when the daughter wasn't bothered cleaning her).

But don't get me wrong. I'm in no way saying that keeping a rabbit on the streets is an ideal situation, but this rabbit probably has a brighter future than most. Given the level of ignorance surrounding small animals.

As for shelters not allowing pets, does that mean his dog should be taken from him too?

Yes, rabbits do have very sensitive stomachs and do need feeding correctly but who is to say this rabbit isn't being fed the correct diet? Rabbit food and hay aren't that expensive. Probably a lot cheaper than buying dog food.
And how do you know that s/he isn't vaccinated already? Considering that you know this man has already risked his life to same his bun. Neutering is probably moot with a single rabbit on its own as the risk of anesthesia with small animals is so much greater. My vet refuses to spay female rabbits given the fact they will often not recover from the procedure.

Rabbits need mental stimulation as well as just a big open space to run around in, and i would say that a rabbit who is enjoying the constant company of his owner and his doggy companion is probably getting a helluva lot more of that than a rabbit sitting alone in a cage or hutch for most of the day, without anything to stimulate it mentally. Who is only let run around for a couple of hours and handled when the kids are bothered too. And whilst I know that this isn't the case of a lot of places that rabbits end up, I don't think I'm wrong in saying its probably typical.

Truly responsible small animal owners are few and far between. This man is one of them. And should be commended for his selflessness in the rescue of his pet rather than having them taken from him.

Cork24

Is this true that he got a job in an animal Home? Fair play to him any one risk their life for an animal is Well in his right to have one

anniehoo

Cork24 wrote: »

Is this true that he got a job in an animal Home? Fair play to him any one risk their life for an animal is Well in his right to have one

See the Herald.ie today. Aw bless! He was offered a job on a pet farm in Tipp apparently.

Cork24

Its nice to see a guy who put his life on the line for an Animal, is giving this Heart felt Thanks, No matter that he is Homeless or not. i'm happy that he is being giving a job that he will love.

i hope the 18 year old gets 12 months in Prison.. and gets :eek::eek::eek::eek: up the you know what. for his troubles

GAAman

I saw the thread title in after hours and avoided it as the thought of the rabbit drowning broke my heart, was so happy to see this thread and realise what happened in the end!

Cork24

know what out of all the people in Ireland, I really hope that he will d othe lotto one day and will Win Big Money, and have the life that he was not giving.

Many homeless people are very Smart but just ended on the Streets of no choice of their own.

at the end of the day the only friend they have are their dog, in this mans case its his dog and rabbit.

makes it worse when people know them from School and stuff, My Dad saw a homeless guy and knew him from School days, and to think this man went to College and back in the 50's not many people went to College.

are you serious

I've met this guy several times while working and I can say one thing for him he is a gent when you get to know him.

His Jack russell was taken from him only a few weeks ago by the dspca and he got it back once they realised how much he cared for it. As for the Rabbit when I first saw him with it about 2 weeks ago I was shocked, I thought it was a teddy

Look as I have already said I know him and I wont get into how I know him but I do and he is genuinely a nice guy, I have no issue with him owning dogs and I know this Jack Russell is not his first, he actually took it from a group of young teens who were abusing it, his last dog was a black terrier type which was stolen from him.

But the rabbit on the night that I first saw him with it looked terrified. Living on Dublin's City streets are not the place for a rabbit. This guy gives his all to his pets, goes without food for himself by giving up half if not all of the free food he gets handed to his dog!

The guy who threw the rabbit into the water, well lets hopehe gets a good fine for doing what he did. He wont take the job and if he does I for one will be very surprised.

godtabh

I saw him with the rabbit on Thursday. I'd say he has great fun keeping it one place if my two are anything to go by!

Cork24

garkane wrote: »

I've met this guy several times while working and I can say one thing for him he is a gent when you get to know him.

His Jack russell was taken from him only a few weeks ago by the dspca and he got it back once they realised how much he cared for it. As for the Rabbit when I first saw him with it about 2 weeks ago I was shocked, I thought it was a teddy

Look as I have already said I know him and I wont get into how I know him but I do and he is genuinely a nice guy, I have no issue with him owning dogs and I know this Jack Russell is not his first, he actually took it from a group of young teens who were abusing it, his last dog was a black terrier type which was stolen from him.

But the rabbit on the night that I first saw him with it looked terrified. Living on Dublin's City streets are not the place for a rabbit. This guy gives his all to his pets, goes without food for himself by giving up half if not all of the free food he gets handed to his dog!

The guy who threw the rabbit into the water, well lets hopehe gets a good fine for doing what he did. He wont take the job and if he does I for one will be very surprised.

Why wont he take the job? Working in a farm with pets at lest his rabbit can run around and his dog can do the same

are you serious

Cork24, he wont take the job because however crazy it may sound he is happy where he is, his g/f lives in Dublin with him on the streets and they as long as i've known them have been sleeping rough. They used to sleep up on Hume Street just off Stephens Green but he had to move his tent as he was getting complaints and that was where his dog was originally taken from him until he reclaimed him!

Sigma Force

Dogs adapt easier but the street is no place for any rabbit there are plenty of people with nice gardens and homes that don't treat their rabbits right it's true but I'm talking about this particular case and it's no place for any rabbit.

People might give food for the dog but what about the rabbit, rabbits need access to hay at all times, people aren't going to be handing him fresh veg and hay. It's great he cares for animals but to really care you need to put the animals needs first.

Sigma Force

Just thinking, does he have a carrier for the rabbit? If not perhaps someone could suggest this to him or give him one. A simple cat carrier is lightweight..ideally one with a metal door but you might get away with a plastic one to start with. Argos do them cheap. If he has somewhere safe like that to house the rabbit and carry the rabbit about because as the bun gets older he's going to find it difficult and the rabbit could run off, a rabbit harness perhaps as well.
The carrier would provide the rabbit with a dark safe place to hide and rest.

falabo

does anyone know if this man now has a carrier for his bunny ?

are you serious

I'm sure by now he's been given one, whenever I have seen him he hasn't got a carrier with him although I havnt seen him since he became famous

He's getting his award today so I'm sure he'l get something sorted today. I know he cant get accommodation anywhere because he has animals so he's not let into any of the hostels around Dublin.

godtabh

when I saw him the rabbit was on a lead

Knine

godtabh wrote: »

when I saw him the rabbit was on a lead

Same here I seen him last week and the rabbit was on a lead sitting beside him eating carrots. I spoke to the man and he seemed a nice guy

Bubblefett

Hope it's okay to bring back an old thread but the guy responsible for throwing the rabbit into the river has been jailed for 4 months for animal cruelty.

http://news.sky.com/story/1020477/man-who-threw-rabbit-in-river-is-jailed