A RESCUE pet has rescued a drowning pet.

The animal rescue story with a twist in the tale was carried out by Tammy, the new pet of Burnley MP Peter Pike and his family.

The alert dog spotted a black rabbit struggling in the near freezing waters of the canal.

Peter's daughter Carol was taking Tammy for his last walk of the day on the Leeds and Liverpool Straight Mile stretch of towpath when the dog suddenly became agitated.

Carol crouched down to look into the dark water and saw a black, fluffy shape.

She said: "At first I thought it was a cat. Tammy kept getting into the way and I had to tie her to a post.

"When I got back down at first I couldn't see anything and I thought I had lost it. Then I saw the animal struggling weakly. I reached out and was able to pull it out.

"Then I saw it was a dwarf rabbit, black with long ,fluffy ears."

Carol, a housing officer with the Bradford and Northern Housing Association in Burnley, wrapped the dripping rabbit in her clothing and took it home.

It was dried out, warmed and nursed for 90 minutes. It started to perk up when Carol provided it with muesli and warm milk before leaving it overnight in a cat basket.

Carol said: "The rabbit was very, very cold when I got it out of the water. It was a bitterly cold night though the water had not started to freeze.

"When I came down the next morning I did not know whether it would have survived but it was quite lively."

The animal was taken to the vet's and then picked up by the RSPCA who took it to their sanctuary at Altham, which is a familiar spot for Tammy.

The dog was chosen by the Pike family from the many strays at the centre exactly two weeks before.

Mr Pike commented: "We got the new dog after our previous pet died.

"Tammy is a lovely animal and she had been abandoned.

"I was amazed to see the number of animals in a similar position at the RSPCA."