A deer with the word “pet” spray-painted on its sides in bright orange letters was found wandering around a community in Pennsylvania.

The Cornwall Borough Police Department said in a Facebook post that a “very friendly” antlerless male deer walked up to a business in West Cornwall Township in Lebanon County on Saturday. Both sides of the deer’s body said “pet” in fluorescent orange paint. 

Police said the deer didn’t seem to be afraid of people, and he acted like he wanted the officer to pet him. He didn’t even run away when the officer turned on the cruiser’s sirens. Instead, “Mr. Deer” hung around for about 45 minutes until he went on his way.

kdka-pet-deer-1.png

A deer with the word “pet” spray-painted on its sides in bright orange letters was found wandering around a community in Pennsylvania.

(Photo: Cornwall Borough Police Department)

A state game warden came out to take a report, telling police that the deer was likely someone’s pet that got too big and was left loose in the wild. The so-called “owner” must have spray-painted it to keep it safe from hunters. 

However, authorities are reminding people that it’s illegal to keep deer as pets in Pennsylvania. Anyone with information about this deer is asked to call the Pennsylvania Game Commission at 833-742-4868.  

It’s not the first instance of a deer being kept as a pet. In Fayette County, a woman gave a deer she called Baby a dog collar and got it vaccinated. But the Pennsylvania Game Commission took Baby, saying he can’t be considered domestic since he wasn’t born in captivity, making it illegal to keep him as a pet. And in Ohio last month, the Belmont County Sheriff’s Office said a woman was attacked and killed by a deer that was kept on her family’s property.Â