Man Who Saved Deer Trapped In Soccer Net Details Rescue

ST. JAMES, NY — Todd Brush had just left work and was driving to Head of the Harbor when he saw a deer trapped in a soccer net at Harbor Country Day School in St. James last week.

Brush, 52, of Northport, set up a camera and freed the deer from the netting with a utility knife in a 12-minute operation. The video has since received over 5,000 views. Brush remained calm throughout the rescue, though the camera set-up wasn't intended to make him famous: It was there to provide video proof in case anything happened to him while he was freeing the animal.

"At least they would’ve known what happened to me if I was laying in the field with this big hole torn through me," Brush told Patch.

When Brush saw the deer, he immediately knew he had to help, he said. He pondered how he would free the deer, as its strength surprised him. Brush said he didn't have any plan; he just waited for the right moment to pounce and get the advantage.

"I knew he was going to be stuck there if I didn’t get him out," Brush said. "What actually was going through my mind most of the time was, ‘I hope this thing doesn’t gore me.’ I just kept saying, ‘I don’t want to get hurt, I don’t want to get hurt. I don’t want to get hurt.’"

Brush believes the deer got trapped overnight, because he said the deer put up a good fight until he got on top of it.

From there, Brush was concerned not only about his own safety, but the deer's. He considered calling an animal shelter to come tranquilize the deer, but due to the fact the deer had some of the netting around its throat with a couple of ropes getting into its mouth, Brush felt they might not have arrived in time, and he was already there.

"All I kept thinking was, ‘If he dances around too much, he could end up choking himself out and killing himself accidentally.’ That’s all I was thinking, and I didn’t want to see that happen."

Fortunately, the story had a happy ending, as Brush managed to free the deer. The video shows Brush giving the deer a couple of pats on the back and telling it, "You're free." The deer promptly got up and ran away. Brush said it was out of sight within 10 seconds. He described the emotion he felt at that very moment as elation.

Brush said he reached out to the school district's superintendent to offer a replacement soccer net, but was told "absolutely not," and that what he did was a good thing.

Days after the incident, Brush said he still had sore thighs from holding the deer down.

Watch the rescue here: