Caught On Camera: Firefighters Rescue Deer Stuck In Fence
LODI (CBS13) —It's not the typical 9-1-1 call. A Lodi woman discovered a deer stuck in a fence and called the fire department for help. She then grabbed her cell phone and recorded the remarkable rescue.
Lodi resident Rhonda Perry Parker described the tense moments after she discovered the deer in distress.
"It was thrashing around so at this point I called 9-1-1," she said.
The deer had somehow trapped itself between two bars of her neighbor's backyard fence at the Casa de Lodi Mobile Estates near Highway 99 and the Mokelumne River.
"I couldn't believe it because I left here in the morning and it wasn't there when I left," said homeowner Larry O'Reilly.
As the dangling deer tried to break free, it cried out for help.
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Parker grew increasingly concerned about its well being.
"I was scared it was going to lose its life," she added.
So she called 9-1-1 a second time and demanded to talk with the Lodi Fire Department.
"I told the fire department what was going on; that a deer is hanging off a ledge in between some railing," she said.
Within minutes, firefighters arrived, placing a coat over the animal's eyes as animal services gave it a sedative to calm it down.
"So he was pretty good from there," said Parker.
The firefighters then tied the deer's front and back feet together to prevent it from kicking crews or injuring itself.
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"They called me and said, 'Is it okay if we spread the fence?' And I said, 'Yeah, no problem at all,'" said O'Reilly.
The team then used the jaws-of-life to separate the steel.
"And they opened it up so it jumped out and went on from there," explained O'Reilly.
Bucking the bars, said Parker, and running off to safety.
"I was so grateful they came and saved him," Parker said.
Firefighters told CB13 they've been on animal rescues before, but nothing quite like this. They said they checked out the animal after it was freed and it appeared to be okay.
