Adam Walker grabbed life by the horns last week B次元官网网址� or rather by the antlers B次元官网网址� when he arrived home to find his dog locked in a struggle with a large deer.
The MLA for Parksville Qualicum pulled into his driveway to see the strange and distressing sight on Sept. 7.
B次元官网网址淚t was like a mass of an animal B次元官网网址� it was my golden lab and a big buck. The buck had pinned the lab down with his antlers and they were just going at each other,B次元官网网址� Walker said.
Adrenaline kicked in and Walker grabbed the deerB次元官网网址檚 antlers and lifted them up so his dog, Pluto, could scurry to safety. But now he was holding onto the 200-pound animalB次元官网网址檚 antlers and could not break away.
B次元官网网址淚t was about 20 minutes of back and forth with this deer and it was probably the scariest moment of my life,B次元官网网址� Walker said. B次元官网网址淚t got me in the leg once with its antler and then when I realized I couldnB次元官网网址檛 get away, I was holding on to him and I just started yelling for help.B次元官网网址�
Fortunately his neighbour arrived and she got in WalkerB次元官网网址檚 car and nudged the buck with the vehicle until it eventually backed into a ditch, lost its footing and ran off.
Walker suffered a puncture wound in his leg, as well as some scrapes on his knees and shins. He said he is healing nicely after Oceanside Health Centre medical staff sutured up his puncture wound.
READ MORE:
ItB次元官网网址檚 hard to say what brought on the deerB次元官网网址檚 aggressive behaviour, according to Lisa Lopez, WildSafeBC program manager, and any time a pet encounters a wild animal, that wild animal can behave in a way that is protective of space or a reaction to a perceived threat.
B次元官网网址淭hese are wild animals and in that sense theyB次元官网网址檙e constantly on alert for situations that may be averse to their survival,B次元官网网址� she said.
Fall is mating season, so males are in competition and may exhibit more aggressive behaviour than other times of the year, Lopez said.
This is also the time of year when animals are out looking for food sources to prepare for winter, and the drought conditions have made that work extra hard.
B次元官网网址淭his is an opportunity for people to kind of take notice of it being the fall season and not just deer, but other wildlife are really ramping up to make sure that theyB次元官网网址檙e well-fed, well-established for winter season,B次元官网网址� Lopez said. B次元官网网址淎nd with our drought conditions in B.C. thereB次元官网网址檚 potential that there might be less natural food options out there for them.B次元官网网址�
The deer could have been interested in a nearby source of water, or simply been passing through WalkerB次元官网网址檚 yard, she added.
Quite a few people have reached out to Walker to see how he is doing after the incident and unsurprisingly there have been a few jokes made around the B.C. Legislature.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e heard no end of puns,B次元官网网址� Walker said. B次元官网网址淚 quite like the one, B次元官网网址榯he buck stops hereB次元官网网址�, that ones pretty good.B次元官网网址�
He extended his gratitude to the staff at Oceanside Health Centre.
B次元官网网址淒r. Cooper, the nurses and all the support staff there did a great job fixing me up and weB次元官网网址檙e lucky to have them in the community.B次元官网网址�
Sadly, although WalkerB次元官网网址檚 dog Pluto escaped the deer encounter, he had cancer and was already scheduled for an appointment with the vet to be euthanized.
