Deer In Plains Sight (a cautionary tale)

Wild animals can and do get mixed up in human affairs—and the laws of the land.

The deer that wandered into town in early March was always a wild animal. As such, it belonged to no one person; it carried no papers, it was bound to no owner, bred for no purpose, and it was kept in no cage.

The deer was born in Plains, raised in Paradise, and put down in Plains.

The deer was born behind the Dew Duck Inn on Plains Day. The mother abandoned the fawn, and she was left to fend for herself.

Terry Caldwell was there that day. After he said he called the sheriff’s department and the game warden—both of whom he claims did not respond—he took it home.

“The mama took off and left it,” Caldwell said. “I was afraid it would wander out into the road.”

Caldwell took it home and bottle-fed it. He said that it would have probably been killed if the authorities did show up, but he decided to take on the responsibility. "I wanted to  give it a sporting chance.”

His daughters Sharia and Jolena looked after it, too. But it was Jolena—the younger daughter—who took a liking to the fawn.

“It was really Jolena who took care of it,” Caldwell said “but it was not in captivity. It was free to roam.”

And roam it did. The deer became a source of enjoyment to the neighbors and a local fixture to residents of Paradise.

“Everybody would get a kick out of it,” he said. “The kids would chase it, the kids were friendly to it. Everybody used to love that deer.”

Caldwell and his daughters named it "Baby.”

The deer would often wander in a half-mile radius around Paradise, toward Plains. Caldwell said that many people would feed the animal, and had plenty of chances to run off with other deer.

By a loose definition, it is fair to say the deer became domesticated: it depended on others for food, it was tame. It knew nothing of being raised without shelter and care, or human interaction.

“It used to love music and to come up to me in the shop and watch TV,” Caldwell said, adding that he and his daughters were not the only ones who fed it and looked after it.

“People were thrilled,” he said, “it gave so many people life. It was free to roam.”

The problem in the end, Caldwell said, was that the free-roaming deer approached a neighbor who did not want the animal near its property anymore.

Caldwell alleges the neighbor was cruel and beat the deer, but admits the deer had been in a “tangle” with the neighbor’s dog.

“[The neighbor] wanted it dead,” Caldwell said. “So I was reported to the game warden.”

Sanders County Game Warden Troy Henke was notified about the deer in the form of a complaint. Henke called Caldwell and warned him that it was against the law and that he could impose a fine, should the situation warrant that action.

“I could have killed the deer myself,” Caldwell said, remembering his thinking after being warned by the game warden, “but I decided to give it better chance.”

Caldwell took the deer to the outskirts of town and let it loose, but that is not the end of the story.

Over a period of two weeks or so this month, the deer, then nearly full-grown, wandered into Plains and began interacting with people.

As reported by the Clark Fork Valley Press on Mar. 9, the deer had attracted attention in town the prior week due to its friendliness, and by some accounts, its annoyance.

Brian Doherty of Montana Rail Link notified the Clark Fork Valley Press when the animal approached he and his co-worker during a morning shift on Mar. 2.

“Just came right up to me,” Doherty said, describing the encounter near Plains City Hall. “I thought it would be gone by now.”

Lloyd Brekke, another resident, had a different experience: the deer followed him for a block or two and had to be shooed away from the front entrance of McGowan’s grocery store.

“I thought the deer got rolled by a car,” Brekke said at the time, referencing scars and wounds the deer had on its snout and body. “You see all the missing hair? I thought it was disoriented…” Eventually, Brekke got the deer to run off.

With a fair amount of people talking about the deer, authorities caught wind of the deer in town—and took action.

According to a witness who wished not to be named, the deer was shot near the the Mangy Moose by Game Warden Troy Henke on Mar. 7. [Editor’s note: The Clark Fork Valley Press’ story was published on Mar. 9, but the story was written two days before—the day the deer was killed.]

John Obst, a deputy game warden with the Montana, Wildlife, and Parks confirmed the action and explained: “The deer was totally habituated. We have to take action since it might be considered a public safety issue.”

At the Thompson Falls office, Bruce Sterling said that once a wild animal is brought to the attention of authorities, it becomes a law enforcement issue due to city limits.

“There’s no set policy,” Sterling said. “If it’s within city limits, a law enforcement officer has to take care of it. Either a game warden or Plains police.”

The responsibility fell to Henke, who said that he was required by law to take action.

Henke, for his part, was sympathetic to Caldwell.

“Terry’s heart was in the right place,” Henke said. “But I am required to handle the disposal of the animal, which was donated to the local food bank.”

Henke then issued a citation to Caldwell in the form of a $135 fine, which could have been much more, had Henke thought Caldwell was acting with malicious intent.

“I’m not a vindictive person,” Henke said. “But the law states that an animal within city limits can pose a public safety threat.”

Henke said that the deer’s presence had attracted the attention of other officials higher up in the chain-of-command, and that Henke was following not only the law, but orders.

Caldwell understood why Henke issued a citation and why the deer was put down.

Because of the personal connection Caldwell and his children had with the deer, he said all he wanted was for the deer to have “a better chance.”

His daughter, Sharia, sent an email in the weeks following the publication of the story, and explained her relationship to the deer:

“Growing up on a farm and constantly being around animals,” Sharia wrote, “one of my favorite things to do is heal animals and give them a chance at life, I’ve been able to help save calves, horses, rabbits, chickens, and other. To be able to help save a baby fawn’s life and see it grow up healthy is one of the greatest feelings I’ve had and perhaps one of the highlights of my life that I will be able to share with others down the road.”

Sharia traveled to Italy last year and would enjoy Skyping with her younger sister Jolena to hear updates about “Baby.”

“Jolena loved that deer so much and it broke her heart when [the neighbor] made a big stink about it.”

Another viewpoint of the deer incident is the possibility by putting the deer down, Henke saved the deer from cruelty and from neglect.

Sources who wished to remain unnamed allege that patrons of a local bar establishment tried to rope the animal and ride it, which potentially could have posed another type of safety risk.

“These animals have a wild instinct,” Henke said. “Animals could be triggered aggressive toward humans in situations.”

Henke said as a game warden, his job is to protect not only the animal population, but the citizen population.

“There’s a reason deer do not make good pets,” he said. “It can become problematic. Often times we see deer become aggressive toward dogs. A deer does not know how to be a pet; it could not only be aggressive toward a dog, but a child holding the dog on a leash.”

Henke acknowledged that the deer was young, but questioned what might have happened once the deer became fully mature.

“If we allow other people to take these deer as pets, then it poses a risk to the rest of the animal population,” said Henke.

There is a truth underlying this situation, and that truth could be considered an emotional one. This deer was an exceptional animal; it displayed unusual behaviors normally not associated with other deer of its kind: it was friendly, it was calm, and it was comfortable with human interaction.

There is another truth not so easily acknowledged without the removal of human emotion. The deer was taken care of, it was looked after, and it was fed, but above all—as Caldwell’s daughter wrote—it was wild:

“In the end, the deer was a free spirit, she did as she pleased, and no one claimed her, even though there were some who tried.”