Workers rescue baby deer from dog

The 2-day-old fawn will be allowed to mature - up to six months - at a wildlife rescue program in Citrus County.

[Times photo: Maurice Rivenbark] Kande Scarbrough and sheriff's Capts. Mike Maurer, center, and Thomas Blackman move Bucky to a cage for transport to Citrus County.

By JAMIE MALERNEE

© St. Petersburg Times,
published June 15, 2001

BROOKSVILLE -- A baby deer will get a new home after construction workers rescued it from the jaws of a dog.

The newborn fawn, already nicknamed Bucky, was resting comfortably Thursday in a blanket-lined box at the Hernando County Sheriff's Office. Employees took turns feeding it formula from a bottle and cooing over its Bambi-like attributes.

"It's pretty chipper," said Lt. Joe Paez. "He's gotten out of the box a couple of times and pranced around on these spindly little legs."

Paez said a night construction crew flagged down a deputy Wednesday and handed over the tiny deer. They told him they had been working near State Road 50 and Emerson Road when they saw a dog come out of the woods with the fawn in its mouth.

They managed to corner the dog and rescue the deer. To their surprise, the deer had no visible injuries.

The workers did not give the deputy their names, and they could not be located Thursday.

The deputy, Bill Pope, took the deer into the Sheriff's Office for safekeeping. Communications center employees babysat the animal until a volunteer from the Nature World Wildlife Rescue and Rehab group in Homosassa picked it up.

The volunteer, Kande Scarbrough, said the fawn must now be raised in captivity because of its young age until it is mature enough to survive on its own. She said it was no more than 2 days old.

"If we didn't, he would starve to death," she said.

She added that the deer was in good health, although a little dehydrated. She said the dog that captured it probably wasn't trying to kill it, just taking it home as a prize.

After about six months, the fawn will be old enough to fend for itself, she said. Normally, rescue workers release animals back near the area where they are found.

But because this deer was found near construction and the area is not considered safe, Scarbrough said it is likely it will be taken to the Withlacoochee State Forest when the time comes.

"Hopefully, we'll be able to release him," she said.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright