A deer broke through the ice on Saturday, November 18 and would have drowned had it not been for one local man.
Andre Normandeau walked outside his front door early in the morning with his dog and saw the deer on the ice running in his direction. The deer got startled and attempted to stop, but spun out and broke through the ice and then started swimming in circles, becoming stranded.
“I knew I had to do something or else the animal would perish,” Normandeau said.
Because Normandeau lives on the Columbia River, he pulled out his rowboat and immediately started rowing towards the deer. He took his sledge hammer and started to break the ice away and eventually got a rope around the deer and hauled him to shore.
Normandeau’s wife Tammy meanwhile, called the Conservation Officer Services and the RCMP. By the time they arrived, the dear was shivering, immobile and unconscious.
Between the three of them, they were able to drag the deer out of the water and carried it a short distance to the grass on Normandeau’s property. They dried the deer as best the could, and then left it alone so it could calm down.
It took a few hours, but the deer eventually warmed up, stood up and walked away.
“In situations like that, I know if I don’t do something I’ll be haunted about it for a long time,” said Normandeau.
The Conservation Officer Services is a public safety provider focused on natural resource law enforcement and human wildlife conflicts, prevention and response.
If you come across an animal in distress be sure to call the Conservation Officer Services at 250-344-7704.
