As I was driving home from grocery shopping today this afternoon, I was on the last stretch of road before turning left. I was maybe an eighth of a mile left to go. Traffic was backed up as far as I could see on the opposite lane for some reason. I looked ahead to see what it could be, and I saw what I thought was an injured bird trying to fly. As I got a little closer, I thought I saw a black garbage bag blowing around in the wind, but then I remembered it was not windy today.

As I finally got close enough to see what it actually was, I saw a young deer that just got hit by a car and was struggling to get up and walk. It made it to the opposite side of the road, but it was not able to walk.

As I finally got to my house, I pulled into the driveway. As I got out of my car, I could hear the deer screaming. The screams were piercing. I finally got home and told my son about it. I called the local police, who said they are already on the way. My son ran out and went to get a look on his own. I knocked on my neighbor’s door (she happens to be an M.D.).

She said that if a deer gets hit by a car, and it is not killed, they are usually shot. We could still hear the animal screaming all the way down the road. It must’ve been heard for miles around. My son was walking back to our house from the scene. He said the police were getting ready to shoot it.

We then heard one shot…then another…then silence. My son and I just held on to each other for a few minutes. I’m glad I wasn’t there to see the shooting, but it was still traumatizing to hear.

I had noticed recently that there are more deer in the area lately. Just the other morning, I saw a mom and two babies munching on some bushes in the back of my house. They don’t seem to fear people as much as they used to, but they are still cautious.

I was just wondering why there are no wildlife veterinarians. This was so horrible, that my stomach is still upset. I could hardly eat dinner tonight.

That was my day.