Deer Diary

CatControlled’s entry today reminded me of something that happened to me twenty-odd years ago.

It was mid-day Saturday. I was home, doing some cleaning, which back in those days meant that I not only knew where the vacuum cleaner was, but I knew how to find the on-switch. I had just turned the vacuum off, and was walking through the dining room to get some dust rags out of the kitchen when I saw someone walking by the window. I had only gotten a glimpse out of the corner of my eye, and assumed that someone was walking up to the front door. I walked toward the next window to get a peek at who it was.

It was a State cop, with his gun drawn, about four feet from the front door.

OK, this was major oh shit territory. I had no idea what was going on, and getting to the only phone in the house would have taken me right past the front windows. Even without having a clue as to what was transpiring outside, I was willing to guess that walking past whoever the cop had his gun drawn on was a really bad idea. I retreated to the back of the house, which was even more exposed because it was a sun porch with windows on all three sides. My feeling was that if the person came around the back of the house, I’d see him as soon as he saw me, and I’d just duck back around to the front of the house.

I never did see anyone, but as soon as I got to the back of the house I heard a gunshot. And then another one, after a short pause. Then there was silence.

OK. What do I do? Still can’t get to the phone. Don’t know who’s shot. Don’t know if anyone is actually hit. Don’t know beans, but can see the cop car through one of the side windows of the sun porch, parked by the side of the road with its lights flashing. Traffic was slowing down in front of my house, but not stopping. A bicyclist pedalled by, apparently curious but not really concerned. I decided to risk grabbing my car keys and attempting to sneak out to my car in the driveway.

As I was exiting through the back door, the Statie was walking back to his car across my front lawn. I gave him a look that must have been part curiosity and part panic. He apologized, and explained that he hadn’t realized anybody was home. (I actually could understand that, because even though my car was in the drive, so were half-a-dozen other cars in various states of disrepair. Collecting undriveable cars was a hobby of my ex-husband’s. But I digress.)

Apparently someone had hit a deer on the highway directly in front of my house and had called the police. When the Statie arrived, he found the deer badly hurt but still alive. He said that he’d put it out of its misery, and that he’d arrange for someone to pick it up off my front porch (!) ASAP. In fact, the carcass was removed within an hour of the incident.

It never occurred to me until later. The deer was too badly wounded to move. The officer had been within four feet of the deer when he shot it. I believe that qualifies as “point blank”.

Why in the world did he need two shots?