BROOKLYN, Ohio — A Brooklyn woman is now urging others to be careful after a deer attacked her several weeks ago.
“Even though it’s rare, it can happen,” said Helen Polanski.
What started off as a normal morning for Polanski escalated within minutes when she said a doe and a fawn approached her.
“I was walking with my dog, and usually they run away. They just scamper right off, and this one just started coming closer and closer to me,” said Polanski.
Polanski says she tried to back away, but she says that’s when things got tense.
“She’s like uncomfortably close in my face and I’m thinking this isn’t good, so my first instinct, which I understand is not the right thing to do, my first instinct was to turn and run,” said Polanski.
Unfortunately, this response left Polanski with multiple bruises across her body after the deer knocked her to the ground. So now, she says she’s on high alert.
“I’m really not taking my dog for walks much now. I’m kind of just staying out in front of my house and in my backyard,” said Polanski.
In an email response to News 5, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources says negative interactions between humans and deer are very rare.
But the department says situations like what Polanski experienced can occur when a deer has lost its natural fear of humans or when a female deer is protecting her babies.
“I never expected, I was blindside by all of that,” said Polanski.
If you find yourself in a situation like Polanski's, ODNR encourages you to clap your hands or shout at the deer if they are getting too close.
The department further reminds people to stop any feeding and to never try to pet a deer or interact with one.
“Don’t walk in the morning, don’t walk at night. Be very aware of your surroundings. Wear a whistle,” said Polanski.
In the meantime, Brooklyn Mayor Ron Van Kirk says the city is teaming up with the Ohio Division of Wildlife and Cleveland Metroparks to track their deer population through a resident survey.
“Then from there, we’re going to hire wildlife services with the U.S. Department of Natural Resources to essentially count how many deer we have in our city,” said Van Kirk.
Van Kirk tells News 5 that this won’t be an easy solution, but he says the city is committed to solving it for people like Polanski.
