I just heard the gun shot.
I was making my obligatory rounds to gather my cat. I mistook one of the baby deer twins for my cat. We both frightened each other, but we were okay. I fed two strange cats the treats that were meant for mine and then continued on my way to find Lyra. I rounded the corner of Mapleton and Folsom. I heard a sound. A dog was running around in the street. My heart jumped right as Lyra jumped from a bush behind me. My emotions were confused. I was relieved that my cat was unharmed, but afraid of what was. I scooped her up and threw her in the house. I ran frantically to the street. Carl ran after me. A mature doe had been hit by a car- two dogs had chased her into the street. The drivers called someone, dragged her off the road and then took off. She was still alive (and I want those drivers to know that to leave a life kicking and panting like that is irresponsible and cruel). A bike rider approached us. She stopped and knelt with us. We waved off traffic and spoke soothingly as the deer struggled with her last breaths. Finally, a police officer arrived. She told us that another officer would arrive shortly and that there would be a gun shot- that we probably shouldn't watch. I came back and wanted to reach out to the virtual world with shaking hands. I hope she is no longer scared and in pain.
I will be looking out for those fawns. If I notice that their mother is not here within a day, I will call the Park Services to help.
About Me
- sea dot
- I am a filmmaker and artist (check out the web sites below). I'm also an amateur astronomer and explorer. My artistic endeavors often draw from my scientific background. I love light in all of its forms (particularly polarized light) and I love exploring its nature through film, photography and anything else that might come along. I also love movies, movies, movies- film is my favorite storytelling medium!
4 comments:
This is so sad. What a terrible experience . . . It seems like you were meant to be there to help. I hope that this wasn't the babies' mother. Is this kind of hunting legal in your residential neighborhood? You did a really compassionate, good thing by staying with the injured deer. Hang in there.
Actually, there was no hunting- the deer was shot by the cops so that she could be put out of her misery (she was in so much pain and the nearest large animal vet facilities were 45 minutes away). As awful as it was to hear that shot, I was just so happy that she wasn't in pain anymore. It was so hard to watch her struggle.
I don't know where those dogs came from, but they chased her out into the street and then an SUV hit her (and almost hit the dogs- I couldn't get them to come to me). I am thinking that the drivers took off because they were either speeding (the speed limit is 30mph- slow enough to swerve or stop) or drunk. Deer get hit a lot near our house (I've witnessed one other event, but the deer died very quickly- that jackass took off too).
Thanks for your thoughts. My neighbor put a cover over her (they couldn't pick her up until later) and promised her that we would give the babies oats. I'm still hoping that she wasn't the mother.
Thank goodness you were there to help the deer. I thought that maybe the dogs were with hunters. Please let me know what happens with the babies. Big hugs!
How are things lately? Is the mom back? I hope everyone is doing well.
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