An Unexpected Obstacle on the Shoulder
The heavy rubber tire sagged against the dry grass as the spotted stag struggled to lift his head.
Cars sped by on the busy asphalt, kicking up dust and sending gusts of wind over the animal. The stag’s chest rose and fell in shallow, rapid breaths as he lay pressed into the dirt. His wide, palmated antlers wobbled under the strain of holding up the extra weight around his neck.
Large trucks rumbled past, shaking the ground beneath the stag’s hooves. The wind from their passage whipped the tall grass, but the deer remained unable to move, trapped by the heavy burden around his neck.
The black tread of the tire was wedged tightly against his shoulders, pinning his head at an awkward, strained angle. He shook his head sideways, but the heavy rubber did not budge.
A white SUV slowed down and pulled onto the gravel shoulder, its tires crunching to a stop just feet away from the resting animal. The driver’s door swung open, and a man in a green jacket stepped out into the bright afternoon sun.
He carried a red medical kit, walking with slow, deliberate steps toward the trembling animal. The stag’s ears twitched at the sound of footsteps, but he lacked the energy to flee.
Approaching the Stranded Beast
The stag flared his nostrils and pinned his ears back as the man knelt in the dry grass beside him. Rather than bolting, the exhausted animal stayed pressed into the ground, his legs tucked tightly beneath his body.
The man placed the red kit on the ground and reached back into the vehicle to retrieve a pair of long, red-handled bolt cutters. The metal of the tool caught the sunlight as he positioned himself next to the deer’s shoulder.
He leaned over the stag’s neck, careful to keep his face away from the sweeping points of the wide antlers. He slid the heavy blades of the cutter beneath the thick, steel-belted rubber of the tire, finding a gap near the animal’s throat.
With a firm, steady squeeze of his arms, the man pressed the long handles together. The thick rubber resisted the pressure at first, stretching under the force of the blades.
The stag jerked his head upward as the blades bit deep, his nostrils widening as he let out a soft groan. The man paused, keeping one hand flat against the deer’s side until the animal’s breathing steadied.
Relieving the Pressure
The steel wires inside the tire’s tread ground against the metal jaws of the cutters. The man leaned his full body weight into the handles, his knuckles turning white under the strain of the cut.
He squeezed the handles again, and the tire split with a sharp, dull pop. The man worked the blades further into the tough synthetic fibers, slicing through the remaining layers of the steel-belted radial.
With a final, hard press, the heavy ring of rubber split completely open. The man pulled the severed tire away from the deer’s neck, tossing it onto the gravel behind him.
Underneath the rubber, the stag’s neck was raw, the brown fur worn down to the pink skin from days of constant friction. The man reached into his red bag and pulled out a clean roll of white bandage.
He wrapped the soft fabric around the raw patch of skin, looping it carefully under the chin and around the back of the neck. The stag stayed perfectly still, his chin resting near the man’s knee as the tight pressure finally vanished.
The man smoothed the edges of the white bandage, ensuring it stayed secure against the coarse hair of the stag’s neck. He checked for any tightness, sliding two fingers under the wrap to make sure the deer could breathe comfortably.
A Quiet Moment of Care
The man reached for a plastic water bottle, unscrewing the blue cap with one hand while holding the stag’s muzzle with the other.
He tilted the bottle forward, letting a thin, steady stream of water trickle down toward the stag’s dry mouth. The stag stretched his neck, his dark tongue darting out to catch the cool drops.
He licked his dark muzzle as the water ran over his nose, his breathing slowing to a calm, steady rhythm while the man kept his hand resting gently on his head.
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