Fawn Injured By Hit-And-Run Driver Receiving Healing Care
BY CLAIRE GALOFARO/Bristol Herald Courier
The rescued fawn lies in a basket Friday as it awaits transport to Nickelsville, Va., for rehabilitation and eventual release back into the wild.
BY CLAIRE GALOFARO
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
BRISTOL, Va. – A spotted, 5-week-old deer got off to a rough start Friday: While strolling a lonely stretch of Stagecoach Road with his mother about 8:30 a.m., a car plowed him over. The driver who hit him just kept going.
But a good Samaritan saw the accident, called it in and waited by the young fawn’s side until the cavalry came.
Lucky for the fawn, the cavalry happened to be Bristol Virginia Animal Control Officer Lisa Holly.
“He was laying out in the middle of the road, near death,” Holly said. “I thought we would have to put him down on scene. Normally, we probably would have shot him.”
But as Holly wrapped him in a blanket to move him to the shoulder, he started coming back to life.
“I was close to crying,” she said. “He was such an awkward, bendy little thing with long, spindly legs. It broke my heart. But, then he got more alert, started moving around.”
The fawn, a spitting image of Bambi, weighed around 10 pounds, she guessed, and was just a couple feet long. His only obvious injuries were little cuts on his face and legs. It is unknown if his mother was injured; she ran from the scene, although Holly suspected that she was watching from the trees.
Determined to save the fawn, who couldn’t walk, Holly packed him in the truck and took him to the Jones Animal Hospital for treatment.
Then the question became where he would go for long-term rehabilitation.
The hospital called Alanna Dingus, a Nickelsville, Va.-based wildlife rehabilitation specialist who agreed to take him in and nurse him back to health.
Dingus and Holly plotted a fawn-exchange for 6:20 p.m.
Holly, off-duty since 4 p.m., drove her personal red sports car to the meeting, with the deer nestled in a crate in the back. The women parked next to each other, petting the deer and smiling for photos. Then Dingus put him in her minivan and drove him to his new home.
Dingus said she would start by keeping him in a small pen and feeding him by bottle. With time, he’ll be able to wander her woods on his own, coming back only for meals. Eventually, she’ll set him free.
“I’ll try to get him completely weaned by Aug. 1,” she said. “Then he can assimilate, get wild again before hunting season. By then, he’ll be big enough to eat on his own, run fast enough to protect himself and go out and get good and fat before winter.”
Dingus works at a veterinary hospital and saves wild animals for free in her off time.
“It’s just fun, a hobby,” Dingus said. “I actually pay $10 a year to keep my license.”
The fawn is now in good company. Dingus is caring for two raccoons, a wild turkey, a couple other fawns, squirrels and rabbits.
“He’s got some head trauma,” she said, “but since this just happened, he probably has a good chance of being able to be back into the wild. We just hope he gets better.”
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Reader Reactions
The moral of the story was good, but still…the driver that accidently hit this deer is not a murderer and should not be labled a “hit and run” driver. THAT is the point of these comments!
I think I was misunderstood, because it is not ALL ABOUT THE MONEY. OFCOURSE, my first concern would be my child’s and my safety, however, this article is not about humans being injured. I am all about loving animals, have hit animals before and cried my eyes out. I am just into being REAL, it IS ALL ABOUT REALITY. I live paycheck to paycheck, and the last thing I need is my only means of getting to work completely totaled. I value everything I own because I have worked hard to get it. I have not been given ANYTHING. I have known of people to be driving down the road and a deer hit THEM. My whole point was that I would have SO MUCH MORE to worry about than the deer.
I think a lot of people must have missed the point of this story.
I, for one, have been one of BHCs biggest critics..but I have to say this story was well written.
With all the stories about robberies, murders and such, it is nice to read a little something about compassion for life.
God bless those people who worked so hard to save this little one. I am so glad there are still good people left in this world.
Actually “doochie” I can read rather well.
My comment was toward Mama2Ze and the fact that she stated her primary concern would be the monetary damage caused to her car.
Just as BareFootFreddie said…the primary concern should be for the life of her child, then the deer, THEN the car..(because that is what car insurance is for.) Cars can be replaced. Lives cant.
I can also read well enough to tell that your name fits you pretty well.
I find it odd that the status of this deer has not been updated by the paper-if you haven’t read through the comments, apparently the deer died due to its injuries.
Wild animals are hit daily, the best we can do is drive cautiously where they are known to be and hope it doesn’t happen to you. Hitting a deer can be deadly-for the people in the car as well as the deer. However, I don’t recall any deer getting ticketed for reckless jay walking.
I agree with others-the tone of this article is absurd. I wish I got a write up in the paper for every animal I’ve saved-or tried to save as this case proved, but that doesn’t mean that I believe people who hit a wild animal and don’t stop are cruel-they probably just feel lucky to be alive after such an encounter.
WOW! Really? I saw a dead skunk and two dead groundhogs on my way to work this morning. Where is their write up in the paper? It just broke my hart! WHY!!! WHY!!!! I’m glad you all think this is so news worthy. This is the dumbest thing I have ever seen in my life.
Good grief. You people should be concerned about how you are treating each other…then worry about the DEER! I am not surprised at what I have read, but am at the same time. It is sad that the deer was hit. I live on a country road and have almost hit deer dozens of times. Yes, you do have to be cautious when driving on a country road, I see a dead animal every day. Ground hogs, squirrel, possum, and YES deer. I know how quickly one can dart in front of your car. The first animal I ever hit as a young adult was a small dog. I stopped, left my car parked in the middle of the road, cars were swerving to miss me. I banged on the nearest home’s door to no avail. Then the owner came. She took her dog to the vet, called me at work and asked ME to pay the vet bill!! I have never driven by that house without thinking what a vindictive woman she must have been. I have accidently hit a cat once too about 1:00 in the morning. Was I supposed to stop and walk down a dark stretch of road to knock on doors to find the owner? I do agree that the title of this article is way out of line. But it is too late now. Maybe the person that ACCIDENTLY hit this deer is remorseful. Only they know. But do you honestly think they will come forward now that they have been labled a “hit and run” driver? Shame on the writer of this article. How do you know that the driver didn’t just “graze” the deer and in the darkness maybe didn’t know what he/she even hit? I don’t believe for a second that this fawn was “plowed over” or it would be dead!
Bunnyhugger….......CAN YOU READ?????
Or is it that you cannot understand what you read???
Yeah, Mama2Ze. Its all about the money, right?
I hope you dont teach your child such rubbish.
Mama2Ze—If I traveled down a road where I spotted or had close encounters with deer 3-4 times a week, I would travel slowly, especially at daybreak or after dusk. Should I hit a deer, I would check on my 3-yr. old FIRST and then the animal—Frig the car, that’s why I carry insurance—I don’t care if it’s 10,000 or 10 million—NO amount of money can replace a life—Animal or human, all are God’s creation—Things can always be replaced—Slow down, forget the car and give Ze a hug tonight—Life is not about the things we own, but the things we love—And who love us back, unconditionally—
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