“He had no fear of anyone that was around and acted like it wanted the on-scene officer to pet it,” said the Cornwall Borough Police Department in Lebanon County, Pa. It was referring to a spray-painted deer.
According to a Wednesday Facebook post from the department, the antler-less deer walked onto a West Cornwall Township business on Saturday. Bright orange spray paint on both sides of its body read “PET” and, as might be expected by the message, he was very friendly. He didn’t even run when authorities activated the sirens on a cruiser and ended up hanging out for around 45 minutes.
Police didn’t say what type pf business the deer decided to visit. In Virginia, another rogue critter – a raccoon – made headlines this week for breaking into a liquor store and falling asleep in the establishment’s bathroom.
“State Game Warden [Zachary] Salsgiver came out, took a report and advised... most likely Mr. Deer was someone’s pet that got too big and was left loose into the wild, the ‘owner’ applied the spray paint to keep it safe from hunters,” the police department said of the Cornwall incident. “Salsgiver also added that keeping a deer as a pet is illegal in Pennsylvania.”
This deer might have been friendly and adorable, but last month Audacy reported on a fatal deer attack that occurred at an Ohio residence. Deer have also been called the “deadliest” animal in North America due to their involvement in many traffic incidents and Audacy has reported on Chronic Wasting Disease, a contiguous prion condition also known as “zombie deer disease” spreading in deer.
Authorities are still seeking information on the spray-painted deer incident in Cornwall. Anyone with information is advised to contact The Pennsylvania Game Commission at (833) 742-4868.