Don't worry, though: A couple of dogs, some caring residents, police and firefighters teamed up to save the hapless animal.
Emerald Lake resident Marg Cook reported that the deer appeared to be paralyzed by fear in the middle of the pond, scared to return to shore after breaking through the ice.
Enter one small but enthusiastic canine.
"There was this little dog out there," Cook said. First, it went nose to nose with the stranded deer. Then, "the dog went around the back and pulled on the deer's tail."
She said the little dog disappeared, then returned accompanied by a larger dog. The big dog wouldn't go out onto the ice, but it appeared to be rushing around in search of a human helper.
Someone eventually dialed 911.
"After assessing the situation and making sure that none of our personnel were going to be put into any danger, we got our ice-rescue equipment and made a rescue of the deer," said Meridian Fire Capt. Ken Phinney.
Rescuers donned special suits to insulate themselves from cold water and used an inflatable boat to reach the deer. They caught it using an animal snare, pulled it into the boat and returned to shore.
"It was scared and cold," Phinney said of the deer. A firefighter carried it into the woods across the street, and the animal was gone when they checked for it a few minutes later.
Phinney said rescuing the animal is all in a day's work.
"It's kind of a humanitarian thing, and it's good practice for us," Phinney said. "We were able to get out on what is unsafe ice and perform a rescue practice using safe measures."
(Livingston Daily - Dec 21, 2014)
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