southport oakisland animal rescue

JOHN DEER

SOAR currently only rescues cats and dogs, but it hasn’t always been that way. In the early days SOAR rescued many different varieties of animals. There have been beavers, snakes, a pig, and every bird imaginable; pelicans, owls, hawks, loons, quail, and gazillions of sea gulls, that have, for some period of their life, called

Jeannine gets a kiss

SOAR home.

In the fall of 1998 two young hunters were hunting out off of Rt 211 west of Hwy 17 and they saw a mother deer putting one of her young in a hiding place in a thicket. The mother left and the hunters watched the deer for a while. They were concerned about this deer but they went on with their hunting. After they finished hunting they went back to where the young deer was and it was still in the same place. Also, they had seen a doe that had been shot and they were very concerned that she was the young deer’s mother. They knew Jeannine so they called her for advice and Jeannine said the words she has said hundreds of times; ‘bring it to me’. They approached the deer and it did not run away. They picked it up and took it to their truck and drove it to SOAR.

Betty feeding John Dear

Jeannine took him in and named him John Deer. Initially he was kept in the house and had to be bottle fed. He was a voracious eater right from the start. He got healthier and grew and soon graduated from the house to a fenced-in area outside. The volunteers took loving care of him and he adapted well to human contact. Actually too well. He would not only let you pet him but he would also share his milk with the rescued cats. He was becoming too domesticated and Jeannine knew that if he were to have a chance at a normal life he very quickly needed a different environment, away from SOAR. But how? And where?

Jeannine had some friends in Pinehurst, NC and she wanted their advice because


John Deer has visitors

she knew deer inhabited their property. They confirmed that fact and told Jeannine that they themselves owned 10 acres and that these 10 acres backed up to federally-owned land totally 20,000 acres. They said John Dear could come to live on their property. And they told her that he would always be safe from the guns of hunters because hunting was not allowed on either their property or the federal property. Jeannine was very happy to say the least and the deal was struck. They even came from Pinehurst to SOAR to pick ‘JD’ up.

Jeannine talked to them frequently after that. They told her that after returning to Pinehurst they kept John Dear enclosed in a fenced-in area of their yard for a few days. They then opened the gate to his enclosure and he was free to come and go as he pleased. Initially he didn’t go far when he ventured out and he didn’t stay out long. He kept returning to his pen. Slowly but surely he began spending more and more of his time in the woods and less and less time near their house. He was becoming a deer. After about three weeks they hardly ever saw him. They did however tell Jeannine that on one visit back in the Spring he had his wife and children with him.

Five years have passed now since John Dear was at SOAR. He will always be very affectionately remembered by everyone who cared for and came to visit him. We all hope that he is strong and healthy.