Dilly, the house deer who thinks she’s a Poodle

Ohio veterinarian Melanie Butera, husband Steve, Dilly the deer and Lady the Poodle

It all started when Melanie took a call from a local farmer at 3 am one winter night about a fawn that had been rejected by her mother. Just three days old at the time she weighed four pounds.

Melanie and Steve took her into their home and nursed her back to health. When she developed cataracts, they realized that she couldn’t go back to live with the other deer and she was afraid of their horses.

That’s when Lady the Poodle took over. Dilly seemed to think Lady was her mother. She has learned from Lady to be a well behaved house dog deer.

Now after five years, she is fully house trained. She has learned to climb stairs, turn lights on and off, lounge on her owners' bed, turn faucets on and off and take ice from the dispenser in the refrigerator. She eats mostly salads, but her favorite food is ice cream with a little coffee and ice shavings.

[Disclaimer: Melanie is an experienced veterinarian, they live on five securely fenced acres, Dilly wears a GPS collar. Don't try this at home.]

Thanks to Khyra (who should have her own GPS device)   More on Dilly

Comments

[Marion]

There was a lady in BC who had a Deer who was completely housebroken and was a part of her life for five years. But apparently, she broke some kind of law that said one was not allowed to keep wild deer, and conservation officers moved in. I'm not sure how it all turned out. But obviously, if you find the deer young enough, they are capable of being great pets...for people who are completely wise to the ways of the Deer.

They are big animals...I'm not sure I would like one in my house, lol!

[jackie]

what an amazing story.

[YesBiscuit!]

Aw! I want to try this at home!

[Clive]

An amazing story - the not so little man was charmed reading it with us.

[Khyra]

Pffffffft!

I was born to run!

Hugz&Khysses,
Khyra
PeeEssWoo: Tank woo fur sharing one deer's tail/tale!

[mydog]

Wow very amazing. Hi,
My name is Paul and I have started a new website in memory of my mom. It is called www.missmydog.com and is a free lost and found lost dog posting website. We have had great feedback so far and hope you will consider posting a link to our site. Thanks and God Bless.

[rosemary]

Pretty cool story. Deer poop is icky....good thing she is potty trained.

[Sling]

Who knew you could housebreak a deer?
This was a great story.

[Jimmy]

Oh, my gosh!..... I hope the wrong people don't see this and try to ruin things for Dillie!
She's a sweetheart! Loved this video!

[Dr. Liz]

Wow. That is amazing. And I second the comment about not realizing you could house train a deer!

[SmartDogs]

Cute story - but the reporter needs to bone up on his vocabulary. "Domestic" animals are bred over many generations to have reduced flight and fear of people. Wild animals who are raised from infancy with people and learn to be comfortable with them are "tame".

[Elizabeth]

Thank you for this lovely story. A woman who lives near our town had a wildlife sanctuary for years, and I was privileged to see some beautiful animals close up.

[Melanie butera]

Dillie is a domestic deer. She was born on a farm ten generations plus of domestic breeding

[cube]

Very nice story. I'm happy for all of them.

[beth baysinger]

melanie: thanks for posting dillie's breeding history, i hate when people try to be "know it all's". just curious, what is the average life span for a domesticated deer?

[house training a puppy]

Wow, what an intelligent deer! I am amazed that you trained it like the way it is! Good job.

[Pamila Masters]

That is a great job you are doing with Dillie Melanie Butera. I love these kind of stories. Keep up the good work. We have a backyard sanctuary and were priviledged to see a fawn nursing last year in our yard. So beautiful!! Wish I would of gotten a picture but was afraid of spooking them.