Flag
by Tracy A. Bye

I got the call in early June from a friend of mine. “Dogs are attacking a deer fawn in my garden!” The story quickly unfolded after this fawn was treated for severe bites in the neck and abdomen by local vets. The fawn was found by a hiker who thought she was abandoned by her mother. The hiker to the fawn to town and put her out in her yard, where she was attacked by dogs.

After experiencing this horrible trauma, this little one came to recover at Born Free Wildlife Rehab. She was a little darlin’ with so much will to survive. I named her Flag, after the deer in the movie, The Yearling. She became my shadow following me everywhere on my rounds to feed the critters. She overcame infection, shock and some digestive problems. To this day when I recall her will to survive it gives me goose bumps. She trusted in me when she should have hated me. She loved me when she should have been loving her own mom. Flag became a part of my soul. If ever there are soul mates, I often feel she is mine.

Flag stayed at Born free for a year. With in that year she brought my family great joy. I “soft released” her out into the wilderness behind my house. She could come back for a visit while starting a life on her own. She met many deer friends that summer. As summer progressed into fall, Flag would be away for weeks at a time. Towards the end of September Flag came home with friends! Two big bucks and two other does. They slept behind the garage and lazily wandered around our yard. I think they felt safe there since it was hunting season.

I worried her friends would stay with her for the winter, which would be very costly in feed and was not the best scenario for the deer. But soon, Flag’s friends migrated with the rest of the herd. Flag decided to stay another winter with us. She became a surrogate mom to two fawns that I had been rehabilitating. There names were Johnny and Olivia. Flag, as always, did her best at this task and became a loving mom to both the fawns.

The next spring when it was time to release all three deer I considered where I should release them. It had not been successful releasing Flag behind my house, because she chose to stay home. I called my friends at the Division of Wildlife and they told me about a wildlife refuge outside of Meeker. There were no homes or people and lots of deer. This was the place for Flag, Johnny and Olivia.

I trailered them to the refuge with great heaviness in my heart. At times I couldn’t see the road because of my tears. I kept telling myself, this is what’s right for them. They need to live free...be free...because they were born free. I talked to Flag, Johnny and Olivia constantly, reassuring them of their trip and their lives that were ahead of them.

The refuge was beautiful and there were many deer all around. I let them out of the trailer and watched them as they tested the area. They came back and sniffed me and rubbed their heads on me. I told them I loved them and got back in the truck. The ache in my chest was very real. I felt as if I were leaving my children behind.

The drive home was a good time for memories and thoughtful wonderings. I prayed they would be smart and would be safe. All I could do now was have faith that their instincts would guide them in the struggles of life. When I got home it seemed so lonely. I missed their talking to me and the unconditional love they showed me daily.

I did not see them for four years. Then one September night I went out to cover the pumpkin patch. I turned on the floodlight and saw many deer in the pasture. All the deer started moving up the hill except one. She stood and stared at me with quiet ease. As I looked at her closely I recognized her unusually large ears and her heart shaped nose. “Flagaroo, is that you???” I called to her. She came closer and looked at me. I began to cry and had to hold myself back from running up to her and hugging her. She allowed my cat to rub her legs and she touched noses with my dog. Be still my heart .... I could not believe I was seeing her again and knowing that she was okay. Her mate called to her from the hillside and off she went. She came back many times that fall.

The next time I saw her again and with her was a beautiful buck. Both would come with the herd of deer but were more comfortable hanging in our yard and eating my plants. They were comfortable with my pets that they had grown to love when they were being rehabilitated. Flag and Johnny had come home, yet they were wild. It was a precious gift to my heart and soul.

In the spring and summer of 2001 they were back again. Johnny is a six point buck and Flag has had a fawn the last two years. Flag was nine this year. Each spring when she returns - my goose bumps do too. I am forever grateful for her presence in my life and in my soul.