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Dog Rescues Baby Deer From Drowning In Virginia Lake

June 18, 2021

A 6-year-old Goldendoodle named Harley jumped into a lake outside his Virginia home to save a baby deer from drowning.

Credit: Ralph Dorn

"Not sure how the fawn got out there but Harley obviously didn't ask why, he just jumped into action," said Ralph Dorn, 62, of Culpeper, Virginia.

Credit: Ralph Dorn

Dorn said he was looking for Harley when he saw him about 200 feet from shore herding the little fawn back to the shoreline.

Credit: Ralph Dorn

Harley then helped the fawn up a steep rocky ledge before placing her onto the grass.

Credit: Ralph Dorn

"Harley didn't want to leave the fawn," Dorn told People. "He just kept interacting with it, licking it, caring for it."

Credit: Ralph Dorn

The pair finally separated after the fawn's mother emerged. Dorn said that is when he took Harley inside.

Until the next morning, when another encounter took place.

Credit: Ralph Dorn

"This morning Harley got restless running from window to window," said Dorn in an update. "I opened the front door and we could hear the fawn bleating. Harley ran into the tree line and found the fawn. The little one stopped bleating, tail wagging, they touched noses sniffed each other and Harley came calmly back to the house with me."

Dorn was so proud of his boy that he posted the rescue on his Facebook page. It has been shared more than 250,000 times.