September 16th, 2011
09:43 PM ET

Man, son save fawn in middle of bay

Dave Falkenburg didn’t catch any fish in Michigan’s Wild Foul Bay on a recent excursion, but he’s happy with what he says he did grab from the water: A 65-pound fawn.

Falkenburg and his 13-year-old son, Justin, say video taken with the boy’s cell phone shows them rescuing the juvenile deer well away from shore on Sunday. They say they found it while driving their motorboat in the water about 45 miles northeast of Saginaw.

“My son thought it was a seagull or something,” Falkenburg told CNN of the moment they saw something bobbing in the water. “And I said no, I think it’s a deer.”

Falkenburg told CNN affiliate WNEM that it appeared the fawn was struggling to survive. The video, which the pair posted to YouTube, shows the boat approaching the water-treading fawn, and then Falkenburg grabbing the animal by the neck with the intention of keeping its head above water.

“We both decided that we needed to act, and needed to act fast,” Falkenburg, of Caseville, told CNN.

After Justin drove for a while with his dad holding the deer’s head, Dave Falkenburg eventually put the deer into the boat.

Thirty-five minutes after they found the animal, they were close enough to shore to put it into shallow water. Video shows the fawn walking toward land.

Falkenburg said deer regularly swim from a peninsula out to an island.

Mary Detloff, spokeswoman for the state Department of Natural Resources, said no DNR personnel were involved. She said she had no reason to doubt the story.

“I wouldn’t put it past the people of Michigan trying to save a deer,” she said.

Falkenburg said it didn’t matter to him that he didn’t catch any fish on the trip.

"We caught the best catch of the day," he said.

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Filed under: Animals • Deer • Michigan
soundoff (101 Responses)
  1. raven

    Know what happened to the LAST guy that was hackin on me ?

    September 17, 2011 at 8:34 am | Report abuse |
  2. yada

    But raven you have had great lives. What does hacking mean?

    September 17, 2011 at 8:37 am | Report abuse |
  3. yada

    I don't have a girlfriend right now. But when I get my next one I want her to be just like raven. Sweet no push over threatening fun bright and reads everything. Now can she cook?

    September 17, 2011 at 8:42 am | Report abuse |
  4. raven

    Its a joke.. Hacking is an old-timey expression. Means to tease someone or give em a hard time. In Young Guns (a fictional movie) BtK claimed to have shot someone for hackin on him. And I loved the lives you imagined for me!

    September 17, 2011 at 8:43 am | Report abuse |
  5. raven

    Aww Yada..thank you! Youre makin me blush. Was very sweet.

    September 17, 2011 at 8:45 am | Report abuse |
  6. pilihP

    I recall what happened to the last man that hacked on me, raven. I hope your story isn't a red as mine. 🙂 I liked your bear/moose story. In all my years spent up in the high country, I've never seen a bear chasing a moose with my own eyes. That must have been amazing to behold.

    September 17, 2011 at 8:48 am | Report abuse |
  7. pilihP

    He he...guess your story was harmless after all! (ahem) exsqueeze me.

    September 17, 2011 at 8:51 am | Report abuse |
  8. raven

    Hey Philip! I was just a kid but it was pretty intense. I usta live way out in the middle of nowhere and there were all kindsa animals out there. Saw a lynx there, too. Only one I ever saw .Way cool .

    September 17, 2011 at 8:55 am | Report abuse |
  9. pilihP

    @yada. It's probably because of all the animals that I have rescued that this story didn't hit my heart. A heart toched by reality isn't warmed so easily by an simple report of it occuring. And really, a warmed heart is much more difficult to be warmed even further vs. a cold one. I've never had the opportunity to recuse a child from a child-stalker, and would glady trade every single animal I have ever rescued, (even little 'sandy pie'..an red-nosed pit bull puppy I rescued after dog-fighters had wrapped her in duct-tape and thrown her in the pit to 'warm' the other fighting dogs prior to the bloodletting) for even the chance to rescue a child from a child-predator. I would like CNN to report some news of this, if any exist.

    September 17, 2011 at 9:00 am | Report abuse |
  10. pilihP

    Gm raven 🙂 I was raised on the edge of the wilderness too! But I think cities are wilder than natures wildnerness, really. I've had mountain lions come right into my camp and just sit there and stare at me twice on two diff. occassions. Both of them pee'd on the same old WW2 footlocker my uncle gave me) I was also in the LA area during the King riots...much scarier than mountain lions for sure.

    September 17, 2011 at 9:08 am | Report abuse |
  11. pilihP

    About 'sandy pie'. She was covered with ticks...dozens of them. She was lying in a ditch not far from where a pit-bull show had been held near Pomona, CA. After these AKC sanctioned dog shows, where owners of pits show their dogs beuty and strength, many of the owners meet to fight their dogs. I named her 'sandy pie' for her little coochies was caked with sand from her urinating on herself for so many days. (crying for her now) Poor little puppy. I was camped near Idyllwild,CA, and the following monday took her to the ASPCA there. She was adopted that same day! And she got to keep the name I gave her too! But I would glady have passed sandy pie for even the chance to rescue a child from those who "pit" children.

    September 17, 2011 at 9:30 am | Report abuse |
  12. where'd everbuddy go?

    🙁

    September 17, 2011 at 10:12 am | Report abuse |
  13. yada

    Good morning Raven! Just to let you know, I've been Trolled. My last post was at 2:23 a.m. It was 11:23 on the West Coast but the posts always cite ET time. So I didn't write all that goofy stuff. I do, however, enjoy your posts and input on different subjects. I've been blogging for about 2 months and I guess it was bound to happen. Luckily the Troll had a sense of humor and made me lol! He assumed I was a guy but he assumed wrong. Oh well, I guess if you're going to blog, sooner or later you're going to get trolled. Have a great day.

    September 17, 2011 at 10:44 am | Report abuse |
  14. raven

    That's ok yada. It happens to most of us. I get trolled too. Have seen your posts too. Enjoy them.

    September 17, 2011 at 11:32 am | Report abuse |
  15. yada

    The poor deer almost drowned. I'm so glad that father and son rescued it.

    September 17, 2011 at 11:37 am | Report abuse |
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