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Maybe I’m a little biased for headlines that contain the word “saves” and the name of an animal. Whether it’s one animal saving another, an animal doing so for a human, or humans returning the favor, I’m a sucker for these stories. So if I post too often on the topic let me know in the comments section below, along with suggestions for the types of stories you’d rather see more often. If I don’t hear to the contrary, then I’ll just assume you all love these tales as much as I do.
Today I’ve got what’s certainly one of my most unusual “animal savior” stories: a rabbit in Alaska saved its owners from a house fire. The Reuters news agency has the full details.
An unnamed woman and her daughter were sleeping in their home in southeastern Alaska when the woman was woken up by their pet rabbit scratching her chest. Once awake she realized that the house was full of smoke, and she was able to get herself and her daughter to safety. The fire was even put out soon enough that the house sustained only moderate damage.
We don’t usually think of rabbits as being the savior sort. I know all of my experiences with them, and I’m talking domesticated ones here, involve the adorable fluff balls cowering in the backs of their cages. But I’ve only attempted to bond with other peoples’ pet rabbits, and these shy creatures might take a bit longer to warm up to humans. Once that’s accomplished I’m sure they’re bolder, at least with the humans they trust.
The other important facet of the story to note is that the rabbit was free from its cage. If it had been locked up, though it might still have been aware of the fire, it might not have been able to make enough noise or do anything else to alert its owner. Dogs and cats, more commonly credited with warning humans about house fires, aren’t usually kept in cages and thus are more often free to do the necessary waking. If an animal like a rabbit is also free to do so, it makes more sense that it would.
Unfortunately, this story doesn’t have a completely happy ending. Although the woman and her daughter avoided harm and the house was saved, the rabbit was not. It inhaled too much smoke and didn’t survive.
My heart goes out to this family. Although the story didn’t end in total tragedy, their house still needs an unknown amount of repairs, and more significantly, the beloved pet that saved them didn’t make it.
While this story challenges some of my assumptions about rabbits, it reinforces my sense of their fragility. It’s unlikely that the rabbit inhaled any more smoke than the mother and daughter, and perhaps even a dog or cat might have survived that amount of smoke inhalation. But it was just too much for the rabbit.
If anything, though, this story still makes me rethink my stance on owning rabbits. I think as long as I have dogs and cats any rabbits would be unhappy in my house, but if I ever come to a point where I don’t own any canines or felines, I’m more likely to consider a rabbit, now that I know that they too can share that special bond with their owners.
Related Articles:
What to Consider When Getting a Rabbit
Glow-in-the-Dark Cats Fight AIDS
*(This image by foshie is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.)
