Trying to save a buck? A curious deer moseys through a Raleigh Food Lion, video shows
Oh, deer!
A curious doe became an unexpected surprise for grocery shoppers Friday after the four-legged visitor wandered out of the woods and went to check out her local Food Lion.
The deer reportedly walked into the grocery store along Falls River Avenue in northeast Raleigh and moseyed on to the meat section, where witnesses said she she stood for a little while.
Two Raleigh firefighters were already at the store — not to respond to the matter, but to grab a quick lunch just before 11 a.m.
All of a sudden, their lunch run turned into an animal control assignment.
Food Lion employees let firefighters Collin Earl and Scott Simon use some hamburger rolls to lure the unresponsive deer toward the door.
“We attempted to lure it out with some bread, carrot and some fruit ... it wasn’t very food-motivated,” said Earl, a firefighter of Raleigh Fire Station 22, in a phone interview with The News & Observer.
In a video shot by Simon on his phone, the deer is calmly strutting through the store as Simon and his colleague attempted to walk her out.
“I think she was a little distraught when she realized how far into the store she was, so we just kind of guided her out and I think she kind of saw the light at the end of the tunnel,” Simon said.
Simon recorded himself lightly petting her back while coaxing her toward the exit.
The deer was safely walked to nearby woods across from the store, the firefighters told The N&O.
Someone posted photos of the impromptu wildlife encounter on Reddit, where folks took to making puns about the “a-doe-able” deer.
“Food Lion does have cheap prices that help your doe go farther,” wrote Redditor wray_nerely.
“They always say in grocery/retail that the animals come out around the holidays,” wrote user oooriole09.
This story was originally published November 18, 2022 at 6:17 PM.
