By MARJORIE NEEDHAM
We left the scene of the doe stranded on the ice at Long Meadow Pond in Middlebury Jan. 7 because it was our understanding she had a broken leg and would be put down. We know sometimes putting an animal down is the humane thing to do, but it’s not something we want to witness. It turns out she may not have been put down after all.
Middlebury Volunteer Fire Department (MVFD) firefighter Dave Bunnell reports that when Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) officers arrived at the scene, they examined the deer through binoculars, and, based on their experience, asked the firefighters to attempt to retrieve the animal so they could examine it more closely before making a decision. Two Middlebury firefighters, using recently purchased ice rescue equipment, went back on the ice, and used DEEP snares to retrieve the deer and bring her to shore.
DEEP officers believed the deer was just in shock, and were waiting to see if she recovered when the MVFD left the scene. Bunnell, in a post on the newspaper’s Facebook page, said that when the MVFD left the scene they did not know whether the deer recovered and returned to the woods, or had to be put down by the DEEP officers.
Bunnell wrote, “I just wanted to be sure people know that we rescued her, she was alive but shocked, and in the hands of professional conservation officers of DEEP.”
Our thanks to Bunnell for contacting us. Whenever you have news to share with us, please contact us via our FB page, our website at www.bee-news.com, our email at mbisubmit@gmail.com or by telephone at 203-577-6800.
