It was all about the deer when safety forces gathered at the home of Vicky Fiume on West Mayfair Circle to save a doe Jan. 21.
Sisters, Terri Bracken and Stacey Jones were visiting when Bracken decided she would go to the room downstairs where there is a day bed to take a nap.
“We do not use that room very often,” said Jones.
Bracken came back up the stairs stating there was a deer looking in the window at her.
They gave the deer a bowl of water through the window and she did bother them or spook at all.
They had no idea how long she had been there. They called the police department. Officers, Perry Linaburg and Mike McQuillen responded to the call. After looking over the situation they called the fire department and Captain, Steve Simich and Firefighter, Brian White responded as well as Tony Moore from animal control.
They began discussing if they could save her. The consensus was that they could. She did not seem to be injured or even on edge, she was pretty calm, considering. It was like she knew she was going to get help for her predicament.
McQuillen stated that she probably was eating the ivy along the house and it camouflaged the window well and she just did not see it.
“Do you want to put the board in there, lasso her and then shoot her with the dart gun?” asked White.
That was the plan they had decided would work best.
The plywood did not fit so the rescuers gathered around the window well and Moore put the lasso around her and McQuillen held the shotgun with the tranquilizer in it.
She was calm enough that Moore felt he could just pull her out. He did successfully and soon he and White removed the lasso from her neck.
She stood there just looking at the team like she was thinking, “thanks guys”.
Linaburg coached her telling, her to go ahead, she was free.
Nothing happened, she just stood there.
Then suddenly she decided to take the path of “most” resistance and leaped between a bush and the house as opposed to just running out into the open space of the yard. In doing so, she not only jumped through a space of about 12 inches wide but also between White who was standing at the corner of the house and Moore who was standing against the bush. They were all trying to get out of her way. When she jumped Moore who had the pole with the lasso in his hands was knocked to the ground as he dropped the pole so the deer could get through and as he lay on the ground, of course there was laughter from the team.
The doe went on her merry way, somewhat dazed and probably a little surprised that these beings in the dark uniforms pulled her to safety. She looked back and continued on.
“Good job guys, thanks,” Linaburg said to the rescuers.
“It felt good to be able to save her. So many times we have to put them down if they have been injured or hit by a car,” said Linaburg.
The deer went across the street but just did not seem to want to leave all the activity and her new friends. She acted like she belonged to the neighborhood as she watched the cars that went by, like she knew the people. She stayed close by just watching until the last rescuer left.
