Mirabelle the injured deer healing well

By Darren Lum

Published Feb. 13 2018

The injured deer tranquilized and transported to Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary in Rosseau is showing signs of improvement after having an arrow removed from its head.

In a Facebook post dated Feb. 5 the sanctuary said “She is recovering very well has a great appetite and is settling in nicely to her temporary home. We were concerned about how much damage there was to the eye but she reacts just as she should when we enter her enclosure and she seems to be able to see us no matter what side she is looking at us from.

“She is one lucky girl!”

The first sighting was reported just after Christmas to Monika Melichar of the Woodlands Wildlife Sanctuary in Minden Hills. She was at the centre of the effort to rescue the deer now named Mirabelle.

The name according to Melichar was chosen for the word’s origins.

“Mirabelle is a female name stemming from the Latin word mirabilis meaning ‘wondrous’ or ‘of wondrous beauty’ she wrote. “Our little Belle is quite the miracle!”

On Feb. 5 Melichar said Howard Smith of Aspen Valley told her the doe was doing well.

“She has settled in well and is less stressed/skittish than she was so I think her pain level has subsided considerably. Her eye is now visible as the swelling has gone down but it’s still too soon to say if it is functional. Her wounds are healing well with no sign of infection” she wrote.

“She is eating grain but her jaw muscles are still very tender. Pockets of unswallowed food inside her cheek are still forming. Truly our little miracle survivor … when we were working on her to get the arrow out the name Mirabelle came to mind. I just looked up its meaning and I think it is very fitting for her.”

Melichar has been pleased with the latest updates and it seems so has media outside the Haliburton County.

She was interviewed by CBC Radio’s Wei Chen of Ontario Morning and then was subsequently interviewed for a spot by CHEX TV the night after.

“The time slot was 8:10 a.m. which was a great slot for morning news! Wei Chen mentioned our sanctuary name several times and that really helps in spreading awareness that there is help out there for orphaned and injured wildlife” she wrote in an email.

“Wei didn’t mention that we were a volunteer-based charity but she did highlight the extent of our community’s involvement and how everyone came together to help out. Dr. Sherri Cox was mentioned as was Howard [of] Aspen Valley and also Dave [Allen] for his efforts in recording her movements so we could dart her successfully.”