{"id":278390,"date":"2025-11-08T02:02:16","date_gmt":"2025-11-08T02:02:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/278390\/"},"modified":"2025-11-08T02:02:16","modified_gmt":"2025-11-08T02:02:16","slug":"community-rallies-to-save-deer-with-bucket-stuck-on-head-then-a-miracle-happens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/278390\/","title":{"rendered":"Community Rallies To Save Deer With Bucket Stuck On Head \u2014 Then A Miracle Happens"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week, a concerned Maryland resident sent local animal rescuer Bob Swensen a photo of a deer they\u2019d seen in their yard with a blue Halloween candy bucket stuck on his head. The image of the deer was so unusual that Bob briefly questioned whether it was fake.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt first \u2026 I thought it was a joke, like somebody Photoshopped it or whatever, but it\u2019s real,\u201d Swensen told The Dodo.<\/p>\n

Bob Swensen<\/p>\n

As soon as Swensen realized the image wasn\u2019t fake, he and his partner at Lost Animal Resource Group<\/a> and First Response Drone Pet Search and Rescue<\/a>, Bernie Hilditch, sprang into action. Neither Hilditch nor Swensen had ever tracked down a deer before, but they were determined to do everything they could to help.<\/p>\n

Hilditch used his drone to track the deer\u2019s location and movement patterns. He learned that the juvenile deer, nicknamed Bucket Boy, spent most of his time in a small herd with his mother and siblings.<\/p>\n

Bernie Hilditch<\/p>\n

For days, Hilditch and Swensen worked tirelessly to find the deer and get the bucket off his head. The deer rescuers were amazed to learn that they weren\u2019t the only ones who cared. In fact, it seemed like everyone who lived in the area wanted to help and was invested in saving Bucket Boy\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody in that neighborhood and out by that neighborhood were like, \u2018Can we help? What can we do?\u2019\u201d Swensen said.<\/p>\n

Bob Swensen<\/p>\n

When almost a week had passed, Swensen and Hilditch were beginning to lose hope. Every time they got close enough to the deer to try to help, he would leave.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, with deer, anytime you move, they would kind of run away,\u201d Swensen said.<\/p>\n

Bob Swensen<\/p>\n

Bucket Boy had gone so long without food and water that Swensen and Hilditch began to resign themselves to not finding him alive. But then, a miracle happened. Hilditch spotted the deer \u2014 without the bucket on his head. Hilditch had spent so much time closely observing Bucket Boy that he was able to recognize him instantly.<\/p>\n

\u201c[S]ame markings, same circles around the eyes, same brothers, the exact same four deer \u2026 and the bucket was completely gone,\u201d Hilditch told The Dodo.<\/p>\n

Whether the deer had managed to remove the bucket on his own or someone had helped him, it didn\u2019t matter \u2014 Hilditch and Swensen were overjoyed that he was finally feeling better. It warmed their hearts to see how his mama took care of him and comforted him after everything he\u2019d been through.<\/p>\n

Bernie Hilditch<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we refound him \u2026 I watched Mom non-stop licking every area where that bucket was stuck on the deer\u2019s face, where it was hitting the eyes, where it was hitting the throat,\u201d Hilditch said.<\/p>\n

More than anything, the rescue partners were touched by so many people showing up to help a struggling animal.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was so nice in a world that is so cruel, to see a deer with a bucket stuck on its head bringing the whole community and state together in a caring way,\u201d Hilditch said.<\/p>\n

\"Shelter<\/a>Shelter Pup With ‘Ducky’ Feet And Flappy Walk Gets An Unexpected Second ChanceHe’s so adorable and unique \ud83e\udd7a<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Last week, a concerned Maryland resident sent local animal rescuer Bob Swensen a photo of a deer they\u2019d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":278391,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[3290,616,20430,79,615,613,201],"class_list":{"0":"post-278390","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-alana-francis-crow","9":"tag-daily-dodo","10":"tag-rescue","11":"tag-science","12":"tag-standard","13":"tag-the-dodo","14":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=278390"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278390\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/278391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=278390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=278390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=278390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}