WEYMOUTH, Mass. (CBS) – A Good Samaritan turned his Subaru into an animal ambulance, for a deer hit by a car. But was that the best thing to do?
“I always stop for animals,” says Tyler Silverman who was driving to work Thursday and getting on Rt. 3 towards Weymouth. “There was an injured deer in the middle of the road, so I stopped.”
Tyler grew up in a veterinarian’s office. His mother is a vet. So the first thing he did was call her. He’s also a doctor himself, a podiatrist at South Shore Hospital.
The animal was stunned. “The deer didn’t look, medically, like it was going to come to any time soon,” he says.
So with a little assistance; “Two people helped me get the deer in the back of the car,” he said.
He drove about 10 minutes to the New England Wildlife Center in Weymouth where he learned they aren’t allowed to care for animals like deer or bears. “What we did was we called the Environmental Police, and we called the local animal control officer,” says Dr. Greg Mertz, a veterinarian at the Wildlife Center.
They determined the deer was in decent shape, and happily released him into nearby woods. But what about Tyler’s decision to pick up the animal? “Good intentions, big heart, bad idea,” says Dr. Mertz.
That’s because the deer could have freaked out. “When he came to, it would have been a disaster inside the car because the deer would have gone crazy,” Mertz says.
Tyler’s trunk has some deer fur in it and he sprayed his car for ticks. His tuxedo for a friend’s wedding this weekend is fine, so he’s comfortable with his decision. “Why not? I mean it made a little mess in the car,” he says.
“It was a happy ending, but a cautionary tale,” adds Dr. Mertz.
Animal experts say Tyler was very lucky. So what should you do in that situation? Leave the animal alone and call 911.
