Magnolia Fawn Rescue

SPONSOR DEER – Current Resident Deer at Magnolia Fawn Rescue

Every year in South Carolina whitetail deer are raised illegally as pets. Never able to be wild and free, the next best thing is for them is to live at Magnolia Fawn Rescue with a special, registered SCDNR permit herd of nonrelease deer.

Your generous donations pay for feed, medical care, supplies and fencing for these beautiful animals. A captive deer is about $45 a month to feed. That’s almost $10,000 throughout the deer’s lifetime!

Sponsors will receive a printed photo of their sponsor deer and Magnolia Fawn Rescue merch, which will vary from season to season. Click the donate button below each deer you would like to sponsor. Enter a note with your mailing address.

🌾 $45 a month to provide feed

🍎 $10 a month for treats

❀ $5 a month to go towards forever care


Jesse’s Story 🌼

🌻 2022 SPONSORS: Tabby and Checkers Aquino 🌻

Jesse was born premature during an accident when his mother was hit by a car. Because of being a premie he had many health issues so he is staying in our sanctuary. He is now full grown and such a handsome boy. I have to admit he is one of my favorites because I am the only mother he ever knew.

Piper’s Story 🌼

Piper came from Happy Tails rescue. He needed deer friends around his age and a forever home. He is the newest piebald deer.

Ester’s Story 🌼

Ester was found after a doe was hit by a car. She imprinted on her finder and then her finder moved. She has a forever home at Magnolia Fawn Rescue.

Sam’s Story ❀

🌻 2022 SPONSORS: Nancy Hucks, Mary Seymore, Aimee Shakelford 🌻

Sam’s Story: I do have to admit that a few of the deer hold an extra special place in my heart. Especially if I rescued them, Sam is one of those. He was found on the side of the road as a baby completely unconscious. It took alot of SQ fluids, tube feedings and meds. Slowly he became more and more aware. Once he healed he always acted differently than the other fawn. He never figured out the bottle rack, he would only take the bottle from me then run off. I thought he was going to thrive one we released him because he was much bigger and spookier than all the other fawn. He always has had this “innocent baby face”. So during the soft release time I was surprised to see his weight plummet. He would always show up at feeding time for the non releasable deer so I started feeding him so he would not starve to death. I finally figured out that the head trauma left him a little “slow” and he could not figure out how to fend for himself. So I give in and let him join our non releasable deer herd. How could I not, just look at that face!

Pebbles Story ❀

Rest in Peace – 2022

She came here when she was a few months old. Pebbles was rescued by a nice lady that cared for her previously then she came to our rescue. She is non releasable because she is a dwarf piebald deer with deformed hooves. She holds a special place in my heart because she is the 1st nonreleasable fawn that had to keep because of health issues. Pebbles is a sweetheart.

Alli’s Story ❀

I do not know her full story because she was already very old when she came to our sanctuary. She came here from Big Oaks Horse Rescue. She was raised by the owner and stayed in the house a good bit but when she was outside she escaped alot. We would hear about her visiting alot of places in Greenwood county and her owner would bring her back home. One day he called and asked if he could bring her to our sanctuary because he could not keep her in the fence. He was a sweet older man and was crying as he left. Later I found out the real reason he brought her here, he was dying and wanted to find her a good home. He passed not long after he brought her here. It breaks my heart everytime I think about him.

George’s Story ❀

I got a call several years ago about a young buck with a leg injury. Once we arrived there we noticed that he was a tame “pet” deer. His shoulder blade was broken and he was dragging his leg. He was just skin and bones. You could count the bones along his spine and ribs. They said he was not a pet but the neighbors young daughter said he was. I believe the child. I guess they were ashamed to admit he was their pet because he was in such bad condition. Now his shoulder has healed and he is nice and chunky!

Bam Bam’s Story ❀

🌻 2022 SPONSOR: Chanda Venable 🌻

He was raised by another rehabber along with a doe. He imprinted but the doe did not. Fawn should be raised in herds of at least 4-5 or they tend to imprint. Once he released the two deer, the buck always looked for humans in the area. A neighbor was threatening to shoot Bam Bam because was eating his roses. So the rehabber asked if he could come to our sanctuary. He is our biggest and second oldest buck.

Stitch and Ohana’s Story ❀

Ohana came here with Stitch. She was about two years old and was raised by a family with children and dogs. She was an escape artist and kept jumping the fence and visiting neighbors. One neighbor was threatening to shoot her. So we were called to pick her up. She is still an escape artist and tries to sneak out the gate but she is too old and plump to jump the fence. She is a beautiful girl and I can tell who she is by the white on her hooves.

Stitch’s Story: Stitch came to our sanctuary along with Ohana. He was about a year old. When we went to pick up Ohana the family wanted to keep Stitch but it is illegal to keep deer as pets and it was just a matter of time before he would jump the fence too and have to deal with the neighbor threatening to shoot Ohana. I think these two may be related because the both have an overbite and similar markings and are from the same property. Stitch is our goofy boy with the silly grin.

Fork Shoals Story ❀

Fork Shoal’s Story: Her’s is a long story. She is our accident prone girl. She was being raised as a pet in a small 10’x10′ pen. One day they mowed the grass she freaked out so bad that she had head trauma. They called us and asked if we could take her. She was still young enough that once we put her in the pen with our fawn, she wilded up and was able to be released. Several months later she showed back up with a swollen jaw and very thin looking for food because she was not able to browse very well with the injury. So I let her stay until her jaw healed and her weight got back to normal. By then it was time to release the next season’s fawn so I released her back into the wild with a herd of fawn. A few months later my neighbor called and said that a doe had been hit by a car and had a broken leg. I suspected it might be her and sure enough it was Fork Shoals. We were able to get her back here and even though her break was very bad we were able to get it set and splinted. She also had a very large belly and I hoped it was not from internal injuries. But thankfully it was just because she was pregnant. She had an handsome little buck. I left the fawn with her until he was old enough to release, then he was released with a herd of fawn his age.(In the wild doe’s keep their doelings in their herd but the bucklings are forced to leave the herd.) We decided to keep Fork Shoal’s in our sanctuary because even though her break healed great her ligaments were torn and that left her with a limp.

Bella’s Story ❀

Bella is one of my rescued fawn. She was born with very deformed legs and hooves because she is a dwarf piebald deer. It took alot of therapy to straighten them out enough so that she could walk. She is a beautiful girl.

Ellie’s Story ❀

🌻 2022 SPONSOR: Bob Witter 🌻

She is one of my rescued fawn. She was always extra tiny and had deformed hooves. I do not think she is a true dwarf but just petite. She needed therapy to straighten her hooves and was not healthy enough to survive in the wild.

Jackson’s Story ❀

Jackson was raised on a farm. The lady tried to raise him without imprinting him but he was raised alone without other deer.Deer are herd animals so he imprinted on his human herd. Also the grandfather kept petting him and made him too friendly to be wild. He is a handsome buck.

Christine’s Story ❀

Christine’s Story: Christine was named after the rehabber that drove hours to transport her to us. She is completely blind because was born without eyes. Her mother must have been an awesome mother to not have abandoned her at birth which usually is what happens. She was found alone at two weeks old. That is the age that fawn start following their mother instead of just bedding down, so I think this is when they lost track of each other. Her mother also taught her “stranger danger”. It took weeks of her kicking and fighting me and many bruises everytime I had to give her the bottle but one day she finally trusted me enough to take the bottle. She would follow my voice to drink her bottle. Once she was weened she never wanted to be touched by humans but she does love to be groomed by the other deer. So we just leave her be, no touching and I just talk to her so I do not startle her if I need to be near her. God gave her extra big ears to help her navigate. When I talk to her, she follows my voice using those ears like sonar. She is a sweet, beautiful girl.

Sally’s Story ❀

Sally is the sweetest girl. She had been illegally raised as a pet deer and we got a call from SCDNR to pick her up. We get this call a lot when a friendly “pet” deer finds its way to a neighborhood with children. It can be dangerous for the deer and the children.

Bell’s Story ❀

Bell’s Story: Bell came her when she was a about a month old. Someone else had raised her until then and she was a little spooky. I noticed one day a white speck in each eye which made her partially blind. That explains why she was so spooky. Even though she can not see very well she can get around pretty good in our enclosure but she would not be able to survive very long in the wild. She is also a dwarf piebald but does not have alot of white markings.

Tiny Tim’s Story ❀

🌻 2022 SPONSOR: James Lagerman🌻

Tiny Tim’s Story: He is my sweet but naughty boy. He was raised by another rehabber until weening time. He was born with deformed hooves because he is a piebald dwarf. As he grew, his legs straightened out pretty good but not perfect. The rehabber knew he was non releasable because of these issues and her rescue is not set up for non releasable deer. She asked if he could come to our sanctary. She said he was not very friendly and very shy but I have won him over. Now he is my buddy but he still plays too rough sometimes.

Mac’s Story ❀

Mac’s Story: Mac came here from PAWS wildlife sanctuary. He was being raised to be released one day. But he failed to thrive. He almost died several times and needed extra care just to survive the winter. Once he was released he would not stay with the herd. He had become too imprinted because of the care he needed. Now he lives at our rescue.

Bobo’s Story ❀

🌻 2022 SPONSOR: Mrs. Violence 🌻

Bobo’s story: He came from Myrtle Beach and raised by a family with children in the house and very spoiled. Unfortunately he thinks he is a dog so he is non releasable.

Bo’s Story ❀

Bo’s story: Bo came here from a rescue in Clover. He required extra care which caused him to imprint, so the rehabber asked if he could join our sanctuary.

Buddy’s Story ❀

Buddy’s Story:
Buddy came from the coast about 4 hours away. He was raised in a house with children and became very imprinted on humans which makes him nonreleaseable. He loves to be pet and I am sure he was loved but it is good that he was removed from the family before rutting season began and someone got hurt.

Pamela’s Story ❀

Pamela’s Story: She was found on a piece of property that recently was cleared. The people who found her wanted to keep her but they could not get her to take the bottle so they called me. She is a piebald dwarf with deformed hooves. When I got her she was already dehydrated and stressed from her finders attempting to get her to take the bottle. Because of her deformities she needed a special nipple for her bottle. Even though she is non releasable and given extra attention she does not like to be touched so we just admire he beauty from afar, lol, she is such a prissy diva. I love her anyway.

Rudolph’s Story ❀

Rudolph’s Story: He showed up at someone home last Christmas. He went up to their very young son and was pushed his antlers towards him. He was wanting to be pet but at the same time beginning the rut and rubbing his sharp antlers onto everything. This is a very dangerous time for young pet bucks. They have no fear of humans and are losing their velvet and will gore anything they can because of raging hormones. No one ever claimed to have raised him but I am sure his behavior scared them enough to set him free. But this could have ended very badly, the boy could have been hurt or killed and SCDNR would have had to shoot Rudolph. Thankfully we were called and he was neutered to calm the hormones. Now he is safe and so is the public. Without the hormones, he is a sweet boy.

Honey’s Story 🍯

Honey’s Story: Honey was found by a farmer and fed an improper diet for a couple weeks (cow’s milk and honey). The man never realized that the fawn was almost completely blind. He had a fog over each eye either due to an infection or defency. He also had very upset stomach. He was treated for the blindness, etc. His vision improved slightly but not good enough to be released into the wild.

🏡 2022 SPONSOR: Melanie Butera 🏡

Lincoln’s Story ❀

Lincoln’s Story: I do not know his whole story. But this is what the neighbor’s told me when we got a report from DNR on Lincoln’s Birthday. We could not find him so we stopped at several homes in the area and this is only some of his story. Apparently he was raised on a goat farm with small children. Once ruting season began and he shed his velvet, the family was afraid he may hurt the children so they set him free. Since he thought he was a “goat”, he went from farm to farm looking for a new goat herd. He was found in the caller’s field hanging out with his old goat. We hear this story so often but usually the deer think they are dogs not goats. 🐐

Sidekicks Story ❀

Pamela’s sidekick. She came here as an orphaned fawn. I noticed that one of her eyes was completely fogged over. She was given meds for an infection and a vitamin defency but the eye is still blind. She also tends to bloat very easily. Her health issues are probably why she was orphaned.

Daisy Story ❀

Daisy was raised in a neighborhood. Many people reported her as a nuisance and we went to look for her. It took many hours to find her but now she is safe at the rescue with her own herd.

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