An Okanagan man witnessed a remarkable rescue on Tuesday, with a man on a paddleboard saving a young deer from potentially drowning.
Brent Garner of Armstrong said he was out for a typical drive in the area, to take scenic nature photos, when he noticed an odd sight.
“I was driving along Otter Lake and I saw what looked like someone on a canoe, and I thought that was strange for this time of year,” Garner told Global News.
“As I went further down the lake, I could see a guy had a deer on some sort of floating device.”
Garner said, at first, the deer was in visible distress and was quite worn out — guessing that the deer had been in the lake for some time before the man started his rescue.
“It was barking and squawking, but he calmed it right down and had (the deer) on an inner-tube with a blanket on it,” said Garner.
“He was able to pull the deer onto shore.”
Garner was able to take a photo of the rescue, showing the hero on a paddleboard with the rescued deer close by.
Garner said he wasn’t able to talk to the man, as he was too far away, along with the rescuer having his hands full.
“It’s nice to see people really care,” said Garner.
“He went through a lot of effort to save the animal when he could have let the deer drown. We need people like that.”
Otter Lake is in the North Okanagan, around four miles southwest of Armstrong.