Moving footage shows selfless Caleb Wadman stroking the singed rabbit as it recovers in a local vet, after they were reunited on TV just five days after he rescued it from the blaze
This is the heartwarming moment a heroic animal lover was reunited with the tiny bunny he pulled from a raging California wildfire.
Moving footage shows selfless Caleb Wadman stroking the singed rabbit as it recovers in a local vet, after they were reunited on TV just five days after he rescued it from the blaze.
The 21-year-old told how he braved "immense" heat as he tried valiantly to rescue the animal, which he said was "screaming" in pain
Local news cameras spotted brave Caleb dashing to within feet of the inferno to save the stricken animal.
He then hunkered down as he tried to lure the rabbit to the side of the road — before bending over and scooping it out.
A man can be heard saying: "It's an animal" as the hero clasped the injured creature and walked from the fire.
Caleb was the second man to come forward after 19-year-old Oscar Gonzales claimed to be the hero the night before.
Tens of thousands have been moved from the path of the wildfire which has burned through more than 50,000 acres since Monday.
More than 200 homes and buildings have so far been destroyed — but that figure is likely to rise much higher.
Caleb said: "In the video that everybody sees, I was going crazy because she was screaming.
Proud Mum Shari added: "I started to cry actually - that was very kind of him, but then I saw how close he was to the fire."
The wild female cottontail rabbit suffered burns and heat damage, and was transferred to a specialist vet after Caleb brought her to Conejo Valley Veterinary Hospital.
“This rabbit needed to get medical attention,” Dr. Duane Tom, director of animal care at the California Wildlife Center, told Inside Edition.
