‘The buck came charging’: Deer attacks family dog in south Charlotte backyard

CHARLOTTE — Home surveillance footage caught a deer attacking a dog Monday in south Charlotte.

The 3-year-old Golden Doodle, Finn, often sits at a fence in the backyard to watch deer grazing. The attack happened around 9:15 a.m., and it as all caught on video.

“The buck came charging through and hit him right here in this area somewhere,” homeowner Roger Hunter said. “He was hit again, pushed against the fence.”

Hunter said his wife was there and started to wave a towel to try and shoo the deer away.

Surveillance footage of a deer attacking a dog in a backyard in south Charlotte.

“She managed to get down close enough to get the deer off Finn, and he took off that way,” Hunter said. “And Finn was injured pretty badly.”

Finn limped back to their house after the deer left. The dog was gored several times.

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Experts said an encounter like that is not unusual this time of year.

“The male deer have really high testosterone levels this time of year because they only have one thing in mind, that’s mating, and it can make them aggressive,” said Chris Matthews, with Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation.

Matthews said it is the height of rutting season, when bucks look for mates, so pet owners need to be careful -- even in their own backyards.

“Poke your head out the door, look around, look in your backyard, see if there’s anything out there,” Matthews said. “If the coast is clear, then let your pet out.”