State Department of Environmental Conservation staff help rescue a fawn from a hole in the ground in Tupper Lake. (Photo provided by Suzanne Haire-Dirlam)

To the editor:

Today, Aug. 12, we heard a strange noise in the field in front of our home. We also saw a doe standing in the field watching over a bushy area in the same field. We checked it out and realized there was a deep hole at the edge of the bush and there was a fawn down in the hole — scared and bellowing for help.

Realizing this is not technically an emergency, I called the Tupper Lake Police Department non-emergency line. They sent me to a ranger … who then got in touch with the Department of Environmental Conservation. By the time this had all taken place, a few hours had passed.

The young man from the Department of Environmental Conservation, Jim Stickle, along with two of his colleagues, came to our home and expressed that if all goes well, the deer will be retrieved and will go free — but I needed to be aware that it also could be hurt and the alternative was not as favorable for the little fawn. I took them to where the deer had fallen. Sure enough, the doe and the fawn’s twin sibling were there watching. When the men approached the hole, one used a pole-collar-type thing to catch the deer — the other lowered a ladder into the hole and boosted the little deer up to the land. As soon as it was safe and the fawn had calmed a bit, they removed the collar and gave a small clap to send the deer back into the woods with its family — who was clearly watching the goings-on of the situation!

Today, these were my heroes — saving the baby deer and reuniting it with its family. With wet socks, jeans, and all, Jim shook my hand as I thanked him for the rescue. I did video this entire process — which took less than two minutes! It is good to share the good news of what people do, and this turned out to be a good day!

Suzanne Haire-Dirlam

Tupper Lake