Woman Jumps Into Stream to Rescue Struggling Deer in Utah

A woman who was checking on water levels in Parowan, Utah, did not hesitate to jump into freezing cold water when she saw a deer struggling there.

Susan McAley told Storyful that her town was placed under flood warning on April 12 due to snowmelt. She was watching creek levels rising when she saw the animal struggling.

In the video, McAley can be heard encouraging the deer to reach the bank, but when the animal goes under water, she drops her phone and runs to the rescue.

Over the next several minutes, McAley attempted to get the deer to safety, with the struggle playing out in the audio picked up by the dropped phone.

McAley posted the footage to TikTok, where she called herself foolish for risking her life, having undergone four spinal surgeries, but said that she would do it again.

“As an animal lover, I cannot stand by,” she said.

She told Storyful that the deer quickly recovered, and was gone when she returned to the scene after grabbing a blanket. Credit: Susan McAley via Storyful

Video transcript

- Come on, sweetheart. Get out, baby. Get out, baby. Oh [MUTED].

Come on, baby. Come on, baby. Get up, baby. Come on now. Come on.

Come on. Come on, baby. Uh-uh. Come on, sweetheart. Come on.

Get out, baby. Come on, sweetheart.

[RUSTLING NOISE]

Come on, sweetheart. Come on. We got this. We got this now.

Come on. I got you. I got you, baby. I got you, baby. It's OK.

I got you. It's OK. Go on. There you go. There you go.

Come on. Get out, sweetheart. Get out. Come on. Get out, baby.

[THREE QUICK KISSES]

Come on, sweetheart. Come on. Oh, God dammit. Come on, sweetheart. Come on, you.

(MUFFLED) Come on, baby. I got you. I got you. Come on.

I got you. I got you. Come on, sweetheart. Come on.

Come on back. Come over there. I got you, baby. I got you, baby.

Hold on. Hold on, sweetheart. I got you. I got you, baby.

I got you, baby. I got you, baby. Come on. I got you, baby. Come on.

I got you. Come on.

[WATER RUNNING]

(BREATHLESS) I got you. I got you. [INAUDIBLE].

It's OK. It's OK. All right. It's OK. It's OK.

Come here.

[SOFT GRUNTING]

It's OK.

[SOFT GRUNTING]

You going to be OK. But you can hang on me. Come on, baby. Come on, dear. Come on.

Come on. Get up. Get up. Get up.

Come on up. Don't you die on me. We can't have you dead yet.

[GRUNTING]

[DESPERATE GRUNTING]

[HEAVING BREATHS]

[INAUDIBLE].

[WATER RUNNING]

Come on. Come on. Please. Please.

Come on [INAUDIBLE]. No dying on me, please. Wake up and fight. Come on. Wake up.

[INAUDIBLE] wake up. Oh-- come on. Come on, sweetie. Come on. Wake up.

Please wake up. Please wake up. Please wake up. Please wake up. Come on, honey.

Come on, honey. Get up. Please get up. Come on. Come on.

Please get up. Please get up. (WHISPERING) Get up.

I know [INAUDIBLE]. I know, baby. Get up. Get up, honey.

Get up, baby. Come on. Don't. Wake up. Please.

Don't die on me. It's OK. It's OK. It's OK [INAUDIBLE]. It's OK.

Come on. I don't know how much [INAUDIBLE]. Can you just get up here please? Just get up. [INAUDIBLE]

Come on, honey. Come on. Please get up. Get up, please. Please get up.

Please get up. Please get up. Please get up. Come on, baby. Get up.

Get up, baby. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up.

Get up. Come on, man. Get up. Please get up.

[GASP]

[? I don't ?] [? want to go. ?] Get up, baby. Get up. Oh, get up.

Come on. You got this, baby. Come on. You're getting up.

Come on, baby. Get up. [INAUDIBLE].

(JOYFULLY) Go, go, go, go. Go, go, go. Go. Go. Go.

Ah ha-ah. Go. Good boy. Good boy. Good boy. Good boy. Good boy.

Oh no. No. Come on, baby. Get up. You got this. You got it, baby.

Get up, baby. Get up. Get up, baby. Get up, baby.

[INAUDIBLE]. I got you, boy. I got you. I know. I got you.

I got you. (WITH EMPHASIS) Get up. You went the wrong way. You went the wrong way.

[INAUDIBLE]. (YELLING) Get up. Get up. Get up.

[FRUSTRATED YELL]

God dammit. I can't do this.

[HEAVY BREATHING]

I can't do it anymore.

[GRUNTING]