Dani the deer being mourned by north Waterloo community

Being a community surrounded by greenspaces, it’s not uncommon to see wildlife in urban areas throughout Waterloo Region.

This spring, a north Waterloo neighbourhood became the home of a white tailed deer, affectionately nicknamed Dani the Deer. She would often be seen wandering streets and properties in the area behind Conestoga Mall, looking for dandelions and overgrown lawns, not to mention the occasional decorative flower.

For the most part, she was a beloved member of the community and a welcome sight to most of the residents.

However, Dani soon started to show signs she might be struggling.

Images posted to the Dani the Deer! Facebook group showed her looking thin and a bit ragged. Local bylaw prevents residents from feeding wildlife, mainly to prevent a change in the animals behaviour in hopes it returns naturally to the wild.

Judy Furtado is an area resident and a big fan of Dani’s. She told The Mike Farwell Show, with few options available to them, the neighbours reached out the City of Waterloo and the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) to see if they could help the deer.

“We were trying to either get Dani either safely relocated or, how do we help with deer that is starving and needing to be fed? It put us in a very difficult place as a community,” she said.

The group was told that it’s best to simply let the animal be and she’ll return to the wild. But Dani hung around and concern grew, not only for her health but also her safety with a few busy streets in the area.

Furtado said their continued calls to city and ministry officials were largely ignored.

“One would say one thing, one would say another thing. And I just feel like nobody wanted to step-up and take responsibility for this deer and that was the biggest issue.”

The group told officials they were willing to help locate Dani for MNR officers and keep track of her movements until she could be relocated. They even helped find a potential place for her new home, but it was all for not.

Sadly, Dani was struck and killed by a speeding vehicle on Kingscourt Drive on July 27.

Since then, a memorial has been set up near where she was hit and posts continue to come in to the Facebook page, remembering the gentle friend and the impact she had on the community.