Having already been struck by a vehicle and loaded into a car trunk as just another roadkill, a deer narrowly averted execution by a one-man firing squad on a dark Wisconsin road.
The slice of outdoors life — and near death — unfolded last week before a deputy's dashcam in Easton Township, roughly 20 miles north of Wisconsin Dells.
Adams County Sheriff's Deputy Brian Loewenhagen pulled up to a car, where the driver who had called for help explained that he struck a doe and hoisted it into his trunk because he didn't want it to be hit again and cause a crash.
Not long after hitting the deer, the driver had arrived home, parked on the side of the road and realized the deer was "alive and kicking" in his trunk, according to a Facebook posting by the Sheriff's Office.
"She looked dead," the 59-year-old man told the deputy Thursday night as the two strode toward the trunk. "I picked her up. ... She didn't move."
The man gently opened the trunk and gave the doe a poke. She started to stir, and the man grabbed her by the legs and dragged her limp body to a spot just off the shoulder.
"She's mangled," the deputy said, giving the doe the once-over. "Just leave her. I'll put her down."
Just as the deputy reached for his holster, the deer got on all fours and returned to the wild.
"There she goes," the deputy said.
The squad video has proved quite popular on Facebook, where the Sheriff's Office noted that "the deer refused to give a statement" before fleeing with its life.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
