Deer found hanging by leg rescued by Vernon men
'IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A HORRIFIC DEATH’
VERNON – A deer left hanging from a chain link fence was rescued by two Vernon men over the weekend.
Pete Wise, who operates a wildlife control company, was making his rounds at the Vernon airport early Saturday morning when he noticed the deer hanging by its leg.
“It was exhausted. It likely wouldn’t have lived a lot longer,” Wise says, adding the deer was too tired to thrash or fight when she saw him coming.
He checked the deer for broken bones — in which case he would’ve considered putting it down — and determined the leg was lacerated, but not broken. With the help of another man, airport manager Ian Adkins, Wise blindfolded the deer and duct taped its front legs together to keep it from kicking them.
Wise drove his truck up under the deer and managed to get its leg free. Wise and Adkins then drove the deer out to a nearby creek where Wise bottle fed it some water before releasing it.
“We let her go and she couldn’t stand up. She crawled the first bit then got into the creek and it was almost like, ‘Oh, this feels good.’ She pulled herself down the creek and was starting to recover when she went off around the bend.”
Video footage revealed the deer had been stuck there for much of the night. Wise says it must have tried jumping the fence, but got its foot caught in the chain link.
“She would have died there and it would have been a horrific death. Not only is she hanging there, but now she’s also subject to predation,” Wise says. “You can’t even imagine how terrible that is.”
He says this is just the second time in his career he’s rescued a deer stuck in a fence.
To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infonews.ca or call 250-309-5230. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
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26 responses
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Good men! How fortunate they had a creek to take her to, we all know how good ice packs feel on sore muscles and ligaments.
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Great job…..Pete Wise does fantastic work and has the toughest job imaginable…..kudos to Mr Adkins too….great to have a happy ending.
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Thank you for your kindness, I wish everyone had such a big heart, so glad you got there in time
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I am so glad you all came a long and saw this deer . Thank you thank you thank you ???? Big animal lover here
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Just the nicest 2 men and that deer must be so grateful. I know I was when I read the story———– KUDDOS Mr. Wise and Mr. Adkins. You both are very caring—– Thank You from me………
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