Noel Fitzpatrick, star of British reality show The Supervet, has proven that he doesn’t need to be in the office to save an animal in danger.
The veterinarian/TV star was out promoting his new book, Becoming The Supervet, when he spotted a swan stuck on a heavily trafficked road in Dublin. Fitzpatrick was able to herd the bird to the side of the road before scooping it up in his tweed blazer and finally setting it free in a nearby canal.
“On route to the next interview in Dublin this afternoon and we came across this poor confused fella who was stuck in the middle of the main road.” Fitzpatrick tweeted, along with a video of the rescue. “Having experienced many Swan rescues down the years I knew I could help… mission accomplished…now happy and safe at home.”
On route to the next interview in Dublin this afternoon and we came across this poor confused fella who was stuck in the middle of the main road. Having experienced many Swan rescues down the years I knew I could help… mission accomplished…now happy and safe at home x pic.twitter.com/wXoOIk8JKP
— Noel Fitzpatrick (@ProfNoelFitz) November 6, 2018
“It’s fine mate, we’re home,” Fitzpatrick can be heard saying before releasing the swan.
“We were rushing from Grafton Street down here and across the canal and a swan just mistook the road for the canal because it’s blizzarding rain down there,” he told radio host Ray D’Arcy after arriving at his interview.
“It just landed on the road right in front of a taxi cab and trucks were coming and bikes were swerving and I said, ‘pull the car over!'”
“Fortunately, I had a lovely tweed jacket that I had just done a television interview in. That was perfect for getting a swan safely under it and ran him back to the canal and released him.”
Apparently, the large bird was no small burden to bear.
“My wrist is killing me, he was huge!” Fitzpatrick also said during the interview.
People on Twitter were equal parts impressed and amused by the celebrity vet’s heroic rescue.
How lucky was the swan, of all the people in Dublin, he bumped into the magic vet 😊😊
— Ginnie Edwards 💙 👏🏼 (@ginnie_edwards) November 6, 2018
Only you could pull off the ‘following a swan down a Dublin Street dressed in a sports jacket’ look
— Michael Taylor 🥃 (@mickeywhizz) November 6, 2018
See, that's the definition of a true gentleman, to me anyone who genuinely loves and appreciates animals are the best people to be around.
— nikki scott (@nikki51jamtart) November 6, 2018
I seriously thought ‘why is Mr Bean chasing a swan, i don’t remember that episode’.. Great job 👏🏻
— SB-NQY 〓〓 🍷 (@nqy_sb) November 6, 2018
And obviously, no one in the U.K. can ever rescue a swan without someone referencing Hot Fuzz.
Should’ve asked these guys to assist 😀👍🏻 pic.twitter.com/sUUlW6lvKP
— Sean O'Connell (@finbarferocious) November 6, 2018
It’s worth noting there was an almost identical example recently. Check out this police officer rescuing a swan in Norwich, England almost exactly three years ago.
RPFOU swanning around on the A47 Colney after this swan landed on bypass. Rescued to a safer location #swanrescue pic.twitter.com/n1CcoOOz0e
— Norfolk & Suffolk Roads and Armed Policing Team (@NSRAPT) November 4, 2015
Apparently early November is a dangerous time to be a swan in the United Kingdom.