I’ve been chronicling the evening adventures of our dog Otis on Twitter and Facebook and the random Periscope for a couple of weeks. It turns out that a mama deer and her little baby have been coming into our neighbor’s yard to eat the fruit falling from the trees. Otis is curious.
More than curious. He wants to make a new friend.
Our yard has a six-foot fence, so it’s unlikely they’ll get into our space, but they get in next door pretty easily. Otis runs to the fence immediately, barking and jumping happily, and scares away the deer. I see his wagging tail and I know he’s not posing a threat, but the deer doesn’t know that.
Mostly.
Usually, the mama deer stands her ground between Otis and the baby. I love to see this. I love to see the protective nature of the mama, and I feel, for a moment, a connection with the deer and how ordered our natures are. That as mamas we protect our young.
Otis isn’t much of a threat, especially with that fence up. But the world in which we live often poses unfathomable threats. What of our human nature to protect the weak and defenseless? We can probably learn a lesson or two from that mama deer.
Mamas are very protective – we have ducks and ducklings in the lake and Ivy (our Britanny spaniel) will give chase and the mama will always get in between Ivy and her young. I saw it again this evening with wild turkeys, there were several young turkeys and a mama and the same thing happened when I slowed to count and snap a photo. Otis just wants a friend, he’s curious. Ivy just doesn’t like ducks. Have a great day, tomorrow could be a million and six times better
Thanks for sharing about Ivy. My husband recently encountered some turkeys too! It’s something to watch wildlife, isn’t it?