Dog recovering from Buck attack

"He came bouncing out of the trees and his intestines were hanging out of a hole in his side," Dodge said. "It was amazing that he was still walking."

The resilient dog is now recovering from an attack by a buck in Whetstone Park, located in the Northeast region of Columbus.

Dodge rescued Barnum when he was just a little more than a year old and was recovering from a shot to his head. Now six years old, she has become very fond of her well behaved, fun-loving Doberman.

"He's such a good dog," Dodge said. "I can walk him off his leash and he knows to stay away from the bike paths in the park and he won't run."

She said she did not hear anything out of the ordinary day Barnum was walking through a patch of trees in the park, until suddenly she heard him let out a scream.

She thought a stick might have punctured his skin and gone into his side, but a veterinarian at the OSU Veterinary Hospital told her the wounds were consistent with a deer attack.

"I knew the buck was in the area because I had seen him in my backyard. We think it was probably sleeping and Barnum surprised him," she said.

Dodge was also told the attack could be attributed to rutting season - when the deer are mating, have their full horns and are typically more aggressive than usual.

Stan Gehrt, assistant professor in natural resources and the OSU wildlife specialist, said rutting season starts in late October and runs until early December.

"It is the time of year when the hormones are raging for bucks especially. Deer that would normally be very timid could become more aggressive," Gehrt said.

Although rutting season is at its peak, he said it is relatively rare to have a buck attack a dog or a person, especially in more densely populated areas.

In a place like Whetstone Park, where there is no hunting and more people, Gehrt said the buck attacking Barnum could have less to do with aggression and more to do with defending himself.

Dr. Dennis Swenson of the Swenson Veterinary Hospital on Kenny Road said he has not seen an increase in the amount of injuries among dogs because of deer.

"We see a lot of dogs that go out into the woods and come back with unexplainable injuries," Swenson said. "We saw a few injuries last year (because of) rutting season but haven't yet seen any this year."

Fortunately, Barnum survived the attack and is now at home recovering.

"He's actually doing very well and has healed amazingly," Dodge said. "He is a very loving kind of animal."

Candace Adrian can be reached at adrian.15@osu.edu.