Deer crashes through Greenbrier drug store
A disoriented deer was euthanized Friday after crashing through the glass front door of American Drugs in Greenbrier.
Head cashier Tammy Perrin was standing behind the counter, about six feet from the door, when the doe made her entrance.
"I saw her come across the parking lot and come through the front door," Perrin said. "I saw she wasn't going to stop. I evidently screamed. I yelled, 'Deer!'
"She came right through the front door. We heard glass shatter. She kept right on going to the back of the store."
Raymond Reynolds, owner of the store, was standing near the employee restroom at the back of the store. When the deer entered the small area, he quickly closed the door behind it.
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"It would have done major damage the way it was running," he said. "There would have been merchandise torn up all over the store."
Employees called the Greenbrier Police Department. The Greenbrier Volunteer Fire Department also responded, as well as Greenbrier veterinarian Dr. Carl Fulton.
Investigator Randy Spencer of the Greenbrier Police Department said officers asked the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission to come tranquilize the deer so it could be safely removed from the store in order to euthanize it.
"They said our best bet would be Conway Animal Control," he said. "(Conway) refused to come out here."
The Game and Fish Commission reported Friday that they were not aware of any such incident in Greenbrier.
Shona Osborne, Conway Animal Welfare unit manager, said the drugs the unit uses to tranquilize dogs would affect a deer differently than a dog. She said if officers had shot the deer with a tranquilizer dart, it might have died or become frantic and destructive.
"I'm sorry it ended up like it did and it couldn't have been a better outcome," she said.
Fulton said all he needed from animal welfare was a dart gun for his own safety.
"I had the medications. That wasn't the issue. It was the delivery," he said.
A trail of blood led from the drug store's shattered front door to the employee restroom, where the doe was kneeling, head still up, panting. A large pool of blood covered the area around the suffering animal.
After about 45 minutes trying to get help from other agencies, Fulton entered the room and gave the deer a tranquilizer shot. A few minutes later, Fulton administered the euthanasia solution.
A group of volunteer firefighters carried the deer's lifeless body out wrapped in a tarp, preparing to bury it.
Firefighter Dave Browning said a witness saw the deer run by the volunteer fire department and Taco Bell before crashing into the drug store.
Fulton said of the deer's behavior, "It probably got hit by a car." He said hunting pressure likely caused the deer to stray from its normal environs.
"They have one of the most developed fight or flight responses," he said. "When they're threatened, they run. They don't care how they run or where they run."
(Staff writer Rachel Parker Dickerson can be reached by e-mail at rachel.dickerson@thecabin.net or by phone at 505-1277. Send us your news at www.thecabin.net/submit)