RIO LINDA, Calif. - The California Department of Fish and Wildlife removed a pet deer from a Rio Linda home Tuesday despite a protest from a family and several neighbors.
The Cervantes family desperately wants to hold onto their beloved pet, "Florecita."
They adopted the doetwo years ago when it was a newborn. Juan Cervantes spotted the fawn with its umbilical cord still attached, huddled next to its dead mother on the road.
"We raised her since she was a baby. She was probably7 days old. Her umbilical cord was attached to her when my husband found her," said Saida Cervantes. "My husband is a truck driver. He was driving on the road. He saw a dead deer on the road. I guess it was a mom. Close to the road was a little deer."
Her husband brought the baby home and thefamily cared for it as a pet.
"We bottle-feed her for a while and she survived," said Saida Cervantes.
The family raised Florecita on their 2-acre ranch among the chickens, goats, and dogs.
This past weekend, someone called to report the deer.
DFWsayspeople are not allowed to have deer as pets. Tuesday, the agency tranquilized Florecita and removed her. What would happen with her was not immediately clear.
"She's going to get killed!" said neighbor Candace Taylor. "She doesn't know anything other than being with the family. She thinks she's a goat. They raised her as a family pet. That's not a wild deer, but a family pet. I really think the family deserves to keep her."
Six-year-old Ulysses Cervantes loves the animal like a sibling.
"Me and my baby brother always play with her and chase her a lot," said Ulysses. "I'm very sad because they're going to take her away and I'll never see her again."
The Cervantes family said they're going to do whatever it takes to keep Florecita, including apply for a permit.
"She's (the deer) verysafe here. I think it's a safe environment. She's not bothering anybody," said Debbie, a neighbor.
DFW says the family can apply for a permit to keep Florecita. But normally, that type of permit is granted for educational purposes or for the process of rehabilitation.
Under California law, people can only possess an injured wild animal temporarily until they can get it to a permitted rehab facility.
By Suzanne Phan,sphan@news10.net
Twitter: @suzannephan
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