This young deer was born on the sanctuary grounds and remains wild, although it does visit the other animals and tour groups occasionally. We first saw it when we were approaching the parking lot, and when I went to take a picture from the car, it ran away. It didn’t seem so shy later in the day!

*****

The Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary is a 400-acre nonprofit refuge in Poolesville, Maryland, that offers care, rehabilitation and permanent sanctuary for neglected, abused or abandoned farm animals as well as providing a protected habitat for wildlife. They promote compassion and the humane treatment of all animals by educating the public on farm animal and wildlife issues.

A husband and wife team along with 100 volunteers and 8 staff care for more than 300 rescued farm animals, each with a name and a story of their rescue, and most of them quite friendly to humans. They’ve been in operation for 21 years, receive no public funding and survive only on donations.

For more information on the refuge, go to http://www.animalsanctuary.org

Adventurous kid, posted earlier: