Ty died today of capture myopathy after Don, Allan, Murph, Ken Gilpin and his assistant, Leeane from Animal Control made the call to tranquilize him. All went well, and he was placed in the horse trailer lying on a bed of hay and driven back to the Reserve. He was alive when the gates of the Reserve opened, but died moments after arriving home. Spirits were very high, and then very low.We are, of course, all very shaken and sad to lose such a beautiful, healthy animal in his prime. Ty had been seen in the Thorpe Road/Peters Road area since the Reserve fence was cut on Wednesday night/Thursday morning nervous, fearful and skittish. He was one of the deer seen on Simmons Road moving away from the Reserve being chased by two young women in a car with a video camera. They didn't know how far they were taking the deer away from the Reserve.
He was one of the most shy deer and that's how he got his name...Shy Ty which was shortened to Ty. Maybe for that reason, no one officially sponsored him. He didn't come to the fence to be fed. He was a common fallow deer with uncommon grace.
We will miss him and his quiet presence. He always took care not to come too close to people, not to let his guard down. We must console ourselves that we did our best for him, that to leave him to starve or to be killed by a car was not an option. We know that he did not suffer a long or painful death and we know that he enjoyed three years of life that would not otherwise have been his.
4 comments:
Oh, I am so, so sorry. My heart is bleeding. Know that you did the right thing, you were left with no choice due to the actions of others. My prayers are with you...
People can be so ignorant. I am so sorry. It is terrible feeling so helpless.
Take care, good luck with the others.
Wayne and I are so terribly sorry to hear about Ty. Our hearts and thoughts are with you all.
Dear Ty,
You left us with your spirit intact, when your body told you it was time to go - finally safe and at home with the familiar sounds and smells of your family nearby, and the human smells and gentle voices that you came to know - it was OK now, to let go now. In your final sleep, we remember the message of your journey and the lesson you teach us - mostly about
ourselves and who we are as a species; the significant impact we have upon lives far more fragile than our own. Your shyness and wild spirit teaches us of your own right of journey; where your footsteps were neither meant to follow, nor lead, our own, but to travel beside them in freedom.
Watch over the Deer-keepers, Ty - The words & sentiment of Lampman, says it best:
They will call you, Ty, and you will come to their side; and though they also call the largest buck, he will not challenge you, nor resent your coming, for he knows you belong there beside them. People may scoff at them, who see no lightest blade of grass bent by your footfalls, who hear
no whimper pitched too fine for mere audition, people who may never have ever met you. Smile at them then, Ty, for you shall know something that is hidden from them, and which is well worth the
knowing. You and your family will live in the heart of your Deer-keepers forever.
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