Two brothers came to the rescue of a deer that had fallen through the ice not once, but twice in Cedarville Bay, Michigan. On a recent afternoon, Jeff Lipple’s wife, Christine, spotted a deer struggling to escape after falling into the icy waters.
The couple owns the Island View Resort in Cedarville, Michigan, which is situated on the shores of Cedarville Bay, part of The Les Cheneaux Islands.
Grabbing a rope ladder, sled, flotation devices, and other safety gear, Jeff headed out toward the deer while Christine and Jeff’s brother, Greg Lipple, filmed from the safety of the shore. Jeff wrote: “The deer wouldn’t let me get close enough to put a rope around her. So my brother Greg Lipple got in a kayak in the water with her to coax her over closer enough to me where I could get a rope around her and then pull her out.”
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After an exhausting effort, the brothers celebrated as they watched the deer stand and begin running across the ice toward the forest. However, their celebration was short-lived—the deer fell through the ice again!
Fortunately, the second hole was less difficult to manage, and they were able to pull the deer out more quickly. This time, the deer moved far more cautiously, gingerly making its way to the shore before disappearing into the woods. The brothers exchanged high-fives, relieved to see the animal finally safe.
Jeff later shared that this wasn’t the first time they’d come to the rescue. He wrote: “About a month ago my brother Greg had helped rescue two men out of the cold waters whose boat had capsized. A few years ago, I helped rescue a deer out of a barbwire fence. So this isn’t the first time we had helped someone or something in need and probably won’t be the last time.”
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