While rabbits may look cute and harmless, they can be surprisingly dangerous.
An 11-month-old girl in China, Nini, learned this the hard way after her finger was bitten off by her pet rabbit.
And what made matters worse was that she couldn't have it reattached because the body part went missing.
As reported by SCMP on Friday (March 15), Nini's maternal grandmother had been busy in the kitchen on Feb 27 when she heard the child cry out.
When she found Nini, the child's hand was bleeding and her right forefinger was gone.
It's suspected that the girl, who had just learned how to walk, had poked her finger inside the rabbit's cage.
Nini's grandmother immediately contacted the girl's parents, who were at work, before rushing the child to the nearest hospital.
There, it was suggested that she should be transferred to Fu Yang People’s Hospital for treatment.
Doctors also advised that the best rescue time period would be within eight hours, so the sooner that surgery is carried out, the better the recovery.
Traffic was reportedly bad, and Nini's grandmother had to ask the local traffic police for help. They were escorted to the hospital in under 18 minutes, instead of the usual 40 minutes.
Unfortunately, in the midst of the chaos, the panicking family did not search for the child's missing finger, reported SCMP.
So, doctors were unable to perform surgery to reattach it.
Doctors also said that if a body part becomes detached, it should always be kept for surgery.
A video published on March 1 by Chinese publication qq.com showed Nini cradled by a woman at what appears to be a room in a hospital to receive treatment.
In the comments section of the video, one angry netizen said in Chinese that the news had made her feel "distressed".
"If I had a child, I wouldn't raise a rabbit along with it," they remarked.
Some netizens also discussed having the animal disemboweled in case the finger was in the belly of the rabbit.
However, one netizen pointed out that this idea "may not work anymore".
This article was first published on AsiaOne and republished on theAsianparent with permission.
ALSO READ:
Best Baby Cot Mattress In Singapore For Safe And Comfortable Sleep