Doe, a deer!

Today, I went to pick Jennifer up at her bus stop. Had plans to also take her over to KidSports and sign her up for baseball. So I'm driving to the bus stop...just peacefully driving...when alarm floods through me and I hit the brakes, not believing what my eyes see.

There, walking along the street, is a deer! A young female deer! I could tell it was a female because I looked to the other side of the street and...there's another deer! This one was obviously male; larger and with an aggressive look in his eyes. He did not have horns yet, though.

Two deer on either side of the road. Yikes.

I kept staring at the female. I couldn't believe what I was seeing! A REAL DEER ON THE STREET! A city street! Now, this, I would expect to see in Blue River or even Lake Arrowhead. But not here in a Eugene neighborhood. I kept thinking my eyes were playing tricks on me, but there was no mistaking it. Two REAL deer were on either side of the road! They were walking at first then they stopped to stare at me. And I was...staring at them. It was eerie.

It reminded me of the time I lived in the California desert. I was driving to my mom's house one day and going along this dirt road. I couldn't make out what I saw ahead of me at first, as I brought my Jeep to a slow drive, then I slammed on the brakes when I realized that a team of horses was charging right at me. Right where I was sitting! In the car! Gah! I know I should've gotten out of the car, in case one of them ran over it (would they have crushed it??), but I just sat there, in shock, my heart pounding against my chest as the horses broke form and ran around the Jeep. One of those horses looked right at me. Just made eye contact...like I made with that deer right now.

Then I snapped out of my stare and looked ahead. Jennifer was running up to the deer! Alarmed, I cried out to her, "No! Stay there!"

This frightened the deer and she ran off. The other one just resumed walking down the street.

When Jennifer got into the car, we shared our surprise, wonder and shock over what we had seen! WOW! Two deer on the street! (And, unfortunately, in a person's backyard, as the female ended up walking into the backyard of a nearby house. I started to feel sorry for the person who lived there, to look out the window to view their backyard and see a deer standing there!) There were other kids who had gotten off of the bus hanging out and staring at the deer. One girl told us that the deer belonged to people living in a house right on the side of the road. I started to grit my teeth and mentally curse people keeping wild animals as pets (they should be free, darn it!), but I also hoped the deer would be taken back home or something before causing an accident or getting hit by a car. I so really hope that neither of them would be hit by a car.

As I started to drive away, I told Jennifer that was quite an experience. Usually, you see one deer on the road, but TWO! Wow, that was pretty exciting. My heart was pounding in my chest from the excitement and I told Jennifer I was still unable to believe it. She, too, thought it was pretty awesome. I laughed and announced, "Only in Oregon!"

Wolves in Oregon

Today I came across an article about how wolves are making a comeback in some parts of Oregon. According to the article, wolves were wiped out of the area in the 1940s. I've heard several claims that wolves have been seen in Oregon, but never actually saw any news stories about them. There is even a White Wolf Sanctuary in Tidewater.

I am a big lover of wolves and the reports of finding wolves shot or killed by accident are disturbing. It makes me wonder if the appearance of wolves means that more wolves will be threatened, hunted and even destroyed by wildlife officials.

There is one time I saw a wolf. Actually, two wolves. When we lived in the desert, my dad knew someone who had two domesticated wolves. I can't recall what kind of wolves they were but he kept them caged up in the yard. So on top of not being out in the wild, they were kept caged up all the time. Which is really sad. Jennifer and I were discussing this the other day. Both of us believe that wild animals belong in the wild. And as much as I love wolves, and other wild animals such as panthers and coyotes, I firmly believe that they should be left in the wild. I know there are people who say they have a certain way with wild animals to tame them. They can command the animal and do things to remind the animal of who is boss. But my opinion is, you can NEVER truly tame a wild animal. They are wild at heart and deserve to be free. They need to be in their elemant.

But sometimes I know that a wild animal is more open to being hunted and killed if they are out in the wild. The wolves coming into Oregon will see an Oregon that will be a lot different than what they used to know. And perhaps they will be unfamiliar with venturing into such an area so heavily populated and modernized. The wolves coming into Oregon face so many dangers and a very high risk of being hunted down. I only hope with all my heart that those with compassion for wolves will find a way to help them find sanctuary here.