Who am I, and why am I not in the woods?
I am NOT a wild deer !! Please understand that I cannot be "returned to the wild," because I was never in the wild. I was born on a deer farm. There are lots of deer farms in Ohio-- over 1000. People raise deer for meat (Yikes!), trophy hunting (double yikes), to collect urine for hunting scents, and just for the pleasure of our company. My mom is a vet that had helped the deer farmer before with some sick fawns, and he brought me to her emergency clinic late one night in June, 2003. I was born a triplet, and my mother had pushed me aside, refusing to nurse me, while she nursed by two bigger brothers. The farmer gave me to my mom to try and save, because I was of no use to his farm, but he felt I was worth saving.
Since I was born sick and blind (though my vision is better than it used to be, I am still about 50% blind), I was raised in the house. I was supposed to go out to the Barn, but there were big scary horses out there. It was much more fun in the house with the dog and cats. I taught myself to be housebroken like the dog, and my family let me stay in the house instead of the barn. I do have plenty of room to play and graze, and i even swim in the pool in the summer. I am not allowed to mix with wild deer. That is against Ohio law. My family loves me like a child, and I love them like my parents. We all get along very well and we have been living this way now for over 7 years. I have a legal permit from the State of Ohio and I am happy to do anything I can to raise awareness for my cousins in the wild. Please, know the law: IT IS ILLEGAL TO TAKE DEER OUT OF THE WILD AND MAKE THEM A PET OR PUT THEM ON A FARM.
Since I was born sick and blind (though my vision is better than it used to be, I am still about 50% blind), I was raised in the house. I was supposed to go out to the Barn, but there were big scary horses out there. It was much more fun in the house with the dog and cats. I taught myself to be housebroken like the dog, and my family let me stay in the house instead of the barn. I do have plenty of room to play and graze, and i even swim in the pool in the summer. I am not allowed to mix with wild deer. That is against Ohio law. My family loves me like a child, and I love them like my parents. We all get along very well and we have been living this way now for over 7 years. I have a legal permit from the State of Ohio and I am happy to do anything I can to raise awareness for my cousins in the wild. Please, know the law: IT IS ILLEGAL TO TAKE DEER OUT OF THE WILD AND MAKE THEM A PET OR PUT THEM ON A FARM.