Wild animals are absolutely amazing and many of us truly appreciate being able to see them from afar. From time to time, however, we have encounters that are more up close and personal.
Some of these encounters can be frightening but others just make you stop and wonder why the animal decided to come into your personal space. That is likely what you are going to think when you see this unusual encounter. It is of a mother deer that decided to stop by a shop to see what was going on.
The Rocky Mountains are the home of this scenic getaway. It is the HorseTooth Inn and RV Park, located in Fort Collins. I couldn’t imagine a more beautiful setting to have a little store and gift shop, and Lori Jones was busy working in just such a location. She was about to get a visitor, however, that she would never forget.
In fact, this visitor just walked right in the open door.
Most of us have probably seen deer in the wild but could you imagine having one walk right into your little shop? That is exactly what happened to Jones, and the doe came into her shop by simply walking through the doorway. As it turns out, however, the deer wasn’t quite finished and she got even a little more curious. She entered into the store and started strolling through the aisles.
Jones thought it was hilarious! She said that the deer was looking at the sunglasses and chips and she just couldn’t stop laughing.
It probably wouldn’t come as a surprise to to learn that the deer is not exactly a stranger to this shopkeeper. In fact, she is relatively well known in the area, passing through the grounds to a nearby field where she can graze with other deer. This was rather unusual, however, because she had never ventured this far into a building, not to mention the fact that she never showed an interest in shopping before.
Jones thought that the deer may have just have lost her way so she tried to escort her out of the shop. She had a peanut bar in her hand and was trying to lure her outside.
That is when she got another surprise.
“About 30 minutes later, here comes the deer again with her whole family,” Jones said. “I’m in the office doing inventory, and I come out to find her there. This time she brought back her twins, and this one young buck that she adopted.”
The young ones waited at the door.
“They were just looking in the doorway like, ‘Can we come in too?’ I said, ‘No,’” Jones recalled. “It was so funny.”
Nobody is really sure why the deer were so interested in the shop but they think that they may have been looking for a treat. Jones realized that they were wild animals so she decided to lure the entire family to the field across the street with a peanut bar.
After giving them their prize, she clapped her hands and they ran for the hills. “Take your children home,” she called out as they were running away.
Many people have walked out of her store with something special but on that day, she was the one who got something special.
“It was just a lovely thing to see,” Jones said. “The population of wildlife here is just astounding. We have mountain lions, bighorn sheep, deer, raccoons — you name it. They have to fend for themselves. That’s nature. But I think they’re all wonderful.”
Do you love stories that make you feel good? Your friends would appreciate it if you shared this story with them.