When Russell Green took his dog for a walk in Comox last Friday, the last thing he expected to find on his front lawn when he came back was a dead deer.
Green said when he returned from an early-morning walk out it was still dark, and at first glance, he did not see any blood or major injury to the animal.
"I had to go to work, so I called the Town (of Comox) and they said they're not allowed to take deer from my property," he noted and added when he returned to his home at lunch, he saw blood on the belly of the deer.
A passerby helped moved the buck, and that's when Green said he saw the arrow.
"It was a very nice deer; it never hurt anybody," he noted. "People are out walking dogs at different hours of the night and if people are shooting bows and arrows, that's really not a good idea."
Green's neighbours Ray and Mickey MacLean-Foley consider the deer, whom they estimate was about two-and-a-half years old, as a pet.
"They bleed red, they have a heart, the same as we do," explained Mickey, who regularly sees the animals in her yard. "It's devastating, particularly to get out of your house and find that on your front step. It's a bit of a shock."
Ray said a conservation officer came to pick up the deer, and added the arrow was about 18 inches long, and pierced right through the ribs. He has no doubt it was on purpose, and not an accident.
"We were told it was the third (incident) in about a week. It's one thing to do this outside city limits, but not within a town," he noted. "Whoever is doing it knows what they're doing."
A conservation officer did not return calls by Record deadline.
"These deer have lived here longer than we have," added Ray. "They have no fear. It's a sucker's game to walk up and shoot one."
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