Puxico owner finds wayward pet deer just before start of hunting season

PUXICO, Mo. -- Bambi is home safe and sound.

The 6-year-old fallow deer that escaped from his rural Puxico home was recaptured by his owner, Connie Caldwell, Thursday morning.

The deer, which has been raised on the Caldwell farm since he was 6 months old, escaped from his confines in late October and has been spotted in the Stoddard County countryside several times over the past few weeks.

"I received a call a couple of weeks ago that Bambi had been sighted in the woods along WW highway near Dudley," Caldwell said. "And I spotted him and fed him out of my hand that day, but I couldn't capture him."

Almost daily visits helped to regain the deer's confidence, and finally on Thursday, Caldwell drew him in close with a bucket of corn and managed to get a rope around his neck. He was eventually loaded into a horse trailer and returned to his flock of family and friends at the Caldwell farm.

"He was greeted by his son, who at first challenged him in the yard," Caldwell said Friday, "but they eventually made up, and he's back to his old self."

Bambi was located less than 48 hours before the start of gun season in Missouri.

"Our greatest fear was that he would be shot," Caldwell said. "We're so happy to have him back home."