The passing of our wild deer friend Eva - 2002-2016

We first met Eva when she was a week old fawn. We were “friends” with her intelligent mother who visited every day, and so Eva grew up very interested in these humans who lived in her neighborhood. Eva formed a special bond with Marlis, and over time it seemed obvious that Eva understood a lot of the German and English that she heard. Deer are not like dogs, however. More like cats, they can be affectionate, but they are very willful and often obstinate. Eva loved to stand on the porch and look out on the yard, or into the house. Sometimes it was near impossible to get her to leave if she didn’t want to. I wish I had a camera when Marlis was standing behind Eva, pushing on her butt with all her strength to try to get her to go down the short porch stairway. Eva stood like a Tai Chi master - with all your strength you couldn’t get her to move. . . . Eva loved to figure things out. Anything new in the yard would interest all the deer, as it would be something new in the environment, but Eva was a