Drumright Father, Daughter Rescue Deer From Icy Pond

A father and daughter in Drumright have quite a story from the winter storm after a deer fell through the ice in their pond.

15-year-old Irelyn Richardson and her dad, Chris, rescued the deer and went to great lengths to make sure it survived.

Not only had the deer fallen through the ice, but the family said a pack of wild dogs was attacking it when the Richardsons spotted the deer in their pond.

The family ran off the dogs and because the deer was close enough to the bank, Chris was able to pull it to safety.

They think the deer ended up in the pond trying to get away from the dogs, then struggled in the icy water for at least an hour with the dogs chewing on his ears.

Cell phone video from Irelyn’s mom, Alicia, shows the deer was exhausted and didn’t seem to mind when Irelyn covered him with blankets and pat him down to dry him off and warm him up.

Two spots on each side of his head show he's a buck that recently shed his antlers, which occurs naturally in late winter/early spring.

At one point Irelyn gave the buck her camo hoodie to cover up his head and they even started a fire for him, but the deer wouldn’t stand up.

The family knew he wouldn’t be safe by the pond, so they loaded him up and took him back to their barn for the night.

By morning, Irelyn's mom said the family was relieved to see the buck on his feet again and ready to get back in the wild

“Just to see the look on her face, tears were sparkling in her eyes whenever that deer finally ran off, of course, that makes me emotional to see her so emotional about it,” Alicia said.

The family said they’ll never forget the rescue mission and hope they see the buck again soon.