Adam Walker grabbed life by the horns last week 91Ƶ or rather by the antlers 91Ƶ when he arrived home to find his dog locked in a struggle with a large deer.
The MLA for Parksville Qualicum pulled into his driveway to see the strange and distressing sight on Sept. 7.
91ƵIt was like a mass of an animal 91Ƶ it was my golden lab and a big buck. The buck had pinned the lab down with his antlers and they were just going at each other,91Ƶ Walker said.
Adrenaline kicked in and Walker grabbed the deer91Ƶs antlers and lifted them up so his dog, Pluto, could scurry to safety. But now he was holding onto the 200-pound animal91Ƶs antlers and could not break away.
91ƵIt was about 20 minutes of back and forth with this deer and it was probably the scariest moment of my life,91Ƶ Walker said. 91ƵIt got me in the leg once with its antler and then when I realized I couldn91Ƶt get away, I was holding on to him and I just started yelling for help.91Ƶ
Fortunately his neighbour arrived and she got in Walker91Ƶs car and nudged the buck with the vehicle until it eventually backed into a ditch, lost its footing and ran off.
Walker suffered a puncture wound in his leg, as well as some scrapes on his knees and shins. He said he is healing nicely after Oceanside Health Centre medical staff sutured up his puncture wound.
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It91Ƶs hard to say what brought on the deer91Ƶs aggressive behaviour, according to Lisa Lopez, WildSafeBC program manager, and any time a pet encounters a wild animal, that wild animal can behave in a way that is protective of space or a reaction to a perceived threat.
91ƵThese are wild animals and in that sense they91Ƶre constantly on alert for situations that may be averse to their survival,91Ƶ she said.
Fall is mating season, so males are in competition and may exhibit more aggressive behaviour than other times of the year, Lopez said.
This is also the time of year when animals are out looking for food sources to prepare for winter, and the drought conditions have made that work extra hard.
91ƵThis is an opportunity for people to kind of take notice of it being the fall season and not just deer, but other wildlife are really ramping up to make sure that they91Ƶre well-fed, well-established for winter season,91Ƶ Lopez said. 91ƵAnd with our drought conditions in B.C. there91Ƶs potential that there might be less natural food options out there for them.91Ƶ
The deer could have been interested in a nearby source of water, or simply been passing through Walker91Ƶs yard, she added.
Quite a few people have reached out to Walker to see how he is doing after the incident and unsurprisingly there have been a few jokes made around the B.C. Legislature.
91ƵI91Ƶve heard no end of puns,91Ƶ Walker said. 91ƵI quite like the one, 91Ƶthe buck stops here91Ƶ, that ones pretty good.91Ƶ
He extended his gratitude to the staff at Oceanside Health Centre.
91ƵDr. Cooper, the nurses and all the support staff there did a great job fixing me up and we91Ƶre lucky to have them in the community.91Ƶ
Sadly, although Walker91Ƶs dog Pluto escaped the deer encounter, he had cancer and was already scheduled for an appointment with the vet to be euthanized.