Neighbors Noticed That This Boy Walked A Deer Every Day. Then They Looked At The Animal’s Eyes

The boy pictured in the post turned out to be a ten-year-old from the residential suburbs of Chicago. One day, he was doing something so kind-hearted for his companion that someone watching on couldn’t help but record it for posterity. That someone was Reddit user BlueCollarClassicAst, who’d been strolling through his local area with his wife early one morning. Having spotted some unusual behavior for a few days in a row, the couple hoped to come across it again. And as it happened, they were not to be disappointed.

Specifically, the pair saw the boy walking down the residential street in tandem with a female deer. The Reddit user then took a photograph of the scene from behind to protect the boy’s anonymity and so as not to scare a skittish pale. After BlueCollarClassicAst had uploaded the picture to Reddit, it turned out to be unlike anything the community had ever seen before. But there was far more to the story than just that.

Indeed, the wild animal was no normal deer. BlueCollarClassicAst found out that the animal was blind, and after talking to the boy, he discovered the reason why. The child was walking down the street with the doe, making sure that the blind deer was safe on the Chicago streets. And extraordinarily, he wasn’t simply taking the animal for a stroll. Instead, the child was leading the disabled and vulnerable doe to grassy areas where it could find food.

Perhaps the most touching part of the story, though, is that the boy had been doing this each day before he attended school. BlueCollarClassicAst remarked on the kid’s calm and kind nature with the deer on Reddit. He revealed that the child was very gentle and quiet as he guided the blind animal with hands on her neck.

As soon as the amazing photo of the boy leading the blind deer down the road hit the Internet, the online community practically went crazy for it. More than a thousand Reddit users commented on the photograph. What’s more, the post eventually received more than 45,000 Reddit upvotes, and the comments under the picture were often incredulous ones. People just couldn’t believe the selfless, conscientious, and patient behavior of the child.

One Reddit user wrote, for instance, “Speechless. That’s so sweet of the boy. I’m surprised the deer trust someone enough to allow it.” Another said, “This young man has a big heart, and it’s nice that he’s being recognized for it. It really is very sweet.” In fact, most comments were straightforward messages of gratitude to the young boy for taking time out of his day to help a vulnerable animal.

But one Redditor professed to be more confused than anything else, joking, “How does one casually develop a relationship with wild animals like this? I need answers.” As BlueCollarClassicAst’s picture-story gathered momentum, it began to attract interest from further online media outlets. Those on Reddit, however, were concerned about the future for the disadvantaged deer now that her story had been brought to such attention.

But the original poster acted as somewhat of a press agent for the boy and doe over the following few weeks, leaving comments on his post that gave developments on the story. He told Redditors, for instance, that expert assistance was on its way. His wife had called a local wildlife rescue group to come and help the deer. The couple then expected the animal to be taken to a nearby Forest Preserve where the doe would obviously be much safer.

But BlueCollarClassicAst also expressed concern over the boy’s feelings. “I wish I could do something for the kid; he’s probably gonna miss her,” BlueCollarClassicAst wrote. But as it turned out, there was little need for him to have worried about the kid’s reaction. A Reddit update a few months later revealed that the deer had indeed been taken away by authorities to a safer place, but the schoolboy hadn’t been too distraught about it.

“His concern was very mature,” BlueCollarClassicAst said on Reddit about the boy’s response. “He had only been walking the deer for a few days and hadn’t named or tried to claim her as a pet or anything like that. He just wanted her to be okay and was relieved to know she’d be safe.”

So, as the vulnerable deer had been rescued from suburban Chicago, the forum turned its attention to something new. Some users mooted the idea of rewarding the young boy for his act of kindness. For instance, “Awesome if you decided to buy this little fella something, I’d really like to pitch in a few bucks to contribute,” a kind and thoughtful stranger wrote.

But it emerged that BlueCollarClassicAst was way ahead of the pack on this one. He wrote on Reddit that he and his wife were so impressed with the love and respect that the child showed towards the blind animal that they wanted to reward the boy themselves. In fact, BlueCollarClassicAst had already been talking to the kid’s mom about a couple of possibilities.

Firstly, BlueCollarClassicAst and his wife had offered to take the schoolboy off to the local wildlife reserve, whatever he wanted, although they could not guarantee that that had been where the doe had ended up. But there was also something else that they wanted to do for the kid. Namely, the couple decided that they would print off the photograph that had gone viral online and frame it for him as a memory.

However, some Reddit users suggested that all BlueCollarClassicAst needed to do was show the child the post and comments underneath. They argued that this way, the kid could see for himself how many people were thankful for his altruistic actions. One person even went as far as describing the schoolboy as their personal hero for what he had done.

“Deer-safe; boy is happy; everyone is relieved,” BlueCollarClassicAst wrote. And what’s more, his story of the boy and the beast led him to receiving his first Reddit gold. This badge of honor is awarded to users who contribute strong stories that inspire others or spark interesting conversation. And it’s fair to say that the original poster had certainly achieved that.