# Lucky - a rabbit who narrowly escaped a gruesome death



## Bassetluv (Jan 11, 2008)

This is an older story, but when I stumbled across it, it had me shaking my head in disbelief. Unfortunately animal cruelty cases are exceedingly common, but thankfully this bunny was (for the most part) unharmed and found a new home. The story is a prime example of people regarding animals as *things*, why they are often prime targets for cruelty and torture because of such thinking (e.g., because one of the offenders saved four human lives the summer previous in his role as a lifeguard, his father stated that people should not judge him too harshly...as if this should negate the action of severe cruelty to an animal), and why I've been wishing for so many years that punishment involved in animal cruelty cases be severe. In many cases the offender gets a slap on the wrist and nothing more. Even though many places have raised fines/charges in animal cruelty, the full extent of the law is still not applied often enough. And while there will always be differing opinions as to animals and their importance, their feelings, and their relevance to humans in general, they will always need protection from those who do not - or cannot - see them as sentient. May that protection some day be much stronger. (My two cents...) 



CASTRO VALLEY
Lucky bunny escapes explosive demise
Huge firecracker taped to rabbit -- owner charged
Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer

Thursday, July 29, 2004





 

 

Lucky the rabbit is living up to her name, no thanks to her college- bound owner, who with his friends is accused of taping her to a powerful explosive and tossing her into a Castro Valley lake. 
Luckily for Lucky, nothing blew up and her owner fished her out of the water because, he told The Chronicle, he didn't want her to drown. 


But that didn't impress Alameda County prosecutors, who charged Nick Sigmon, an 18-year-old lifeguard at Lake Don Castro, and fellow lifeguard Paul Collins, 20, of Castro Valley with misdemeanor animal cruelty on Wednesday. Two other people present during the July 13 incident may also face charges. 


"I think that a lot of people are judging us without knowing us at all," Sigmon said. "It's really bothering me." 
Collins declined to comment Wednesday. 


Sigmon said he adopted Lucky after he nearly ran over her with his Acura Integra as she hopped across a San Leandro street just after Easter. He's headed to UC Santa Barbara this fall -- to study biology -- and said he simply can't care for Lucky anymore. 


Asked why the group decided to tape an illegal M-1000 -- a huge firecracker equivalent to a quarter of a stick of dynamite -- to the animal, Sigmon replied, "Um, that's a real tough question to answer." 
Their downfall came when one of them snapped photos of their alleged deeds and posted them on his Web log, an online diary of sorts. Because nothing on the Internet remains a secret for long, someone who happened upon the photos posted them on Craigslist, the hugely popular bulletin board where people post jobs, sell stuff and look for dates. 


From there, it didn't take long for the House Rabbit Society in Richmond to hear about an incident Executive Director Erin Williams called an "atrocity. " 


"I think it's a real tragedy, and I think that any kind of abuse to any animal, whether it's a rabbit or anything else, is simply inexcusable," Williams said Wednesday. Williams said she urged prosecutors to file felony charges. 


But Deputy District Attorney Steve Dal Porto said the two men face misdemeanor charges at most because neither has a criminal history and Lucky escaped injury. Complicating matters was the fact that Sigmon "jumps in and rescues it when he sees it's about to drown," Dal Porto said. This, after Sigmon was "willing to blow the animal up," the prosecutor said. 


After a traumatized and wet Lucky was pulled from Lake Don Castro, the suspects debated relighting the fuse but decided against it, Dal Porto said. Ian Frazier, the East Bay Regional Park Police detective who investigated the case, said he had no idea what the young men were thinking. 
"We really don't know," Frazier said. "We just know the act itself took place and, unfortunately, motives for crimes like this are difficult to explain at best." 


But Mark Sigmon, 44, said his son saved four lives at the lake last summer and shouldn't be judged harshly. And Nick Sigmon apologized for embarrassing the park district. 
"I just regret making lifeguards look this way," he said. "We're expected to be professional." 
Nick Sigmon added, "(Lucky) never started to sink, but we could tell she was getting tired. She would swim, go for a while and have to float. She floated pretty well." 


Lucky is recovering nicely at the East Bay home of a foster owner who didn't want it known where she lives because there were explosives involved in the case. Lucky is munching away on hay pellets and doing well, Williams said. 


"She's actually in relatively good condition physically," Williams said. "She's even managed to retain her trust in people."


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## TinysMom (Jan 11, 2008)

I remember this case - and I think I read the outcome too. I want to say the young man had to spend some time in jail for this - but I don't remember for sure...I'll try to research it. 

Peg


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## TinysMom (Jan 11, 2008)

Ah - I knew I remembered this:

http://www.rabbit.org/rabbit-center/lucky_rescue.html

Here is what happened - bold lettering is from me to point out the results..

[align=center] [align=left]Rabbit Abusers Plead No Contest:[/align] [align=left]Rescue Group Demanded Strict Accountability for Cruelty[/align] [align=left]
[/align] [/align] RICHMOND, Calif. (April 13, 2005) Â­ Lucky the rabbit gained national attention after her "owner" taped her to explosives and threw her into an East Bay lake. This Wednesday, the men responsible pled guilty to animal cruelty charges in a crime that animal rescuers have called an atrocity. They received a sentence of jail time, probation, counseling, restitution for LuckyÂ¹s medical care, and community service.

This past summer, Lucky's previous "owner" Nicholas Sigmon and his friend, Paul Collins, planned to kill Lucky with explosives. On July 13, 2004, they met a group of friends at San LeandroÂ¹s Lake Don Castro. Sigmon and his friends duct-taped Lucky to a quarter stick of dynamite, lit the fuse, and threw her into the water. The explosives did not detonate, and the men watched her swim until they pulled her, exhausted, onto the dock. While the rabbit lay immobile and terrified, they discussed a second attempt, deciding that the fuse was too short to relight. Perhaps most shocking, the young people planned the torture, taking her to the lake with the intent to blow her up and document the atrocity with video and still cameras. 

An online posting containing shocking photos of Lucky alerted House Rabbit Society, a national rabbit rescue organization headquartered in Richmond, CA, to the abuse. HRS notified East Bay Regional Park District Police, who confiscated Lucky and placed her in HRSÂ¹s care. After providing her with medical and foster care, the organization adopted her to a loving family, where she now lives happily with other rabbit companions.

Alameda County prosecutors charged Sigmon and Collins with misdemeanor animal cruelty. Today, the men pled guilty to the charges. *Judge Robert Fairwell sentenced Sigmon to 30 days jail time and Collins to 15 days in jail. The judge also ordered both men to attend acute psychological counseling, perform community service, and pay fines. Both men also may not own explosives or care for animals during their three years of probation.*

HRS representative Erin Williams states, "Lucky suffered an atrocity at the hands of these dangerous and cruel individuals. While any animal abuse is completely unacceptable, the fact that Sigmon and Collins used live explosives and documented LuckyÂ¹s torture is shocking. This rabbit was a family pet Â­ part of SigmonÂ¹s family. While he should have cared for her and loved her, he instead tried to blow her up." Williams also commends the District AttorneyÂ¹s office, stating, "The DA clearly took this case seriously. Given that Sigmon also recently received probation for a DUI arrest in January, it was imperative that he receive intensive counseling for his dangerous actions."

LuckyÂ¹s guardian Rachel Hess explains, "Lucky went through a hell that no one should ever suffer. What Nicholas Sigmon and Paul Collins did to her was nothing short of sadistic torture and abuse. The fact that their heartlessly cruel act was also proudly posted on the web shows a blatant and callous disregard for life and the law." Like the thousands of people who wrote letters, signed petitions, and called the court, Hess encouraged the court to consider a sentence appropriate for the incredibly cruel act against a helpless creature.

For more information about Lucky, please visit www.luckyrabbit.org. For information about HRS chapters and rabbits available for adoption throughout the Bay Area, please visit www.rabbit.org. 

*# # #

*_House Rabbit Society is an international non-profit organization that rescues rabbits and educates the public on rabbit care and behavior through its national network of fosterers and educators, advocacy programs, and its limited-access rabbit shelter in Richmond, California. _


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## Bassetluv (Jan 11, 2008)

Thanks very much Peg...I had never heard about thiscase before today,and when I read this articleI was wondering what happened to the offenders. I'm glad to see that the judge took it so seriously, andordered counseling for them as well. Itseems to me that anyone who can knowingly cause pain and suffering to an animal must have some pretty serious inner issues going on. And for those who neglect animals and leave them to suffer in other ways, like starving or freezing them outdoors with no adequate shelter...well, hopefully sentences will get tougher all around.


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## BlueCamasRabbitry (Jan 11, 2008)

OMG. That is just horrible. Poor Lucky. Who could even want to do that? That is so rude and so incredibly cruel. Her "owners" should have to spend 5 years in jail, not just 15 &30 days. That's really ridiculous. I think I should becomea judge for animal cruelty cases, because then people like this would be sentenced way longer and some would face the death penalty for extremely serious animal cruelty cases. It makes me so angry that the law doesn't make them stay in jail longer. 

Humans who kill humans get death sentences and/or stay in jail the rest of their lives. People who are cruel like that (to animals) should have to face the same. Afterall, animals are "man's best friend". They are just like humans, despite them being four-footed and furred, they have souls, minds, hearts and they deserve to have their violators get life in jail for the crimes they commit. 

Emily


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## swanlake (Jan 14, 2008)

how on earth could one possibly want to hurt a thing that is so darn cute??


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## FallingStar (Jan 15, 2008)

Omg, I think those guys should of had more time in jail! That's horrible. If a human hurts/kills an animal, whatever they did to the animals should be done to them. Like what happened to Lucky, those guys should of got powerful explosives duct-taped to him and then throw them in a lake. Them in a lake and see how they like it. 


I think that each of those guys should of got at least 2-4 years is jail and should _*NEVER EVER own an animal again. 


*_That's what I would of done. If I ever met that guy I would ask him "_what on earth he was thinking and if he would like to be thrown in a lake with heavy explosives taped to you so you can hardly stay above water?" _I wonder what his answer would be. Probably nothing or just walk away.


This stuff makes me soooooooo mad. I can't see how people do horrible things to animals and then only get 15 days in jail for it and the animal is traumatized for life. Sheesh, seems like people don't have minds. 

Karlee


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## PixieStixxxx (Jan 15, 2008)

That's the problem with the legal system - Animals aren't viewed as something that lives, breathes, and feels pain - such as humas. They're considered "property".

The maximum here in Canada, is 6 months in jail, a $2000 fine, and a 3 year probation that inhibits you to own animals. But most people don't even get the 6 months in jail time.


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## FallingStar (Jan 15, 2008)

Yeah, I know what you mean Pixie. And they shouldn't be known as property. They feel things and they can be hurt.


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## Leaf (Jan 17, 2008)

That amazes me. Lifeguards don't want the bunny to drown, but have no qualm about detonating it.

I heard another *odd to the "profession"* story on the local news a few days ago.. where a volunteer firefighter was arrested and confessed to setting 3 fires.

I just don't understand how people become so warped.


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