Pet deer saga hits deadlock; family in tears

KGW-TV ^ | 09/12/2007 | ANTONIA GIEDWOYN and kgw.com Staff

[Inspectorette]

Just saw this on the 10:00 p.m. News. I guess I shouldn't be surprised - this is the Peoples' Republik of Oregon :-(

[Inspectorette]

Hi folks, don’t know if you’ve seen or heard about this. The ODFW is talking about euthanizing the deer. KGW-TV is being bombarded with people calling in about this.

[advertising guy]

OREGON KILLS BAMBIE AND HER MOTHER.......news a 10

[M0sby]

Okay..I KNOW this is a stupid question..
But a private citizen has BEEN taking care of the deer FOR FREE for 5 years and it is “fine”..
But they want to put it down because it won’t survive in the wild..
Seriously??
Really???
(I know...stupid me...banging head)
That’s (just about) one of the STUPIDEST things I have EVER HEARD OF!

God bless this woman for what she did!

[Jeff Chandler]

Is this a residential neighborhood, and what does the deer smell like?

[Inspectorette]

KGW-TV is running a poll, and it’s 97% in favor of letting the family keep the deer. KGW said that they are being literally bombarded with phone calls of outrage about this, and they are urging people to call ODFW. This is a story that should go national.

[CondorFlight]

We had a similar case where someone cared for an injured bird which could no longer fly.

But because it was a ‘migratory’ bird, they were not permitted to keep it and Fish and Game seized it.

Then, because it was permanently injured and could not be released back into the wild, it was killed.

I thought that sort of stupidity existed only in my state; but evidently bureaucratic nonsense has spread elsewhere, too.

[Global2010]

So they are taking snowball (who is a uniquley pretty lil gal) to a wildlife refugee.
Can’t they consider her home now a refuge.

Come on.

Gee and I hope whoever called in and ratted out an innocent display of caring for a deformed deer feels real good about themselves.

[SIDENET]

After receiving an anonymous tip that the family has been illegally keeping a wild animal as a pet

Someone is a jerk.

[Inspectorette]

It's definitely not a subdivision-type neighborhood. Molalla is a small town (my brother-in-law and his family have lived there for years). The property that this family lives on is quite large.

I don't know what the deer smells like, but have not seen any reports of any complaints from neighbors.

[Inspectorette]

Global, did you see this on KGW? KATU hasn’t shown it on their news, and I went to their website and didn’t see anything about it there, either.

[pandoraou812]

This is asinine...Let the family keep their pets. Maybe they shouldn’t allow them to breed them but the 2 deer should be able to stay with the family. Whoever ratted them out should be ashamed to have done so. Before they would get my pets I would find a way to hide them. Why is it illegal to have deer as pets anyway?

[Crispy]

Molalla is a rural community. This family probably has several acres of land.

[M0sby]

Here's the story:

http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_091207_animals_molalla_deer_pet_.c8f24021.html

To call ODFW:

503.947.6000

 

Ok..so I watched the video..

They live on FIVE ACRES...but weren't willing to let Snowball out of the fenced area for OBVIOUS reasons...

(at least obvious to me...)

The homeowner says that Snowball can't outrun her 4 year-old.

 

Some pictures of the offending deer...(and #3 has Snowball's "son")

It sure LOOKS like a big enough place to me for a deformed deer..

I don't know....it's not like it is a LOUD animal..

Crazy people...

 

 

 

 

Also..here it look to me like they are used to having animals..they have a PIG!

[Inspectorette]

The family has five acres of land.

[mockingbyrd]

the family lives on five acres. There were attempts to make a compromise but it involved not keeping the deer fenced in the property. The family objected because the deer would be exposed to coyotes and other wild animals but was perfectly safe where she was.

From what I saw on the news tonight, they are out in the country.

[Inspectorette]

Wow - M0sby! Thank you for the pix (I’m HTML-impaired.)

[M0sby]

Is this a residential neighborhood, and what does the deer smell like?

Hey Jeff...

Not really residential...
they live on 5 acres..

Good question though...

But the story is here:

http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_091207_animals_molalla_deer_pet_.c8f24021.html

[M0sby]

I have to confess to CHEATING on the pictures..
I happen to use Outlook Express for my email.
I can open a new message.
Copy and paste ANYTHING I want into the message..
And then click on a little tab that says “source” and it turns EVERYTHING into HTML!

I can sorta muddle through some things...but this is SOOOOO MUCH EASIER and FASTER!!!

And WHAT A CUTE DEER!

I am AMAZED (well..not totally..)

[M0sby]

 

 

 

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

 

(503) 947-6000 or Toll Free: (800) 720-ODFW

 

E-mail: odfw.info@state.or.us