Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


A rough search effort for a deer with a plastic pumpkin stuck on its muzzle for over a week ended on a positive note over the weekend.

The Detroit Animal Welfare Group put out a call to the public on Friday for assistance in trying to locate the deer, which at that point the search had already been underway for a week. There had been sightings reported in the Livonia area.

The non-profit put out the following message Sunday night on Facebook:

“Mission accomplished!

Just as we were getting ready to leave because dark was setting in and darting in the dark is not ideal, there was a sighting in Hines Park. It was not easy as we followed the deer through the woods and waded through a 20 foot wide river not once, not twice, but four times that was up to our thighs of freezing cold water. Climbing up tall muddy banks, hills, climbing through fallen branches and thick brush….but we were able to safely dart the deer. The bucket was removed!!! It is a young button buck, he was moderately dehydrated, SQ fluids were given, he was ear tagged due to the tranquilizing medication, which is required by law for human safety …the medication was reversed…. And he was up and on his way. He stopped for a few minutes to groom himself and look back to say thank you!

Happy tears! We will finally get some sleep tonight even though we are cold, wet and smell like swamp. We want to thank everybody who came out to search for the last 10 days.

We would especially like to thank our veterinarian and Faye, who were crucial for a successful capture!

Thank you to the DNR for giving us permission to help this deer
Thank you everyone!
Life saved!
God is good
TeamDAWG
Teampumpkindeer”