Group effort to save gravely injured fawn in Scarborough ends in heartache
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It was a heartwarming story with a heartbreaking ending as a group of Scarborough residents tried in vain to save a gravely injured fawn from the shores of Lake Ontario.
A local couple, Carl and Sheila, stumbled upon the baby deer partially submerged in the water southeast of West Hill and severely wounded from a suspected coyote attack Thursday morning.
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Group effort to save gravely injured fawn in Scarborough ends in heartache Back to video
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My adult daughter happened upon the gut-wrenching scene while walking along the beach and called me.
“It’s just a baby and it’s so weak it can barely hold its head out of the water,” she explained.
My daughter told me they tried calling the Toronto Wildlife Centre but were unable to get in touch with anyone.
So they called Toronto Animal Services and were told someone could be there in about two hours, which was time the fawn clearly didn’t have.
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I quickly phoned Wanetta Doucette-Goodman, an avid animal lover with a lifetime of experience rescuing raccoons, rabbits, squirrels and other wildlife, who also happens to be my sister.
Wanetta explained that Toronto Animal Services would likely just put the fawn down, so it’s best chance of survival was to get it to the Toronto Wildlife Centre where they would be able to provide medical care.
“We’ll have to take it there ourselves because the Toronto Wildlife Centre doesn’t get any government funding, they operate only on donations, so they won’t be able to come and pick it up,” Wanetta said.
While I was busy imagining the precariousness of trying to transport a deer halfway across the city, my sister was already in her car heading to the beach.
I decided to head there myself to help.
When we met up, Wanetta hopped out of her minivan armed with a thick quilt and we raced down to the beach.
Without hesitation, Wanetta lifted the 40-pound fawn out of the water, gingerly placed it on the quilt and snuggly wrapped it up.
The fawn’s tail was badly severed and her head was bloody. But she was vocal, so that gave us all hope.
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Wanetta then gently placed the bundled-up deer in my arms and we began the 500-metre or so trek with Carl and myself taking turns carrying the fawn along the beach and uphill along a path to Wanetta’s van.
My sister then headed to the Toronto Wildlife Centre on Carl Hall Rd. in Downsview while the rest of us parted ways, filled with hope and feeling as though we’d done all we could to give the baby deer a chance.
Sadly, it was not to be.
An hour later, my sister called me in tears.
“Her injuries were even worse than we thought,” Wanetta said, explaining Toronto Wildlife Centre staff told her the fawn’s intestines were also exposed and they had no choice but to euthanize her.
“At least she didn’t die alone,” my sister said. “I can only imagine how long she may have been there suffering if we hadn’t at least tried.”
Stories like this are all too common in Toronto.
You can make a difference by donating to the Toronto Wildlife Centre at torontowildlifecentre.com.
On Twitter: @sundoucette
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