This was this past Friday and it was about 9:30 a.m. and I had just rounded the front of my SUV hitting the unlock and then, just happen to catch a glimpse of something under my car by my rear tire!!  What is that??  IT IS A TINY FAWN all balled up!!!  My first reaction was GOOD THING I SAW THAT!!!  My follow-up thought was, I guess I know what my next Photo of the Week article is going to be about!!!  

Mother Nature has given me a story, right in the convenience of my front yard!!  My next thought was, how am I going to move the fawn??!!  My back has been giving me some challenges recently, and one of those is that I have a hard time getting up from a prone or kneeling position – HARD TIME taking care of myself, much less trying to balance and hold onto a little fawn and then get up!!  OK, made a couple of phone calls and those didn’t work.  Walked to my neighbor’s house, but she was not home, (out walking with her son Parker and the two dogs in our beautiful Open Space Lands by our homes!)  Phoned Town Hall and she advised she would call over to the firehouse.  In the meantime, I am thinking, let me call the New Jersey State Police.  I am a retired Sergeant and this is kinda of an emergency, a mission of mercy!  

Through all this I am now beginning to think this really has some potential for a nice PHOTO OP!!  A few minutes go by, my quiet front yard is getting rather busy!!  I have several members of the Allamuchy Township Volunteer Fire Dept. on scene, then my neighbor shows up with her three year old son, Parker, Allamuchy Mayor Rick Lomonaco drives up (he is also on the fire department) and I have the troopers en route. 

I try to preserve the scene for an all in one photo op but the little fawn began to move our schedule along.  The Mayor retrieved the fawn from under my car, and the photo ops began and could be heard.  Pretty nice photo to have a tiny fawn looking at a fascinated three-year-old boy, all the while giving out some pretty loud bleats! The fawn was placed under my deck’s staircase and then it moved further back under the deck and then laid down.  Parker was thrilled as the fire department rescue truck activated its lights and siren as it drove away.

Seconds later, the troopers pulled up in their marked car.  They checked out the fawn’s new resting position under the deck and advised if for whatever reason, that it doesn’t reunite with its mother, call them and they will get one of the wildlife services.  The scene secured, time for the troopers to go and say hello to my young neighbor Parker!!  Started with a high five and he was shown the lights and siren of the Troop Car and could also hear the police radio!! 

I believe I am correct in thinking our tiny fawn and my young neighbor BOTH had a pretty exciting morning!!  We are not used to all this excitement on this dead end road by the farm fields and woods!

THANK YOU EVERYONE!! 

A thank you for helping the fawn!! A thank you for also making my young neighbor Parker’s day, SPECIAL!! Lets see, saw a baby fawn, met the Mayor, met the Fire Dept., met the NJ Troopers & help his neighbor, ME!!   He was a busy young boy!! AND a Thank You for helping me be able to get into my car and do my thing!!! 

Keep in mind, these very young fawns do not go around with their mothers when they are real young!  They stay quiet and still waiting for their mothers to return.  If you come across a fawn in a dangerous location, it is alright to gently pick them up and move them to a safe place. They will then pick and choose where they will wait for their mothers!!!  Obviously this fawn was very comfortable under my deck as he was still sleeping there when I returned later!!

Please go to my Flickr site for my photos and videos.

Enjoy Your Open Space

Charlie Fineran

Charlie Fineran is Allamuchy’s Director of Open Space, Allamuchy Township Environmental Commission Chairman and Allamuchy Historical Society President.