The Deer

This is a very sad story......  

Annelise and I went for an ATV ride out at the cottage on Monday May 10th.  The trails were all pretty muddy considering the rain and snow that we had just had.  We avoided some of the ones that we knew would be really bad.  The winch on our ATV is broken, and no one was around to give us a hand if we got stuck.  So we tried to stay out of trouble.  We crossed over the highway and took a trail that circled around behind the golf course beside Long Lake.  The ice was long gone, and there were a bunch of ducks on the lake.  We also saw two Swans...!!  Not sure if they are Whistling or Trumpeter... one of the two is endangered, I think.  We saw a Swan here last year as well, so hopefully they are nesting.  It was pretty muddy on this trail so we made a mental note to stay away until things dry off a bit.

We circled through the new commercial area in town.  The only original buildings that remain are the church and the bank and one industrial building.  All the other historic stuff was demolished and all the trees were cut down to make room for new curbs, sidewalks and lots.  It remains to be seen if anyone actually develops anything.  The County also has an area, just slightly to the west, where they put up fencing and serviced a bunch of residential lots.  I think that must have been about ten years ago and not a single lot has been sold or developed yet.  It seems their development plans are somewhat misguided, or at least optimistic....!

We circled up into the hills above town, and followed the old rail trail for a bit.  We decided to avoid the trail that went down into the flats near Shunda Creek as we knew that would be pretty muddy.  We went back into town, and crossed back over the highway back into the north Subdivision.

As we were driving along Pine Martin Drive I noticed a deer laying in the ditch.  It was kind of scuffed up, and looked like it was dead.  We lurched to a halt and went to check it out.  Much to my surprise it struggled to its feet.  It was really wobbly, and not in very good shape.  It climbed up the bank beside the road and wobbled off into the bush.  We left it alone, but returned a couple of hours later to see if we could find it.  It was there... laying in the bush, a short distance from the road.  It did not look as though it had been attacked by a predator, as the wounds were very superficial.  I suspect it might have been hit by a vehicle on the highway, which was about a quarter mile away.  When Anna and I approached it, she tried to struggle to her feet, so we backed off and left her alone.  But it was starting to rain, and getting rather cold, and we were concerned.  So we went back to the cottage and got a moving blanket out of my truck, and some of the sunflower seeds that we had for our birdfeeder.

When we went back to the deer, it was too weak to get up, and allowed me to cover it with the blanket.

I can't tell you how sad it is to see those big dark eyes looking up at you, as you try to comfort and help a wild animal that is obviously in distress.  We left it for the night, fully expecting that it would pass away.  The next morning we went back to check on it.  It was laying on the ground with its head cranked back in a death pose, but much to my surprise it was still breathing... though barely.  We got some water and returned with Margarit and she tried to dribble some water into its mouth.  It managed to swallow, and moved its head a little from side to side.  She had big dark eyes with long eyelashes and it was a very sad situation.  We left it covered, and left a dish of water, and the birdseed, and hoped for the best.

Margarit and Anna and I had to return to the city that day.  Hailey and Helena stayed at the cottage and they went back and checked on her that evening.  They reported that she was still breathing but didn't look very good, and that she probably wouldn't make the night.  I guess I could have taken my rifle and put her out of her misery, but I was hopeful that there was a slim chance she might recover.  I also hoped that the human scent on the blanket would keep the predators away for a while.

On Wednesday May 12th I headed back out to the cottage by myself.  In the evening I went back and checked on the deer.  She had passed on sometime during the day.  She was cold and stiff and her eyes had glazed over.  I took the blanket away and saw that she had released her bowels.  I cleaned up the site and left her to allow nature to take over.  A very harsh life lesson for the girls... which they took remarkably well.... but it was very sad.