MY EMAIL TO ODFW:
I can't believe you are wasting Oregon hunters & fishermen hard earned money by investing time & effort into stealing & endangering the 2 deer in Molalla rather than concentrating your efforts to stop poaching of animals, illegal hunting & fishing or upkeep of forests in this state. I have been paying your organization my hard earned money every year for the past 11 years when I purchase a hunting & fishing license and tag and I'm ashamed that this is how you've chosen to spend my money.
Please explain to the me and the rest of Oregon hunters how you justify the possible euthanization of these perfectly healthy and safe animals. Or if they are not euthanized they will be sent to a zoo somewhere where they can be used to benefit the government by being a money making tourist attraction. Thanks to an honest, helpful good citizen these animals were saved when they were in trouble. And now you've re-endangered them.
Please also explain why you sawed off Bucky's rack? Now if he did have any chance of surviving in the wild, you have worsened those chances by taking away his only defense mechanism. You should be ashamed that you've treated these 2 animals so unfairly and so poorly. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to rethink my contributions to the ODFW in the future.

Would someone post an address that I can donate to the legal fund and to the cost of a permit/license for these folks to keep this deer? I don't have much to donate, but lots of people donating a little bit makes for a lot.

You guys have no self-respect for wildlife. Things born in the wild are meant to be wild. HENCE the word "WILD"-LIFE! So if you can work that into your puny heads, go back to the college you came from and take a course in BIOLOGY!!!! Deer are deer, elk are elk, cougers are cougers. They are not FLUFFY PUPPYS YOU CAN POTTY-TRAIN!! In case you haven't noticed people are'nt walking their deer on a leash to take around the block!!! So BUILD A BRIDGE AND GET OVER IT!! That is why my family & I don't watch your news-station any more. You guys are liars. I support ODFW.

P.s. WILDLIFE IS WILD!!! There is a reason its called WILDLIFE.....ITS WILD!!!

This is ridiculous. This family did a wonderful thing by helping this poor creature five years ago and now it is in danger of dying anyway. They have done a great job rasing these two creatures so let them have them back. This is where they now belong! Go after someone who is torturing animals not helping them. What's wrong with you?!

I've sent a message to ODFW and told them my thoughts on that poor family and the deer. I pleaded with them to let them return to their home. I think EVERYONE should flood them with emails doing the same.

Come on,people.....the family that rescued the deer should be commended for taking it in. THEY are the ones that saved the deer's life. It probably would have died laying out on the road. They are the only family the deer has known...so why cause new stress to the poor thing by moving it to some new facility or even an unthinkable fate.
The deer SHOULD stay with the family.....they obviously knew what was best for them. Whoever reported them should be ashamed.

This is the stupidest thing Ihave ever heard. Those deer were oviously taken care of for how many years now? (5years) I guess ODFW has nothing better to do! This is really what makes no sence , if they can't find a home for the deer then they will kill it?? How stupid is that and why can't they just go back home!!

When I saw the man that had found the deer cry, I started crying with him. For the love of God !, why did these neighbors find it in their heart to go and stick their nose into something that was none of their business? I hope they are happy for the hurt they have caused. Maybe when they get into a retirement home,because the home is being shut down or closed for some reason or other, then the state will either kick them out into the street, and if they can't make it, then they can euthanise them! I am so upset with this situation that I don't know what to say, other than the fact that to euthanize the deer is ridiculour. Let these people that have loved and cared for these deer, Keep them!!!!!!!Mary Johnson

The family broke the law and people need to remember that. The deer is not the point. If the family did what they were supposed to do in the first place this would not have happened. Humans should not interfere with the wild. What about the boy back East that was kidnapped by a stranger and held for 5 years, should we allow that man to keep the boy because that is the only family he knew for the past 5 years. Think about it.

This family has cared for an injured deer, paid the vet bills and provided a loving and caring home. And what do they get for doing the right thing, thugs from the "government"!!

How nice for DFw & the State Police to hide behind the letter of law while ignoring mitigating circumstances. No doubt DFW would like these creatures to be fodder for some hunter!!

Enough is enough!! Let these creatures live out their lives where they belong!!

Is there anything set up for taking donations to help pay for the lawyer?
'KEEP THEM HOME and SAFE!'

FREE SNOWBALL AND BUCKY!!!! SEND THEM BACK TO THE ONLY HOME THEY HAVE KNOWN FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS!!!

someone has made save snowball and buckey t-shirts you can look at www.cafepress.com/shopofhearts

Has anyone heard of a Snowball & Bucky legal defense fund? Or is there a way to help the family with whatever financial requirements need to be met to acquire a license/permit to care for "wild" animals? I would certainly be willing to contribute!

I've been extremely curious over the last couple days over the publics' outcry over these deer. These deer are just a couple of a LONG list of animals prohibited by the state. These lists are readily available online. A simple phone call when these animals were found could have kept the family from this legal battle they have found themselves in.

What has me curious - what would the public think if the family had a couple Gopher Snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus)? I can't help but to think people would be passionately siding with the state, hoping they would do more than just remove the animal from the home, despite the fact Gophersnakes pose no threat to people as they are a non-venomous snake.

Just because we are dealing with deer, everyone is in an uproar.

I'm sure most here in oregon do not remember "bubba" the javelina in Texas. Public outcry about a law enforcement officer just doing his job eventually led to a destitute family that was even abandoned by the texas parks and wildlife. there were death threats, obscene phone calls etc. This oregon family knew it was wrong and illegal when they initially "helped" the deer. They should have done the responsible thing and called oregon fish and game to begin with. My father was in law enforcement 35yrs. and, i have seen what the "liberal" media can do to a family by pushing an issue too far. Buck up. quit whining and abide by the law.

An exception to the law should be made. These people obviously care so much about Snowball and Bucky and would provide a very good home for them.What can I do to help?

My thanks to the ODFW for making the decision to spare the lives of two animals who would be in another position if it was their choice; the situation was a difficult one for all involved and now, it would seem, the deer will be permitted to live out their lives in peace and safety. Their final placement has yet to be determined, that is true, but the news that they have been spared is indeed a great relief to all of us who were concerned for their welfare.
My congratulations to all who have so loudly voiced their opinions and undoubtedly made the difference; for those who do not believe in the power of their voices, this is just one small example of what you can do!!!

i ran across an online store selling t-shirts of snowball and bucky i think the person who is doing this is awsomen cause there donating all monies to the owners to help get them back. i bought 3 t-shirts to help

You new people to Oregon just can't and probably won't be able to ever get your priorities straight, are you even a legal American citizen?? Do you rely on illegal drugs on a daily basis?

The waste of our tax payer dollars has got to be stopped on the likes of you.

That Maimed animal needs her family and so does her son, shame on you.

Does YOUR Son think you are a Great Man? How about YOUR Grandson?

Get with it.

The unusual coloration indicates that Snowball could possibly be a hybrid between black-tail and white fallow, which perhaps was from a captive breeding program, and may not be classified as a wild animal afterall. This unusual coloration along with physical limitations would make her a target for predators. Allow the family to have a extenuating circumstance permit to keep her.

I have spent several years as a licensed wildlife rehabber, specifically raising orphan Blacktail Deer. The deer mentioned in your article have never known life in the wild. Do not have the foraging skills nor the ability to recognize predators (human and animal). What does the Dept think they would be returning them to by releasing them into the wild???? The answer is starvation, death by stress, death by predators/hunters. Return them to the only source of life they have known...the kind couple who have raised, nurtured, and given them an exceptional life. Yes... I am a rehabber...it's my job to raise fawns, get them healthy enough to survive, and release them...but I truely know the deer in question would have no chance of survival on their own.

Laws are laws for a reason. If everyone that found an injured animal took it in we'd have many more problems. There are people who are licensed to take injured wildlife. It's not up to the public to take matters into their own hands. Also, if these people thought they were helping so much, why didn't they let the deer go after it was better? I'm sure that was because the deer wouldn't leave, and why wouldn't it when it was being fed. If I was a wild animal and I found people to care for me I probably wouldn't leave either. Although when hunting season came around and I walked up to a hunter expecting to get food and ended up dead...who's at fault there? It's crazy for people to take in and care for wildlife unless you are trained and licensed to do so. Otherwise these animals have no chance for survival on their own and NO, there should not be exceptions made to anyone... even people who had good intentions and meant no harm. What they did was still wrong and the public should let ODFW do their job and uphold the law without everyone bombarding them with calls and e-mails. Let it go.

For people who say "they broke the law and that's that," may I remind you it was once legal in this country to own slaves. Laws are fallible; they're written by people. Loosen up!

kd, you are absolutely right. Laws are fallible, but the point here is that the laws currently in place do not allow this and they are in violation of the law. Now if this is used to help change the law for the future, that's great, but in this case it's too late for that and no amount of money is going to change that fact.