Quick thinking from Walter Burress, husband of Realtor Diana Burress saves the life of a baby deer in Augusta, KS
It was quite the shock for Augusta, KS natives Walter and Diana Burress to look out their kitchen window on the morning of Wednesday, June 16th and see a large deer prancing back and forth next to their pool. It was even more surprising when they realized the reason why she was so close to their home. Her baby had fallen in the pool and was struggling to stay afloat.
Thanks to quick thinking on Walter Burress’ part, he immediately reacted and saved the baby deer’s life by pulling him from the pool within seconds of realizing what was happening. Wife, Diana, grabbed her phone and was able to capture the entire rescue in a video that has now gone viral.
After the deer is pulled from the water, Walter Burress puts him over by the area where his mom ran off to encourage him to find his mother. When the baby didn’t move, Diana Burress moved in to get a closer look. The fawn looked at her with large ears and doe eyes for a moment as if to say, “thank you” before bouncing off into the trees to find it’s mother, while Burress says, “bye!”.
Walter Burress is a local farmer outside of Wichita, KS and owns and operates a farmstead that has been in the Burress family for 100 years. Diana believes that it was his years of experience working with animals, particularly cattle and calves, that influenced his ability to react so quickly.
Burress says he estimates that the fawn was only about a day or two old at the most.
Many were concerned that the baby deer would be unable to find it’s mother since she ran away at the sight of humans. However, if you listen to the video with the audio on you can hear a strange whistling sound in the background, this is the mother calling to her baby. Burress says she’s, “confident that the mother was close by making sure we saved her baby and that they were reunited.”
When asked if this sort of event is commonplace at the Burress homestead, Diana Burress responded, “we live in the country so wildlife close to the house isn’t uncommon at all. Typically, we see turkeys, coyotes, racoons and the occasional armadillo; deer are rampant in the area, but they usually steer clear of the house, and definitely don’t get this close.”
The pool was installed in 2002 and this is the first time an animal larger than a squirrel was found in the pool. Both Walter and Diana Burress expressed their happiness that they were able to be a part of a story that has a happy ending.
“June 13th also happens to be my birthday, so it was definitely an exciting way to start the day,” chuckled Diana Burress.
Nice save, Walter!
