Delightful animal encounters can end in tragedy.
Vulnerable animals finding their way into town can meet trouble
Nobody was more delighted than Jacqueline Tanner when a deer began making daily appearances on her street, but she feared it wouldn’t end well.
Her worst fears were realized last week when the young doe was found in a neighbour’s backyard, on its side, foaming at the mouth and very ill.
The deer had to be put down by Toronto police, who were called to the scene by an officer from city animal services once it became clear that it was in serious distress and unlikely to recover.
There are a lot more deer in Toronto than you might think: in ravines, wooded areas and along the waterfront.
It’s a testament more to their ability to adapt than it is to our interest in cohabiting with them.
As amazing as it may be to spot a deer close to the downtown core, it’s also alarming. The inner city is a particularly hostile environment; most people instinctively know they’re highly vulnerable and shouldn’t be there.
We got a heartbreaking note from Tanner, who lives on Strathcona Ave., near Danforth and Pape Aves. — not exactly wilderness — describing her emotions over the short life and death of a deer not much older than a baby.
On June 7, a neighbour told her a deer had been spotted on Strathcona.
“I thought she was a few light bulbs short of a pack,” she said. But 15 minutes later, “I received a text with a picture of a beautiful deer in my front garden.”
Sightings of the deer began in mid-May and it soon became a regular visitor to Strathcona, said Tanner, who first saw it for herself on June 8, “walking along the road at the far end of the street.”
“She was so beautiful, not at all concerned that I was there. She just meandered along the edges of a parking area, munching plants, wiggling her big ears, looking at me now and then.
“I was blown away. It was truly surreal to see such a large, lovely animal in my neighbourhood.”
The young doe charmed everyone, despite its fondness for nibbling hostas in gardens, but Tanner immediately understood that it was “a very dangerous situation for her.”
She got in touch with animal services to see if it could be tranquilized and moved to safety, but “they confirmed that they would not do anything about removing the deer, due to the risk of the animal bolting or getting injured.”
Animal services told her “the deer would most likely find her way back to one of the nearby ravines or wilder areas around us.”
“So we all embraced the lovely deer as she lived among us. Several left our gates open to our backyards, so she could have access, despite her apparent taste for our hostas.”
But Tanner remained uneasy. So it was no surprise that on June 18, “a neighbour came to tell me the deer was in his backyard, had been there since morning and was not looking well.
“I went to look and found the deer laying on its side, foam coming from her muzzle, breathing so quickly, in obvious distress.”
They called animal services and waited for help. “We dribbled cool water into her mouth and draped her with a cool wet towel, hoping she was overcome by the extreme heat that day.
“She allowed me to approach her on hands and knees, kicking her legs from time to time. I was able to stroke her graceful neck, touch her huge soft ears, trying to comfort her. It was terribly sad.”
The animal services officer decided the deer couldn’t be saved and called police to put her down, Tanner said, adding the cops who showed up to do it were as devastated as everyone else.
Tanner emphasized that po- lice at the scene were sympathetic to how upset residents were, noting they even offered to put people in touch with victim services counsellors.
She expressed the frustration anyone would feel, saying “there is a palpable sense of sadness on our street. Surely something different can be done, rather than just hoping animals find their way home.”
STATUS: Tammy Robinson, who is a spokesperson for the city, emailed to confirm that animal services answered a call about the deer on June 18.
“We had previously received reports that a deer was in the area and advised residents that the deer would be safest left alone to find its way to nearby green space. Moving the deer could result in injury, due to the risk of the deer becoming distressed and bolting into traffic.”
The animal services officer who attended on June 18 “determined that the deer was very ill and the best course of action was euthanasia.”
In other words — and as tragic as it may be — deer are on their own in the inner city.
What’s broken in your neighbourhood? Wherever you are in Greater Toronto, we want to know. Email to jlakey@thestar.ca or follow @TOStarFixer on Twitter