Anola teen swoops in to rescue drowning rabbit

A teen from Anola, Man., wasn't going to let anyone stop her from saving a drowning rabbit from a horse's water trough earlier this week.

It was a quiet night on 10 Acre Woods, the family farm and animal rescue just east of Anola. Tiana McKean, 15, went outside to feed the dogs when she heard a splash.

"I quickly ran over and looked and I could see the head, poking out of the water. And then I ran back inside, grabbed my shoes, and yelled at my dad, 'There's a bunny in the trough!'"

Her dad took a video while his daughter ran around the electric fence to get to the trough. Without a moment's hesitation, McKean reached in with both hands to scoop out the thrashing bunny from the water.

"I know a lot of bunnies, even wild ones, as soon as you're holding them, they're good. But it's just that normal, like if you're afraid, then they're afraid, and then they're more likely to attack," she said.

She then comforts the animal, cradling it against her chest while squeezing water from its fur.

She said its heart was "just pounding." 

"She was soaking wet. It felt like you had cotton or fur and she felt like a big ball of that because she was so heavy with water," she said.

And the rescue was a success. An hour and a half later, McKean says the bunny was hopping around, mostly dry.

"She kind of stayed around, she didn't run away from me right after. So she knew what I had done," said McKean. "I just feel like anyone should do that. And it's just another life. Every animal has their own personality."

McKean hopes to one day run her own animal rescue.

"I've just always lived with them and I feel kind of like a kindred soul," she said.