Deer Rescue 'A Real Community Effort,' Brick Police Say

BRICK, NJ — Brick Sgt. John Talty says the response to a pair of deer that fell through the ice on a lagoon on Tuesday demonstrates the care and kindness of the community.

A reader submitted photos of the rescue to the Patch on Tuesday afternoon, praising the police and firefighters for their efforts in the rescue. On Thursday, Talty gave a fuller account of the rescue, which was complicated by one that wouldn't stay away from the water and injuries to the second deer, he said.

The rescue "was a nice community effort," Talty said, from the moment he and Officers Ricky Nelson and Glenn Paycina arrived at the lagoon off Vanard Drive off Drum Point Road after a resident called to tell police about the deer.

When they arrived, Talty said, they found John Santoro, a volunteer firefighter with Pioneer Fire Company, using a rope to try to lasso one of the deer, which was right near a dock. Talty said they grabbed a second rope, "and with his rope and our rope hoisted the deer out," he said.

The deer, however, decided to challenge their rescue skills, Talty said.

"As soon as we took the ropes off, it ran across the street to a beach and jumped right over the bulkhead and into another lagoon," Talty said. They went and pulled that deer out of the second lagoon and moved that one to a spot where it was less likely to jump in the water again, he said, and the deer took off.

"We didn't get another call about a deer in a lagoon so we believe it was OK," Talty said.

The second deer, however, was not near the dock, he said.

By then there were nearly 25 firefighters, police and EMS workers gathered at the site, along with neighbors who wanted to help, Talty said.

"It swam out into the bay and was noticeably having difficulty but was going away from the land," Talty said.

No boats were available because there was just enough ice to prevent boats from getting through the water, he said. So firefighter Ron Gaskill put on a dry suit and jumped in with a tethered line and other firefighters were holding the lines, Talty said. Another firefighter put on a dry suit and was standing at the ready to jump in if there were any problems.

"It was a nice operation to watch," he said.

Once Gaskill was able to lasso the deer he walked it back in to a low dock at a neighboring home, where they were able to get the deer on land.

That deer, however, had suffered some injuries to its legs breaking through the ice, Talty said. Police and firefighters moved the animal off the snow, then tried to warm it with warm blankets and towels brought by neighbors.

"So many people wanted to help," he said, "we finally had to tell them, 'We know you want to help but it's probably not in the best interest of the deer.' "

After several hours, the deer still was not recovered, Talty said, so one of the firefighters moved the deer to his heated garage. There the firefighter tried to warm it with electric blankets, to further try to help it.

"You could tell the deer knew we were trying to help," Talty said.

Unfortunately, the deer died during the night, Talty said.

Talty said this wasn't the first time police have been called to rescue a deer from the lagoons in the area; they had to rescue one a couple of months ago. The community was a huge help then as well, he said, with a contractor building a ramp so they could get the deer out of the water.

"We were happy to save the one (Tuesday) and sorry that the efforts weren't enough to save the other," he said. "We gave it our best effort."

Photos provided to the Patch