A deer is not your typical house pet. And yet it was a pet deer that thanked an Ohio woman for rescuing her by helping her through her own health crisis.
In 2005, veterinarian Melanie Butera had an unexpected patient: a fawn! The fawn, born at a deer farm, had been born nearly blind was rejected by her mother. The farmer found the fawn and brought her to Dr. Butera, and just in time: the poor little deer probably wouldn’t have lasted through the night otherwise. The good doctor nursed the fawn back to health and decided to adopt her! They named her Dillie.
Just like a cat or dog, Dillie shares the house with her human parents, eating next to them at the dinner table, playing little games, snuggling, and enjoying the occasional treat (lollipops are a favorite). Dr. Butera and her husband set up a bedroom for their deer, complete with a comfy bed. Dillie is completely tame and doesn’t even need a leash! They also set up a webcam and soon began hearing from Dillie the Deer fans from all over the world.
Dr. Butera suddenly faced a health crisis of her own. She had stage four cancer and her prognosis wasn’t good. Whether or not the love she received from Dillie helped her body find the strength it needed to overcome the cancer, it certainly helped her morale. The cancer went into remission and Dr. Butera credits the deer she saved with saving her. As she wrote in a book about adopting Dillie: “Her love bank was so plentiful that she would touch the lives and hearts of people all over the world. This small, dying, meaningless creature, rejected by her mother, and unwanted by anyone in the world became Dillie the Deer, love on hooves.”
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