Homeowner Notices Someone Wild Stuck In The Gate — Then Realizes There's More
“They were both scared …”
The other day, a resident in Los Angeles County’s Westlake Village woke up to a frightening scene outside their window.
Trapped between the bars of a large iron gate was a deer, who kicked and screamed with no way out. In another section of the fence, a second deer battled with the same worrying situation.
“The deer were on their morning run and ran right through the gate but couldn’t get over it,” Captain Sheila Kelliher, who oversees Los Angeles County Fire Department’s Public Information Office, told The Dodo.
The two deer bucked back and forth, trying to free themselves while the Good Samaritan called their local fire department. Eventually, Los Angeles County Fire Department was dispatched to the scene.
When the Engine and Patrol 144 arrived, they had to figure out how to free not one, but two scared deer without hurting the animals — or themselves.
They soon devised a plan to keep everyone safe.
“One of them held the deer to stabilize her, then they could get their rescue tools and cut one of the fence posts away,” Kelliher said.
The deer thrashed around frantically as the firefighters worked on removing the iron bars.
Eventually, the rescue team was able to release both deer from the gate.
The deer didn’t get a chance to say a proper goodbye to their rescuers, but their reaction to being freed conveyed their gratitude.
“They were both scared, but they got up and took off,” Kelliher said. “They went right back to where they belonged.”
For the most part, Los Angeles County Fire Department gets calls about people in need of help. But sometimes animals are the subjects of their calls, and their sense of duty is just as strong.
“It’s something that firefighters do every day, whether it’s animal or human,” Kelliher said. “It’s wonderful when it goes right.”
Thankfully, everything went off without a hitch when it came to saving the deer this week.
Because of the firefighters’ quick thinking and gentle spirits, the deer are roaming Westlake Village — surely enjoying their newfound life on the wild side.
