Deer that gored woman was neighbor’s pet for over a year, Colorado officials say

A Colorado woman took home a days-old fawn and raised it for over a year, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said. It later gored her neighbor.

The illegally raised buck gored a woman who was walking her dog on a wooded path near her home Friday morning, McClatchy News reported. The deer regularly approached people and sought “human attention.”

Because the deer had been seen in the neighborhood so often, the woman thought the deer “simply wanted to be snuggled” when it approached her, and she extended her hand to the deer, officials said. It then jabbed her abdomen with its antlers.

The deer was raised by 73-year-old Tynette Housley, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said in a Monday news release. She was cited with illegal possession of wildlife and illegally feeding wildlife, both of which are misdemeanors.

“She was also issued a warning for possessing live wildlife without a license after she described keeping it in her home, then in her garage and ultimately on her property,” officials said. “The two misdemeanors carry fines and surcharges totaling $1,098.50.”

The deer was euthanized after it attacked the woman, who was treated for cuts on her head and bruises on her cheek and legs, according to Parks and Wildlife. It had “fresh blood covering its antlers” and approached a wildlife official, the state agency said.

After its death, the animal’s stomach contents confirmed that it was fed by humans, and it contained hay, grain, corn and possibly a potato, according to Parks and Wildlife.

“We can’t say it enough: Wild animals are not pets,” Frank McGee, CPW’s area wildlife manager for the Pikes Peak region, said in the news release. “Feeding deer habituates them to humans. They lose their fear of humans and that leads to these outcomes that are tragic for both wildlife and people. Injured and orphaned wildlife should be taken to licensed wildlife rehabilitators.”