WATCH: Fond du Lac family saves deer trapped on icy pond

FOND DU LAC, Wis. (WMTV) - A young deer that was stuck on the ice for so long it could barely walk made it back to the woods near Fond du Lac recently thanks to the dedication of a family that wasn’t going to just let it freeze.

The Brandon family shared this video with NBC15 News showing them trying to lasso the deer and bring it back to dry land. But, the story of the rescue didn’t start there. Ariana Brandon explained that she, her husband, and 12-year-old daughter, were driving by the private pond when he spotted the deer. She estimated it may have been there for a couple of days.

Deciding to help, they first had to go door-to-door to a couple homes to find the owner of the property. The owner ended up being out of town, but a neighbor was able to call and get the permission. The neighbor even loaned the Brandons a rope and strap to help with the next step: the rescue itself.

After a few attempts at lassoing the frightened deer, Ariana’s husband, Michael, eventually roped it and slid it back to shore. Michael picked up the yelping deer and carried it onto the field. At that point, he probably thought his good deed for the day was done, but the deer had other plans. Still unable to stand, it started scrambling away from the field and back down towards the pond - its front legs doing all the work because the hind ones still weren’t working.

The Brandons didn’t give up, though. Michael went back and grabbed the deer again. This time, though, he carried it much further away from the pond and the deer apparently accepted its fate of having been rescued and of being back on dry land. The story seems to have had a happy ending. Ariana said they came back to the pond to check on it and the deer was gone.

Hopefully, it had warmed up enough to scamper off and go get something to eat.

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