Earlier this month, Ralph Dorn was looking for his dog, Harley, when he looked out onto the waters of Lake Martin in Tallapoosa County, Alabama. There Harley was, swimming in the water, but there was something unusual about the situation: Harley wasn’t alone.
In the water with him was a tiny fawn, crying out for help and struggling to swim. Surprisingly to Dorn, Harley wasn’t trying to play with the fawn — but trying to save her life.
Harley was herding the little fawn back to the shoreline when Dorn approached the pair. If it wasn’t for the dog, the fawn likely would have drowned out there all alone.
Luckily, the fawn’s mother was nearby and they were reunited after Harley got the baby back to shore. When Harley herded her out of the water, he started trying to lick her clean before the fawn was joined by her mother soon after.
The brave dog absolutely showed compassion for the fawn, who was very grateful to be safe.
“Not sure how the fawn got out there, but Harley obviously didn’t ask why,” Dorn posted on Facebook after the incident. “He just jumped into action.”
The next day, Dorn noticed that Harley was being a little restless — so he let the dog outside. To Dorn’s surprise, Harley didn’t just need to use the bathroom or want to explore. He heard the little fawn again crying out, and it didn’t take long before Harley was back with his newfound friend.
The pair touched noses and wagged their tails, remembering one another from the dramatic rescue. The fawn seemed healthy and her mom was nearby.
“This morning Harley got restless running from window to window,” Dorn said. “I opened the front door and we could hear the fawn bleating. Harley ran into the tree line and found the fawn. The little one stopped bleating, tail wagging, they touched noses, sniffed each other, and Harley came calmly back to the house with me.”
Dorn’s post about the miraculous rescue has since gone viral on social media with almost 250,000 shares on Facebook. People were heart-warmed by the adorable bond that Harley formed with the fawn after the rescue and couldn’t get enough of the sweet photos.
Dorn was surprised by how fast news spread about the rescue — but knowing his sweet-natured dog, he wasn’t exactly surprised at the situation overall. It’s not clear if Harley will ever see the fawn again, but one thing’s for certain: the fawn and her mom were definitely grateful for the brave dog’s quick thinking.
“We had no idea of the response Harley would get,” Dorn commented on the post about the rescue. “He’s a wonder dog!”
Featured Image: Facebook/ Ralph Dorn
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