Recently, a 2020 video of a Good Samaritan rescuing a stranded deer by pushing it across a frozen pond resurfaced on social media.
A Wisconsin man named Gil Lencour worked to save the deer as his friend, John Moss, caught video of the merciful act.
Lencour saw the deer and decided the best way to save the animal was to push it. He wore slip-resistant ice cleat devices over his boots and pushed the bemused deer. The rescue happened days before Christmas.
The town is a two-hour drive north of the state capital Madison.
Good Samaritan Going Home For Lunch
The man was driving home for lunch when he saw the animal sitting in the middle of the frozen water. He told NBC 15 that he takes that route every day and knew the ice would be strong enough to walk on.
Soon, he found himself walking over to sit with the animal.
The Daily Mail reported that Lencour called his boss, John Moss. Moss came out to help. But mostly watch and record the actions of his employee.
The man told Fox 19 that the doe sat in the middle of the reservoir. He added his original plan involved a leash and pulling her to shore.
One Twitter commenter, Lisa Eng, said, “Gosh, that’s hard to do. Maintain a hold on the deer and keep balanced on the ice simultaneously. What a wonderful man.”
Good Samaritan Observed Deer Trying To Stand
As the deer tried to get up, Lencour put both hands on her and “started pushing. He estimated that it was 90 pounds.
“I could slide her across the ice and just kept going, and got to the shore, and she took off,” Lencour said.
His buddy, Moss, told Fox 19 that he started recording the moment when he felt Lencour was ok pushing the deer. The deer rescuer looked exhausted at one point, and Moss cheered him on, saying, “you got a ways.” Then, he informed Lencour he was “two-thirds” of the way to safety.
The deer took off and bounded over a railroad track when they got to dry land. Lencour said the escaping deer put a “big smile on my face.”
Moss agreed with his friend, wondering how long she struggled on the frozen water. He was also glad to catch the action in a cell phone video. He posted the video to social media, calling his friend and employee “The Deer Rescuer.”
The rescuer said he saw the deer and went to rescue it without a second thought. Lencour said, “she needed to get off the ice, and I was the only one around to help her.”
Deer rescues are more common than you think. A recent Jan. 6 rescue took place in Connecticut. A police department video shows a rescuer crawling out onto the ice to reach the deer and attach a rope to it. The deer was dragged to shore safely without any injuries.
