Wild deer causes havoc inside assisted living home in Selkirk, Man., after break-in Monday morning
CBC News | Posted: November 24, 2020 12:43 AM | Last Updated: November 24, 2020
Nobody hurt while animal was in Woodland Courts residence, but it gave police the runaround for over an hour
A Manitoba deer is one antler short after it crashed through a glass door into a Selkirk assisted living home on Monday, and spent over an hour evading police officers before finally noticing the open door they were trying to direct it toward.
RCMP were called to the Woodland Courts Assisted Living Residence around 4:22 a.m. about an unusual break and enter in progress at the home, police said.
"The suspect? A one-antlered buck, still stuck inside the home," RCMP wrote in a post on Facebook.
The frightened animal appeared to have jumped through a glass door at the home, losing an antler in the process, police said. Officers were able to corral it into one area of the home away from residents, but caused a little havoc in the process, the Facebook post says.
Police used furniture to try and direct the deer to an open door — but it didn't come quietly.
"With only 20/100 eyesight, the buck simply couldn't find it," police wrote on Facebook.
"Finally, an hour-and-a-half later, when he was completely surrounded by furniture and officers holding up blankets, the buck realized the wide open door was right in front of his nose and jumped away to freedom."
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Ashley Martyniw, the administrator for the nursing home linked to Woodland Courts, said he got a text early Monday morning from a staff member at the residence.
"I thought it was a joke at first," Martyniw said Monday afternoon.
"That was quite a surprise. I've never come across anything like this in 40 years working with seniors."
The deer was first noticed by a home care worker from the Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority, who was at Woodland Courts to visit a patient, Martyniw said. The worker quickly called the RCMP, who were able to contain the animal in the home's exercise room.
"They got more exercise than was intended, I'm sure," he said.
Nobody was injured while the deer was in the building, Martyniw said, although the deer destroyed some furniture and exercise equipment in addition to the glass door it broke to get in.
Most of the residents were asleep when it arrived, but the commotion woke some of them up, he said.
"From what I hear, everybody's fine, and they're all calling their friends and families to tell them about ... what had happened during the night," Martyniw said.
"All is well. Thank goodness for the staff — and the police that handled it did a fantastic job. We were really impressed with them and their bravery."
RCMP said on Facebook they're still not clear on why the deer broke through the door in the first place — but they do have one theory in mind.
"The cause of the incident is still under investigation but officers have not ruled out the possibility that he saw an attractive Christmas deer decoration through the window."
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