COLUMBIA, S.C. — A South Carolina family is asking hunters not to kill one of their members.
They’ve even started a social media campaign with the hashtag request, “#dontshootGeorge.”
George is the Funderburk’s pet deer.
They don’t have George fenced inside of a pen, instead choosing to let him run free in the woods around their Chester County property.
So the family is doing what they can to protect their beloved pet from getting shot during deer hunting season.
In addition to the Facebook posts and page dedicated to George, they are also trying to identify him, so hunters will be alerted which deer is George.
“Local Hunters … Please don’t shoot the (7-point deer) with the yellow tape around his antlers. If you see him, it’s George!” Kena Lucas Funderburk posted on her Facebook page.
“He was raised and released between Great Falls and Richburg in Chester County, S.C. #dontshootGeorge.”
The Funderburks adopted George when he was just days old, Kena Funderburk said. His mother had been hit by a car and killed along the side of a South Carolina road, where the fawn was discovered in June 2016.
It was a learning process for the fawn and the family, according to Funderburk. While they discovered what formula to use and how to raise a deer as a pet, George was gradually learning how to eat from a bottle and go to the bathroom.
George started to grow, and formed bonds with the family dog and especially with the Funderburks’ children, Kaleb and Laney.
When George was close to 6 months old, Funderburk said the family began leaving him outside by himself. Because he had food and shelter, and a connection to the Funderburks, George stayed in the large rural property for the next year, even though he could come and go as he pleased.
Funderburk said they knew George would eventually leave the family property, which he did. It was not an easy choice to give him the freedom to live on his own, but one they felt was the right decision.
“We decided it would have been inhumane to have him in a pen and keep him from running free,” Funderburk said.
