WATERTOWN 鈥 Chris Daley was letting her dog outside her Town of Emmet home on the afternoon of Jan. 29. She noticed a young deer crossing her driveway.
That's when the chaos began.
"We might have scared it with the garage door opening,鈥 she explained. "It ran into the woods that we have here. We have a pond, and we aerate it (so the surface ice is thin), and the deer fell in the pond."
She called the Wisconsin DNR, who told her they did not have any ability to handle a cervine ice rescue. Their recommendation was to reach out to the local fire department. Her next call was to the Watertown FD and they sprung into action to respond to the emergency.
With temperatures below freezing just after 2 p.m., Watertown Fire Battalion Chief Chad Butzine and fellow firefighter Josh Archibald rushed to the private pond to see the full-size doe flailing in the water in the front-yard pond.
The stress to the wild animal was apparent immediately - and added stress to the homeowner's emotional state, as well.
鈥淚 was getting tired because she was getting tired, and I thought 鈥業 don鈥檛 want to see this deer drown, and, in the spring, have the ice melt and see this deer,鈥欌 Daley said.
Fortunately, she had reached a pair of experts. Butzine said both he and Archibald have had the responsibility to save wildlife and domesticated animals over the course of their respective fire careers.
While Archibald held his battalion chief鈥檚 safety line, Butzine said Monday he put on specialized gear that allowed him to stay warm in the water while he was trying to free the deer from the pond.
After escaping an icy fate, the deer looks back, as though to thank WFD Battalion Chief Chad Butzine.
鈥淐had was in the water in no time and slowly approached the deer. He swung its butt up and out of the water it came. It laid down, and I thought I heard him say 鈥業 think the deer broke its leg,鈥" Daley said. "As she鈥檚 laying there waiting to get up, she looked back at Chad like, 鈥楾hank you so much.鈥欌
Butzine said at first the doe started swimming away from him, but then changed direction and came straight to the 29-year fire service veteran, who has served the City of Watertown for 24 years.
鈥淲hen we got to the scene, it was only a matter of a couple of minutes before we had the deer removed,鈥 he said. 鈥淥nce she caught her breath, she ran off the ice into the nearby woods."
Butzine said the Watertown Fire Department reminds the public to report wildlife emergencies promptly and to avoid approaching distressed animals, as they can pose a danger when frightened.
鈥淭hey were phenomenal,鈥 Daley said. "I was just so taken that they put so much care into this.鈥
