Lucky gets adopted after misadventure
Bunny's new owner one of hundreds of applicants
- Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer Mail to: hlee@sfchronicle.com
Thursday, August 19, 2004 CONCORD
Lucky, the rabbit who was tossed into an East Bay lake with an explosive attached, has found a new home.
The animal is now staying permanently with a 42-year-old Concord woman who has experience taking care of rabbits, especially abandoned ones.
"She's a very sweet little rabbit," said Rachel, who did not want her last name used. "She seems to be able to exhibit not only unconditional love, but unconditional forgiveness, too. She seems to be getting past her bad experience and allowing other people to get to know her."
Authorities said Lucky's former owner, Nick Sigmon, 18, his friend, Paul Collins, 20, and others had taped an M-1000 -- a firecracker equivalent to a quarter stick of dynamite -- to the rabbit and tossed it into Lake Don Castro in Castro Valley on July 13.
The explosive failed to detonate, and Sigmon fished Lucky from the water. East Bay Regional Park District police were called after pictures of the incident wound up on the Internet.
Sigmon, of San Leandro, and Collins, a Castro Valley resident, are lifeguards at the lake. They have pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor animal- cruelty charges and are due back at Alameda County Superior Court in Hayward on Sept. 24.
Lucky, about a year old, eventually ended up at the House Rabbit Society in Richmond, which was inundated by hundreds of adoption requests, executive director Erin Williams said Wednesday. The rabbit first had to be spayed and endure a three-week quarantine.
Would-be caretakers went through a detailed screening process, with previous experience taking care of rabbits being one of the requirements. The society picked the Concord woman because she has worked with the group before and "could provide the best possible home," Williams said.
That's where Lucky has been staying since Saturday, munching on hay pellets, kale and dandelion greens and frolicking with Rachel's two other rabbits, Abigail -- abandoned six years ago shortly after Easter in Sacramento -- and Benny, who was found at the Fremont animal shelter.
"They have bonded very well," she said.
Rachel said she hopes that the defendants take responsibility for their actions and that the importance of the incident isn't reduced because Lucky wasn't killed or seriously injured.
"It's always terrible to hear that people are capable of such things," she said.
Sigmon, who hopes to study biology at UC Santa Barbara in the fall, yelled an expletive when contacted recently by a Chronicle reporter. His attorney did not return a call for comment.
Collins' attorney, Harry Traback of Pleasanton, said Wednesday that his client was remorseful but did not play a major role in the incident that the attorney called "incredibly stupid."
"I represent a lot of murderers and tried lots of murder cases, and I can't remember any cases that have gotten quite this amount of attention," Traback said.
Williams said she was elated that Lucky had found a home after suffering "a shocking act of sadistic cruelty." She said many other rabbits still need homes.
Lucky will do just fine, Rachel said. "She has a real strong will to live, and it shows."
E-mail Henry K. Lee at hlee@sfchronicle.com
2 plead not guilty to rabbit cruelty
- Henry K. Lee Mail to: hlee@sfchronicle.com
Saturday, August 14, 2004 CASTRO VALLEY
Two lifeguards have pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor animal-cruelty charges for allegedly using duct tape to attach an explosive to a pet rabbit named Lucky and throwing the animal into an East Bay lake.
Nick Sigmon, 18, who owned Lucky, and his friend Paul Collins, 20, of Castro Valley entered not-guilty pleas Thursday in Alameda County Superior Court in Hayward.
Authorities said the two lifeguards and their friends had taped an M-1000 -- a firecracker equivalent to a quarter stick of dynamite -- to the rabbit and tossed it into Lake Don Castro in Castro Valley on July 13.
The explosive failed to detonate, and Sigmon fished Lucky from the water. Police were called after pictures of the incident wound up on the Internet.
Sigmon, who hopes to study biology at UC Santa Barbara in the fall, has denied that the fuse on the explosive was lit.
Lucky is expected to be adopted after recovering from spay surgery, according to the House Rabbit Society in Richmond.
Rabbit center invites adoption candidates
- Henry K. Lee Mail to: hlee@sfchronicle.com
Friday, July 30, 2004 RICHMOND
Lucky, the pet rabbit who survived being duct-taped to explosives and thrown in an East Bay lake, can be adopted -- but not until she's been spayed and endured a three-week quarantine.
In the meantime, those eager to give Lucky a loving home are welcome to visit her at the House Rabbit Society in Richmond, where she was taken Thursday by her temporary foster mother.
Nick Sigmon, 18, who owned Lucky, and his friend Paul Collins, 20, of Castro Valley were charged Wednesday with misdemeanor animal cruelty.
Authorities said the two lifeguards and their friends taped Lucky to an M- 1000 -- a firecracker equivalent to a quarter stick of dynamite -- and tossed her into Lake Don Castro in Castro Valley on July 13. The explosive failed to detonate, and Sigmon fished Lucky from the water. Police were called after pictures of the incident wound up on the Internet.
The rabbit center is located at 148 Broadway in Richmond and open from 12 to 5 p.m. each day except Tuesdays and Thursdays. For more information about adopting Lucky or other rabbits, call (510) 970-7575, e-mail hq@rabbit.org or log on to www.rabbit.org
Huge firecracker taped to rabbit -- owner charged
- Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer Mail to: hlee@sfchronicle.com
Thursday, July 29, 2004 CASTRO VALLEY
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."
E-mail Henry K. Lee at hlee@sfchronicle.com
|
