The little dog found the body – the buck had been hit by a vehicle, two legs broken, his head cut off, and left in the ditch by the pond. We had been watching him in person and on the game cam – a young buck with a lot of potential.
Had we known about it earlier, it would have taken little effort to get a salvage tag, and dress the buck out. Instead, he became the third deer this year I’ve loaded into the pickup and hauled to the hilltop – because a dead deer alongside the pond puts 4 dogs at risk, as well as attracting predators. This one was a challenge – I lacked the strength to load him into the back of the pickup. But things worked out – as I decided I lacked the muscles to load him, the medical oxygen delivery guy came down the road, stopped, grabbed an end of the deer, and we loaded him. There are a lot of good people you meet briefly in this world.
At the posted 35 speed limit, you have a great opportunity to miss deer on the ¾ mile straightaway going by the place. Extra speed provides less time to watch for the deer. Cutting the animal’s head off for a trophy shows some appreciation of the animal – yet dumping the body in the ditch instead of getting a salvage tag and using it shows something else.
I’ll continue to move the bodies as people hit deer. I notice a lot of pickups that drive slow, and come close to stopping when there’s a deer on the road. I’d like to say thanks to all of you who make my life easier by driving carefully and not leaving me a dead deer to haul away. It took someone who would take the extra effort to cut off the buck’s head and dump the body in the ditch to make me realize how much I appreciate the everyday responsibility I see in most drivers.
Trego's Mountain Ear 