Have you ever helped an injured animal on the side of the road?

I was only indirectly involved, but once a family member saw a deer (2-point buck) on the side of the road. He had been hit by a car and left there. His back was broken, but he was alive. It was during deer season and the family had their licenses. They put down the animal quickly, and one of them claimed it on their license, as one of the three they’d be allowed to take that year.

We salvaged what meat we could, and used his horn and pelt.

For all the problems I have with the half of my family, I thought what they did in that situation was pretty honorable.

Ugh, yes. I have had several awful instances of coming across car hit deer and had to call the police/animal control to dispatch them. One was a fawn, so sad, broken legs and another was a full grown buck that had a broken pelvis and was trying to drag itself across the road. Horrible sight.

@Coloma oh that is awful and heartbreaking.

The ones that I’ve seen are either really, truly dead or show some sign of life. Of the latter, both were deer. Each time, I contacted the police.

If I see a tortoise that is ambling across the road, if it is safe, I’ll pull over and move it.

I stopped to remove a dead cat from the middle of the road one time. It was totally lifeless so I put it in the back seat and drove about 10 miles to get home. When I got home the cat started coming back to life and was out of control snarling, scratching and biting. I would have taken it to a veterinarian but the cat was dangerous to me it was so wild. It didn’t look like it as badly injured. Just minor looking scrapes. So I simply opened the door and let the cat dart off into the night.

@gondwanalon Zombie cat.

Look for your local “wildlife rehabilitation” organization, and put their contact info in your wallet. These people generally can give you very good instructions on what to do.

I’ve rescued injured birds, does that count?

As to roadkill (or perhaps not roadkill), if I hit an animal myself I’d certainly stop and check it was dead. You do have to be careful because bigger animals, that are now frightened, can be dangerous. However, I’d do what I could to check and call a wildlife rescue service if I wasn’t able to take it somewhere for help myself.

I’ve not encountered injured animals that needed attention. It does happen though and here, kangaroos and other marsupials that have been hit might be carrying joeys in their pouch.

I once tried helping a cockroach turn back over onto its feet, but she kept going back. Then I realized she was naturally going supine because her time had expired.
I returned later and found her dead, so I kicked her over to the bushes so nobody would step on her. What a sad way to die—she was having a fit.

I’ve dragged recently killed deer off of the road, I’ve slit the throat of a suffering deer when the police refused to come out, and I’ve pulled baby opossums out of the pouch of a dead mother.

If you can refer to calling a deputy to come dispatch the deer as helping, I guess so. It made me feel like shit though.

My soon hit a deer, setting off the car airbag and disabling the car. He called me and 911. The deer was flopping in the tall grass. I arrived with a “tool” but fortunately the police pulled up about a minute after me and did what needed to be done so I didn’t have to.
It was not during deer season nor in a place where hunting is condoned.

I failed to mention numerous birds and other critters to, but most of these were not injured on the side of the road, they were found around my house. I also volunteered for a local wildlife rescue and that is how I got my now, 17 yr. old goose “Marwyn.” He was a domestic white chinese gosling someone found on the side of the road in the mountains a thousand feet or so above where I lived, with no homes, ponds, other geese anywhere near. His beginnings in life are a total mystery. haha

I once saved a lizard stuck in a drainage hole of a clay flower pot stacked on my deck by using personal lubricant. I still joke about “lubing lizards.” Popped right out unharmed but a sticky lizard. lol

We too escort the turtles across the road whenever possible. This is in the pre-squished stage.

Once hunters wounded a deer that wandered onto my property. Luckily, one of my close neighbors hurried over and dispatched the poor thing.

Plenty of turtles, I carried a dog that was hit by a car to its crying owner. The dog probably survived but bit my arm in the process of saving it. I ended up going to my doc for that.

Edit: “I failed to mention numerous birds and other critters too.

Yes, I hit a deer and stopped. It was the fourth of six. I swerved and missed the first three, hit the fourth and in braking managed to miss the remaining two. We stopped because we had to.
The deer had crushed the fender of the VW into the wheel and smashed out the headlight on the drivers side. We had to pull the fender off the wheel in order to keep going.
I went back to check on the deer which lay on the shoulder on the opposite side of the road. It was still alive, still breathing but not making any attempt to rise. I went back to the car to get my sheath knife out of the glove compartment; intending to at least put it out of its misery. It was no longer breathing when I got back to it. My friend started poking and prodding the rib cage with his hands. When asked what he was doing he said he had never felt a broken bone before and figured this was going to be the best chance he would have.