The New Zealand Herald

You’re quite the dancer, Judo my deer

- Heath Moore

A Tauranga man has warmed the hearts of Kiwis after posting a video of himself serenading and dancing with a pet deer that was rescued from the wild.

In an exclusive interview with the Herald, Quentin Brears said Judo the Deer became his friend’s pet after her mother was found shot in the wild by hunters two years ago.

“Judo the Deer was rescued. A mate was out and we found her in the bush after her mother had been shot. So they took her home and she’s been there ever since.

“She soon became their friendly pet deer and the rest is history.”

The deer grew to love her new family and became so comfortabl­e living among people she has learnt to dance and perform tricks.

“She basically started walking herself,” he said. “So when I start slowly walking away she follows on two legs.” After filming Judo walking on two legs and following Brears as he walks away, he decided to serenade her with an Ed Sheeran classic in the hope she’d join him for a dance as well.

“Once I did the walking one I thought, [I] wonder if she’ll dance . . . thought I’d give it a go, and I just picked her up and we had a nice old dance. She didn’t seem to mind.” In the video Brears belts out

Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran. “I tried to think of a dancing song and all I could think of was Ed Sheeran. Now I’m thinking of taking this act on the road,” he joked.

“She’s such a friendly pet. She’s really safe around the kids. The kids will play with her and she interacts really well and is quite gentle.”

 ??  ?? Quentin Brears says Judo the Deer “didn’t seem to mind” having a dance with him.
Quentin Brears says Judo the Deer “didn’t seem to mind” having a dance with him.
 ??  ?? Brears says Judo has been an amazing pet since her rescue.
Brears says Judo has been an amazing pet since her rescue.

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