The Right Thing?

[moose_93395]

On my way home tonight there was a deer in the middle of the road, had to swerve out of the way. I pulled up close and walked up to him, and saw the hind leg was snapped in two, bone exposed. I oriented my car to keep my headlights on him while I dialed the operator and got connected to a nearby police station. I told them I'd wait with the

Comments

[nipper]

*hugs* I think you did the right thing hon, even though it is sad.

He likely wouldn't have survived, and could have caused an accident. At least it was clean.

[hakeber]

You did the right thing. If you hadn't his death would have been slow and agonizing. Back in the late eighties I was faced with the same choice, only it was my truck that had done the deed (and sat by the side of the road needing a tow truck). I waited there with him, making sure he didn't leave (both his hind legs were shattered) and making sure the trooper did the right thing. A single bullet is far better than infection and starvation. Exposed bone means the worst sort of infection, with a lingering death.

[calydor]

Your phone call ended the agony of something beautiful. A leg snapped in half? That's a death sentence - you made sure it happened properly.

[equusmaximus]

The others have already said it best - That call was the right thing to do. If you hadn't made the call, the poor creature would have died a slow, painful death. At best, it would have been easy prey for the local predators, and being ripped apart and eaten alive isn't exactly a nice way to go either.

We'd all like to be able to save injured animals, but that's rarely possible when it comes to wildlife. Even if it could have been saved, it would have taken months to heal from the injury, and it would never be able to be released into the wild again. I think if you were able to ask the deer what it wanted, it would have asked you to release it from its pain and suffering, and that's exactly what you (and the officer) did.

[kakoukorakos]

Something beautiful was already destroyed and just was waiting for peace.

I thought I was seeing a deer being fatally injured a couple of weeks ago during a snowstorm, the car ahead of me just wasn't under control due to bad tires. I was reaching for my phone, figuring the people in the car would also require assistance. I guess the car hit the deer just right, so it just rolled over the side the hood kind of like a stuntman, then got up and jumped over the fence, nobody seemed much the worse for wear.