Kobe, a white tail deer - Page 1

It's 2:30 am and I can't sleep again. You see, about the middle of May my son called me from his work and told me that there was an injured baby deer in back of the business he worked at. He asked me what he should do. I should have said "leave it alone", but I didn't. I drove there and got the little baby deer and took it to the vet. It turned out to not be much of a medical problem but because of the numerous dogs I have, my vet doubted if the deers mother would take it back due to the dog smell and human smells I had put on it. I made the decision to take it home and raise it. It took a lot of internet searching and phone conversations with deer farm people, to figure out what I needed to do to take care of this deer. The deer farm people all told me that it was illegal to have a pet deer and that they could not take it, as it was illegal for them to take "wild" deer. They had to raise their own. I got the necessary milk replacement mixture, the appropriate bottle nipples, etc. I raised the deer from approximately one week old or less. He was very small and covered in white spots. We named him "Kobe". He was a male (buck). My wife and I bottle fed him and weaned him onto "adult" food, over the next several months, but he never gave up wanting the bottle, and we kept giving it to him at his morning feeding. I have ten acres of woods behind my home but it only has a three foot high fence around it. I have two acres with a five foot fence where I let my dogs run. Of course Kobe could not be allowed in there, so he was allowed to roam the property and we frequently saw him on adjacent properties. A 3 foot fence was nothing for him to jump. He could clear a six foot fence from a standing start. He lived in the "wild", but he would show up about 7:00 am for his bottle and again about 2:00 pm for his adult food. We gave him carrots, apples, grapes (he loved those) and two different kinds of commercial deer feed. It made my day every time Kobe came to our back door wanting to eat. Sometimes he would eat and leave rather quickly. Sometimes he just hung around for hours, as if he was lonely. Kobe and I took long walks in the woods often, with Kobe stopping to munch on whatever greenery caught his eye. He would follow me like a puppy and over time I "taught" him to play with me, fake fighting. I would work my head like a buck fighting with antlers and he would do the same while jumping up and down, left and right. He became my best friend over the summer and fall. Teaching him to "sit" was very funny and very impossible, but I tried. I constantly worried about him being hit by a car, caught by coyotes or more likely, being killed by a hunter. I would tell him everyday "Listen Kobe, watch out for cars, the bad people and the dogs and coyotes". Kobe had no fear of humans nor dogs and would stick his nose right up to the fenced in dog runs as they were barking like mad at him. He would stomp his feet and sway his head, challenging them. They were bigger than him but he wasn't afraid. Over time I was able to get Kobe and my two inside dogs friends (sort of). The would play together but I always had to keep a close control of the situation because the dogs would get excited and snap at him after a few minutes of playing. He never got bit though. He would raise up on his hind legs and jab at them with his front hooves. They are very sharp. I had to quit letting them play together as he got bigger.

cool - do you have pictures? How is Kobe doing during hunting season?

It's not uncommon out here to tame deer. One rancher even has a 3 legged doe. She fell off a hay stack while playing with the kids, broke her leg, and had to have it amputated by the vet. She has survived just fine and had a set of twins last year. They are wonderful pets. The same ranch family raised a Bobcat!! He lived in the house just like a domesticated cat! Sure gave guests a jolt to see him perched up on the mantle !

Did your dogs come home?