Spokane Valley Fire crews rescue deer caught in a net

Spokane Valley Fire Department crews rescued a deer that had become tangled in a net at the old Painted Hills Golf Course Friday morning.

Someone called the department’s administrative office around 8:30 a.m. to report the distressed deer and crews were sent to see if they could help, said Battalion Chief Ken Capaul.

The deer’s antlers had become entangled in an old driving range net, which in turn had become wrapped around a metal pole, Capaul said.

“He was stressed and jumping around,” he said. “He was just exhausted.”

A neighbor provided a large piece of plywood that firefighters held in front of themselves as a barrier against being kicked or gored.

“His head was wrapped up pretty close to the post,” Capaul said. “He couldn’t move much. He calmed down right away when he knew we were there to help him.”

Acting captain Abe Nesbitt used a pair of scissors to cut away the netting, assisted by firefighters Rick Freier and Matt Bradsky.

Once the deer was free he ran to a nearby creek, took a drink and then wandered off into the trees, Capaul said.

“It was a good feeling for the guys,” he said.

Capaul said he called a Department of Fish and Wildlife officer to get approval for their rescue plan before they approached the deer. He said he was worried that if firefighters didn’t help the deer, someone else would try and perhaps be injured.

“We did take the nets down so it’s doesn’t happen again,” he said.

This wasn’t the department’s first deer rescue. In the past few years they’ve rescued one that was wrapped up in a fence and another that fell through the ice in Liberty Lake.