A heroic man ran into his neighbor’s yard during a flash flood to rescue four baby bunnies whose burrow had filled with water.
Revekah “Beck” Dzemali, 29, from Sandwich, Illinois, received a call from her neighbor and friend saying she was concerned about the bunnies living in a burrow at the end of her yard, given that there was an incoming storm and flood warning.
The area floods every easily, Beck said, and she assured her neighbor that if the area did look like it was starting to flood, her husband, Armend, would go and search for the rabbits.
But just 20 minutes later, Beck received a call to say it was too late; the area had flooded so quickly and so much water had fallen that her neighbor was convinced the bunnies had all drowned.
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Armend asked if the neighbor was 100 percent sure, and when Beck couldn’t give a definitive answer, the 29-year-old decided he would head out in the storm just in case.
As rain poured down, Armend, carrying a box, began to dig through the flood waters, before he saw two bunnies floating on their side on the surface.
He put them inside the box before coming across two more, tying his shirt around his neck, so that it was draped over the container that couldn’t fill with more rain.
Unsure of how many bunnies where in the burrow and unable to see under the water, Armend ran his arms beneath the surface and around the burrow, discovering a fifth bunny that had sadly been trapped too deep in the burrow to survive.
Armend then knew he had to rush back inside to care for the other four.
He and Beck, who couldn’t head outside to help because she was recovering from knee surgery, transferred the bunnies into a dry box and kept them warm until they could return to their home after the flooding had passed.
The couple rebuilt the bunnies’ burrow from dry grass and fur, and having put the four babies in the burrow, the couple later checked on them and discovered they had full bellies, as their mom had returned.
Since then, Armend and Beck have seen the bunnies wandering around their area, and a video of Armand’s rescue efforts during the downpour has gone viral on social media.
He said: ” My wife asked over and over if our neighbor was 100 percent sure and our neighbor insisted it was too late.
“I could see on my wife’s face that she was unsure, and I assured her that if she thinks there’s a chance they’re alive that I would go get them, but we needed to act now.
“So, we agreed that I should go search for them just in case.
“During the moment in the video where I was searching for the bunnies, I felt incredibly focused.
“I guess I could say I was anxious but not in a scared way; it was the type of anxiety where you know you need to act and your only focus is on what needs to be done to make sure everyone is ok.
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“The response to the video has been incredibly heartwarming and kind.
“People were saying very nice things about us, especially on the post itself.
“Some people questioned why my wife wasn’t out there to help me find them, but she is recovering from knee surgery.
“If there is any message that we hope people take from this story, it is that you should help others who need it, whenever you can.
“We both deeply believe in helping others and that it should be done with the goodness of your heart rather than expecting something in return.
“The world could be a very happy place to live if everyone acted this way.”
