CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- For each person who grouches about the neighborhood deer munching on his shrubs, there's someone else who views them as beautiful, gentle visitors who are always welcome.
Cross Lanes resident Debbie Duffield caught this deer taking a sip of water from her bird bath.
"I know they eat other people's bushes and flowers," said Ann Bird, 87, of Loudon Heights. "I think they're lovely."
Bird takes such an interest in the deer that graze in her yard that she has been keeping a little journal about their comings and goings. It notes the times the deer appear and their behavior. Usually, they stretch out their necks and gulp seeds out of the wrought iron bird feeder in the yard.
"They stick their tongues right in and clear it out," Bird said. "There was one day this week that I filled it, 7:30, as I usually do when I get up. I was eating breakfast and the deer came along and cleared it out completely."
Such close encounters with deer are more common than not as populations grow and humans spread out, too. Examples of all kinds are on display on the Daily Mail's Web site where people were asked to submit their photographs of deer they had seen. Dozens of people like Bird responded enthusiastically, so the gallery is filled with photos from some people who glimpsed a deer just long enough to snap a picture and others who had established up close, summer long relationships with deer who became almost like pets.
John Saulton of Charleston's West Side submitted photos of a deer dining outside his neighbor's home. Maybe because it wasn't his own home, Saulton was fascinated by watching the deer.
"It doesn't bother me a bit," said Saulton, an 85-year-old resident of West Avenue. "That deer's been playing around this neighborhood for two or three weeks. The day we took that picture it was eating some flowers out of the flowerpot."
Jim Wells caught sight of a deer in a remarkable location.
He was touring the facilities at the Charleston Civic Center with a national representative of the Promise Keepers men's Christian events. The two spied a deer on the second-floor walkway of the Civic Center, which is about as close to the center of town as you can get.
"Using my iPhone, I quickly shot a picture before the deer moved around the Civic Center and out of sight," said Wells, a 57-year-old Nitro resident who is the local volunteer coordinator for the Promise Keepers convention next month.
"How the deer arrived on the second level elevated walkway is only speculation, but it was truly a sight to see and an excellent testimony to our out-of-state guest that West Virginia is 'Wild and Wonderful,' even in downtown Charleston."
One deer wouldn't have had a chance to live without the intervention of a local couple.
Jerry and Carolyn Cottle, both 54, of South Charleston were spending a weekend at their camp in Fayette County when they had to come to the rescue of a fawn who was being attacked by dogs in a nearby creek.
"I had gone out to the store, and she called me on my cell phone and told me she was in the yard and heard a squealing noise," Jerry said.
"She ran out to the creek that was right in front of our camp. The dogs had a baby deer down in the water, biting on him. She ran down and tried to get the dogs to leave it alone. She finally got the deer off and carried it up to the camp."
Jerry rushed home. By the time he got there, Carolyn had placed the fawn in the bathroom.
"I went in and he was shaking a bit, but he wasn't bad. I started petting his head, but he didn't move very much. I put him in her lap, and he just laid there. He pretty much just laid there like a puppy."
The Cottles loaded the little deer into their Jeep and took him to the Fayette animal shelter. The woman who runs the shelter promised the Cottles she would feed the fawn baby formula and release him into the local park when he's old enough to take care of himself.
"Hopefully he's all right," Jerry said.
Some deer made themselves right at home with area families.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- For each person who grouches about the neighborhood deer munching on his shrubs, there's someone else who views them as beautiful, gentle visitors who are always welcome.
"I know they eat other people's bushes and flowers," said Ann Bird, 87, of Loudon Heights. "I think they're lovely."
Bird takes such an interest in the deer that graze in her yard that she has been keeping a little journal about their comings and goings. It notes the times the deer appear and their behavior. Usually, they stretch out their necks and gulp seeds out of the wrought iron bird feeder in the yard.
"They stick their tongues right in and clear it out," Bird said. "There was one day this week that I filled it, 7:30, as I usually do when I get up. I was eating breakfast and the deer came along and cleared it out completely."
Such close encounters with deer are more common than not as populations grow and humans spread out, too. Examples of all kinds are on display on the Daily Mail's Web site where people were asked to submit their photographs of deer they had seen. Dozens of people like Bird responded enthusiastically, so the gallery is filled with photos from some people who glimpsed a deer just long enough to snap a picture and others who had established up close, summer long relationships with deer who became almost like pets.
John Saulton of Charleston's West Side submitted photos of a deer dining outside his neighbor's home. Maybe because it wasn't his own home, Saulton was fascinated by watching the deer.
"It doesn't bother me a bit," said Saulton, an 85-year-old resident of West Avenue. "That deer's been playing around this neighborhood for two or three weeks. The day we took that picture it was eating some flowers out of the flowerpot."
Jim Wells caught sight of a deer in a remarkable location.
He was touring the facilities at the Charleston Civic Center with a national representative of the Promise Keepers men's Christian events. The two spied a deer on the second-floor walkway of the Civic Center, which is about as close to the center of town as you can get.
"Using my iPhone, I quickly shot a picture before the deer moved around the Civic Center and out of sight," said Wells, a 57-year-old Nitro resident who is the local volunteer coordinator for the Promise Keepers convention next month.
"How the deer arrived on the second level elevated walkway is only speculation, but it was truly a sight to see and an excellent testimony to our out-of-state guest that West Virginia is 'Wild and Wonderful,' even in downtown Charleston."
One deer wouldn't have had a chance to live without the intervention of a local couple.
Jerry and Carolyn Cottle, both 54, of South Charleston were spending a weekend at their camp in Fayette County when they had to come to the rescue of a fawn who was being attacked by dogs in a nearby creek.
"I had gone out to the store, and she called me on my cell phone and told me she was in the yard and heard a squealing noise," Jerry said.
"She ran out to the creek that was right in front of our camp. The dogs had a baby deer down in the water, biting on him. She ran down and tried to get the dogs to leave it alone. She finally got the deer off and carried it up to the camp."
Jerry rushed home. By the time he got there, Carolyn had placed the fawn in the bathroom.
"I went in and he was shaking a bit, but he wasn't bad. I started petting his head, but he didn't move very much. I put him in her lap, and he just laid there. He pretty much just laid there like a puppy."
The Cottles loaded the little deer into their Jeep and took him to the Fayette animal shelter. The woman who runs the shelter promised the Cottles she would feed the fawn baby formula and release him into the local park when he's old enough to take care of himself.
"Hopefully he's all right," Jerry said.
Some deer made themselves right at home with area families.
Leroy is the name of the deer that has graced the O'Dell family with his friendship all summer.
"Leroy showed up just right at the beginning of the summer, kind of like the end of May," said Debi O'Dell, a 55-year-old Elkview resident who teaches history at Herbert Hoover High School.
"He just came right up out of the woods. We opened the car door and here came this little deer. He went to my daughter Jennifer first and then me, and he kind of followed us around like a little puppy. We had not fed him at all. That's what was so funny. He wasn't a bit afraid of us. He just kind of came up and kind of nuzzled on her."
After that, the deer kept coming back over and over. The O'Dells found their relationship delightful. They started making sure to get berries to feed the deer. Sometimes they would play a game where the deer would run and pretend to butt Debi before stopping about a foot short of her.
"As long as we would kind of play with him and tease him, it was like he was having a ball."
It didn't take long until they felt they knew him well enough to give him a name.
"We have a cat named Leon, and the cat and deer would kind of play with each other. When the deer was around, the cat would try to confront the deer, and immediately the cat would take off. We just thought the 'Leroy' went with 'Leon.' "
Lately, Leroy hasn't been coming around quite so often. The O'Dells hope he will make a return next summer so they can see whether his little button horns have grown.
"I'd actually like to see him where he has a whole rack on his head," O'Dell said.
The Hayes family was greeted by a whole family of deer all summer at their home on the Putnam-Mason county line.
"They've gotten real familiar with us," said Sherry Hayes, 56, who works at the Putnam County assessor's office.
"They know what time I get home, and they're usually waiting every evening to get fed. Some evenings we have as many as 14 or 15. There are three that are usually there every evening."
There's a good reason the deer come back over and over. The Hayes family provides fresh corn.
"They love it," Hayes said. "We go out and buy hundred-pound bags. We don't have any dogs or cats or anything, so they're kind of our pets right now."
One deer stands out. The Hayes family has named him Bucky.
"He'll even sniff the end of your fingers. He won't let you pet him, and I don't want to get that familiar, but he'll sniff your fingers. He leads the pack to get his corn."
Hayes would welcome the deer back next summer.
"People say 'I can't stand those deer because they're eating my shrubs or my flowers,' " Hayes said. "That may be the case, but I thoroughly enjoy it. I like sitting on my back porch and watching them."
I beleave if you check with the WV DNR, feeding deer is illegal.
upshurcounty(4:08pm 08-18-2008)
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They my be cute, but they can also be dangerous. Female deer can be very agressive when protection their babies. They will absolutely kick the tar out of you. And in a short time the bucks will start rutting and become very agressive. You may not want to have an antler enter your body. They are wild animals and that needs to be respected. And to Umm tasty. Right On.
Umm, tasty(2:33pm 08-18-2008)
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Can't wait til hunting season. I ate my last tenderloin just a few weeks ago. I love deer meat.
real West Virginian(12:17am 08-18-2008)
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These are priceless. Each picture should be in the DNR's Wild Wonderful West Virginia magazine.
