Woman finds, rescues dying fawn

Last Wedesday, when Monique’s Gold, a thoroughbred mare, started to whinny, neigh and spin around in  circles, Pamela Brooker knew something was not right.

When Brooker went out to investigate, Monique’s Gold became more and more nervous and led Brooker to the source.

A tiny fawn nearly dead, laying near the gate of the thoroughbred farm in Paradise Valley. There was no mother deer in sight just the helpless baby, barely breathing, according to Brooker.

“The fawn looked like he maybe had five minutes left in him and was suffering from exposure,” Brooker said.

Brooker picked up the fawn, wrapped him in her coat and rushed to the house. Monique’s Gold followed Brooker and the fawn trying to nuzzle the fawn on the way.

“Monique’s Gold is a mother herself and you could tell she wanted to mother this baby, she was very concerned,” Brooker said.

Once Brooker got the fawn back to the house immediately fed the baby some formula intended for foals, but is all she had on hand. 

“The baby looked as though it was coming down with pneumonia,” Brooker said.

Brooker’s son, Kevin, and his fiancé’ Cami Schalk, instantly began to take charge of the recovery of the fawn.  They got a hold of goats milk from neighbor Kelly Spangler and began nursing the fawn back to health.

“These two tended to that baby 24/7 for three days,” Brooker said.

The fawn gained its strength and by the second day he bounced back and by the third, looked fantastic, said Brooker.

The Brookers named the fawn Rambo because he had to travel quite a ways through treacherous terrain and torrential rain to get to the mare’s gate where he was found.

   The Brooker’s have sent Rambo to a wild-life rescue in Hayden. Here he will be raised with other rescued deer and eventually returned to the wild.

  “We really loved that fawn,” said Kevin Brooker. “We will miss him but sending him to the rescue organization is what is best for him.”

  “This year the weather has been terrible and a lot of baby animals are suffering,” said Schalk. “Rambo is one of the lucky ones.”

  The Brooker’s realize that it is not recommended to touch fawns when they are found alone as sometimes the mother will hide them. In this case the Brooker’s knew the fawn was dying and needed their help.

   “Only a monster would have ignored his plight and left him there to die,” said Schalk. “Since we were successful raising an orphan foal we felt confidant to help Rambo.”

   The Brooker’s said they would like to visit Rambo before he is released into the wild and they have high hopes that he will live a long healthy life.