How Do I Love Thee, My Darling, My Deer? (Part I)

This Sunday morning's run will definitely go down as one of my strangest and most magical runs ever.  I had just finished mile 15, and my cell phone was about to die. Having a phone means running with extra weight, but it also means Pandora and RunKeeper, not to mention quick access to help if something goes wrong. But if the phone is dead, what's the point? I was thinking these thoughts when I heard some rustling in the bushes to my left and then something was running behind me. I turned, expecting to confront a loose neighborhood dog or something, but instead I saw an adorable fawn, trotting along behind me!! Something must have happened to its mother because it was all alone and seemed anxious for company. 

I whipped out my phone to snap a picture before it ran off, but as it turns out, there was no hurry, because the fawn had apparently decided that I was its new mother. I whistled and it came close, letting me stroke its head, pat its back, and snap as many pictures as I wanted. And all the while I was thinking: This is unreal! How many times in my life will I get to pet a wild fawn? I hung out with it for a few minutes, then said my goodbyes, and tried to point it towards the woods. But when I started running again, the fawn was right there behind me, running too! It would have been hilarious if I hadn't been so worried that it might get hit by one of the oncoming cars on the narrow strip of road we occupied. We trotted along for a bit together until we passed a man standing in front of his garage. He took one incredulous look at us and said, "You have a pet DEER?" I assured him that I didn't, explained the situation, and roped him into helping me get Bambi back into the wild.

"The little guy might be hungry," I suggested. "I don't know what these things drink, but do you think you could give it a little milk or water before you set it loose in the woods behind your house?" The man said that he would, and I went back to the business of running my miles. Last I saw of my four-legged little friend, it was trotting through the man's open garage door and heading into the kitchen to get that drink (I swear, I'm not making this up!).

By this time my phone was dead, but those few minutes with the friendly fawn had provided more than enough entertainment to get me through the last five miles. As soon as I got home, I logged onto Facebook and posted a shorter version of this wild encounter, but I really should have showered first—gross! ;).