I clipped a deer on Interstate 95 north heading back to the Black Bear Inn last week, after a long day of working in a cold, windy climate. I’m an animal lover, to a fault. My initial concern wasn’t about our work truck but about the deer. My co-worker checked the truck while I remained behind the wheel and prayed for either the deer’s quick death, or miraculous recovery.
I backed the truck to the impact site where, from inside the cab, we looked for the deer and saw where its tracks entered the woods. It was minus 18 degrees with wind chill, dark, windy, and I didn’t have a firearm because of our company’s vehicle policies.
Blue lights pulled up behind us. A state trooper approached and I explained the situation and shared my concern about the deer. At that late hour, I fully expected to get railroaded with suspicion of texting and driving, operating under the influence, being high, driving when too tired, etc. Not because I think the police are unfair, but because those would have been my suspicions if our roles were reversed.
The trooper surprised me when he reciprocated concern for the deer and asked if we wanted to walk with him to see if it was injured. We tracked the deer for 15 minutes in snow that sometimes went up to my waist. The wind was still howling and the temperature was sub-zero. We concluded that the deer was moving (bounding) through the deep snow better and faster than we were. We never saw one drop of blood.
I’d like to recognize our state troopers for the exemplary work that they do and say “Thank you” to the trooper who went way above and beyond the call of duty to help put my mind at ease. The people of Maine are blessed to have you!
Ted Bennett
Scarborough
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