Deer in the Headlights

Last night we were traveling down Old Murfreesboro Road where the blackness of the night hung in the air as thick as pea soup fog.

I spotted a couple of cars that had stopped on the side of the road that had appeared to be in a fender bender situation. I slowed the car down and asked if we could help...a young man was visibly upset and told us that everyone was ok, but he hit a baby deer and it was hurt.

In the meantime, another young man was trying his best to grab the deer so that he could finish it off and proclaim the poor animal as "dinner". I yelled at him to ask if anyone called animal control or the ASPCA. He gave me a sour look and dropped the deer and left.

We quickly called the police and animal control and the 3 of us, strangers to all, stared at this beautiful deer in the night, trying to talk and soothe it's shattered nerves. The deer finally stopped struggling and watched us as much as we were watching it.

I could see the shallow panting and the blood on the ground that was spilled as he darted into traffic, smack dab into a Pontiac Vibe. I noticed the deer's tongue was soaked with blood and knew that it wasn't looking good for this little doe-eyed beauty. Hopefully, the animal expert would be here to sedate it and take care of it.

The swirling colors of blue, white and red filled up the sky as the cop soon arrived. He didn't say much except to check on the animal expert. The deer by now had grown accustomed to our faces and had a sense of trust that we were trying to help him.





The animal expert showed up and flashed a light on the deer. We offered ideas on how best to move the deer and asked if he was going to sedate it first.

He looked at us with disdain as he spoke to the cop quietly. "What are you going to do?" my partner asked. "Maam, step away from the animal." is all he would say. He had a huge bulbous stomach that had stretched out the ragged polo shirt he was wearing. He went to his truck and got a revolver.

We all 3 were incredulous. My partner demanded his badge number, to which he replied:

"Maam, step away from the animal. If you try to interfere with my job, I'll take you downtown." So there we had it...she had been threatened by the poster boy for "Hunters R Us". We all 3 looked at the doe again and began to cry. The little guy trusted that we were going to help him.

I can only hope that the gunshot ended his pain quickly. I know that for me, that gunshot is still ringing in my ears and isn't likely to stop my pain anytime soon.




More Musings Later-