Wandering into his backyard Tuesday afternoon, Troy, NY resident Tony Remillard was met with some angst from a 10-point buck.
Facing off like two opponents in the squared circle, the Troy man took a couple of steps back as the deer continued to approach him. It wasn’t long before the antlers of his adversary caught him just below the eye.
According to reports, the two were essentially nose-to-nose during the encounter, which only lasted a few moments. Using a cushion from a discarded leather couch in his yard, Remillard was able to keep the animal at bay until help arrived.
That help came in the form of a neighbor who had witnessed the encounter and backed his truck into Remillard’s yard, allowing the battered man to escape in the bed of the pickup.
The 34-year-old man was taken to Samaritan Hospital where he was treated with eight stitches for his wounds resulting from the confrontation.
The deer bounded across a few yards and, according to officials with the NY Department of Environmental Conservation, died shortly after. Following the attack, the department released confirmation by the Rensselaer County Health Department that the deer had tested positive for rabies.
When asked if he had ever been that close to a deer, a feat many hunters attempt to accomplish each year, the victim simply stated: “I don’t hunt – I prefer fishing.”
H/T: Times Union