Barrhead man rescue fawn

Sometimes something good can come from a tragedy — especially if the right person comes along at the right time.

That is exactly what happened to a little fawn who, without the help of a Barrhead area resident, would have died in the same accident that claimed the life of its mother.

On Friday, June 10, at about 3 p.m., Sean Steele and his wife were on their way to Prince Rupert, B.C. to visit his cousin and do some fishing.

Steele is a Manola area farmer and owns Steele Tech Fabrication.

“We were just about at Smithers when a deer ran right out in front of the vehicle ahead of me,” he said, he told the Leader in a telephone interview from Prince Rupert.

Unable to swerve or stop in time, the vehicle struck the doe. Steele pulled over to check on the animal.

“The doe was still alive so I told my wife I was going to put it out of its misery,” Steele said, adding he took a knife from the truck and proceeded to drag the deer off the highway.

However, by the time he had done that the doe had already passed away from its injuries. It was at this time that Steele noticed that she was pregnant.

So he took his knife, which he originally brought along to kill the mother, and performed an emergency C-section.

“It was alive, but it wasn’t breathing very well so I took some long grass, which was growing at the side of the highway and cleaned out its nose as best I could,” Steele said, adding the fawn responded almost immediately and started moving around.

It was at this time, that the driver of the vehicle who struck the doe, called B.C. Fish and Wildlife, who suggested Steele take the fawn to a nearby animal rescue organization.

“My wife and my cousin’s wife decided to name the fawn, a doe, Friday Steele,” he said, adding his phone has been ringing constantly since the story got out. “Apparently, it’s doing really well and even has its own Facebook page (search for Friday.Steele).”

As for what is next for Steele and his wife, he said they will continue their vacation and visit with his cousin and his family and do a little fishing.

“We’ve caught lots of halibut already (including an 80 lbs one by his wife) and tomorrow we hope to have the same luck when we go out fishing for salmon,” Steele said.