This happened at George and Monica Fetzer's and I'm going to let Monica tell the story:
"So...what takes 1 firefighter, 2 doctors, 1 nurse, and a
photographer/water carrier? Give up? Need a hint? It happened right here,
on our moorage...you might say right beneath our feet!
Give up for real? Ok...drumroll...
We saved a deer that got stuck UNDER our house! Yes. Believe
it, we have the pictures to prove it!
Last Friday George and I were peacefully watching a
documentary about the Hubble telescope. It was about 9:30 p.m. I kept hearing a
funny noise...kind of an erratic kerthunking. After about 15 minutes of this I
asked George if he heard it...in effect I guess I had unwittingly called the
fire department's closest first responder! He thought the sound was coming from
the dock side of our house, grabbed the flashlight, and headed out the back
door. I headed out the front door. We converged at the corner of our house,
where I saw the area had been soaked by some intense splashing. Hmmm....that's
odd. Then I heard loud breathing...almost snorting...and saw plumes of hot air
emanating from under our house What???!!! I cautiously shone the
flashlight under there...and with shocked disbelief saw two huge ears, attached
to a large head with bulging black eyes and a long
nose..."George...there's a DEER under our house"! Now what!
Unsure that we could get this resolved on our own, I called Mike...you know,
the emergency doctor!! After a "you've got a WHAT stuck under your
house?" he gathered a small arsenal of equipment and came down. In the
meantime Ed and Ellen (cue doctor #2 and the nurse), on their way home, stopped
to see what the commotion was all about and to try to help us figure out what
to do! By the time Mike arrived George was taking up deck boards, as it was
quite clear the deer wasn't getting out the same way she got in.
Once she was exposed, Mike (with the strap he had just
bought that day) was able to pull...I mean really PULL her up. I swear it
looked like a deer was being delivered from between the logs of our house. Once
he got her onto the dock one of the doctors diagnosed hypothermia and ordered
large amounts of warm water. Just about then the nurse noticed a rounded
belly...she's most likely pregnant! About 100 gallons, 2 blankets, and LOTS of
intense shivering later, our 'patient' finally started looking around and
moving her ears. That was when we started wondering how we were going to get
her off the dock to the safety of land! Pulling didn't work. Pushing didn't
work. Herding with a lawn chair didn't work. Waving our arms didn't work. We
considered trying to load her into a dock cart...that CERTAINLY wouldn't have
worked. A boat was even considered.
Eventually, she started to walk...but the 'wrong' way,
towards the end of the dock, still wearing a blanket. Now word was spreading,
and Tom Jr joined us. He must have had the magic touch though, cause no sooner
had he approached this slowly reviving deer, she knew what she had to do and
SPLASH...jumped into the water and enthusiastically swam to shore! We followed
her progress up the bank, through the heavy shrubbery, until we knew she had
made it!
After 2 hours, our job here was done! And yes, George and I
finished our documentary...just a bit more aware of the wonders NOT only in the
heavens...but also right under our feet!"
No comments:
Post a Comment