Brewing Good Coffee's "Fawn Fundraiser"

It can be a stressful thing, coming across injured or orphaned wildlife and being the type of person who can't imagine turning away, but also can't necessarily determine what is wrong, let alone fix it yourself. This is why we are so thankful to have someone qualified to turn to when the need arises - our local wildlife rehab center.

We had already rushed to Frisky's Wildlife & Primate Sanctuary in Woodstock, MD, twice this year: in May with a stunned-seeming juvenile pigeon and again in June with a dehydrated starling fledgling, both found in front of our shop. Well, this weekend we got a third stamp on our loyalty card...

As I curved up an exit ramp on my commute the morning of Sunday, August 20, I saw a fawn... lying in the road, her head up, legs curled under her, like a loafing cat. She looked dazed, with one eye held closed, and her spotted fur streaked with blood. I pulled over a few yards short, between her and oncoming traffic, and got out of my car. I wanted to run to her, sweep her up, and speed toward help. But I paused to let her sense my presence, hoping she wouldn't jump up in fear just to be hit again, hoping a distracted driver wouldn't hit us both, as I opened the door I would use as her entry to my cargo area. Her only movement was her breathing, a gentle rise and fall of her fragile-looking body. While unrelenting traffic raced past and my heart raced, too, I took quick but cautious steps until I was next to her. I softly touched her back, ready to pin her if she kicked her legs out, but she let me pick her up, carry her to my hatchback, and set her down without protest.

My relieved exhale harmonized with the whoosh of the slamming door as I snapped out of slow motion. I was in the driver seat, not knowing what her injuries were, where the blood that was now all over my hands and legs had come from, if she would make it... but I knew where to go.

I'm raising money for Frisky's Wildlife & Primate Sanctuary for the simple reason that rescue isn't free (just think of how expensive dog and cat care is) and if we want this resource to be there when we need it, we need to come together as a community to show we value it with as much support as we can give. I learned that the average cost to rehab a fawn is $2,000. We don't yet know if "our" fawn will make it (I will post any updates I get), but we want the funds to be there for her or the next one. Frisky's is one of only two licensed centers in Maryland who rehab deer.

Any donation will help make an impact and Brewing Good Coffee Company is matching every dollar up to $1,000, so every dollar up to that will count for double and every dollar over that will further fund emergency medical care for more wildlife. The need never ends, but neither will our support.

- Karla Goodson, hopeless animal person and co-owner of Brewing Good Coffee Company in Howard County, Maryland