Orphaned Dear Named Forest to Live Out His Life at Florida Sanctuary as Donors Build His New Home
A young white-tailed deer named Forest, orphaned as a fawn and nursed back to health by human hands, will spend the rest of his life in the gentle care of a Deltona, Florida, sanctuary — but only if kindhearted donors can help finish the home being built for him.
Forest’s story began in tragedy. As a tiny fawn, he lost his mother and suffered multiple injuries, including a broken leg. During the long weeks of his recovery, he was bottle-fed and cared for by people who worked patiently to keep him alive. That care saved his life. It also changed it forever.
Because of the close human contact during his most vulnerable days, Forest “imprinted” on people. He now associates humans with food and comfort, which means returning him to the wild is no longer safe. A deer who walks toward people instead of away from them would not survive long among hunters, traffic or predators.
So Forest is coming to live at 101 Paws and Claws, a USDA- and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission–licensed 501(c)(3) nonprofit sanctuary in Deltona. There, he will be given the closest thing to a wild life that a deer in his situation can have — a wooded enclosure where he can choose, on his own terms, whether to step out and greet the day’s visitors or quietly disappear among the trees.
A Quiet Promise From the Sanctuary’s CEO
Meagan Farley, the CEO of 101 Paws and Claws, has made Forest a simple promise: he will not be put on display, and he will not be pressured.
“We’re going to try to make it as natural as possible for him. He’s going to live his life out here,” Farley told The Daytona Beach News-Journal.
The plan is to give Forest a roomy, fenced habitat with a barn for shelter and a wooded area where he can hide whenever he wishes. Farley said visitors who tour the sanctuary will not enter Forest’s space.
“It’s entirely up to him whether he wants to come out and interact with people on the tour. We won’t bring people into the enclosure,” she said.
For an animal who has been through so much already, that kind of dignity matters. He has earned the right to decide for himself.
A Race Against the Clock
The call to take Forest came suddenly. An animal rehabber in Volusia County reached out to Farley about placing the young deer, and the timeline was tight.
“It was kind of a rush thing, so we have a month to pull this all together,” Farley told The Daytona Beach News-Journal on April 17.
That short window is the reason 101 Paws and Claws is now reaching out to the public. Building a proper deer enclosure is not a small undertaking. The fencing alone — strong enough and tall enough to keep Forest safe — is the largest single expense, estimated at about $5,600. As of April 17, the sanctuary had raised only around $500 toward that goal.
In other words, Forest’s home is roughly $5,100 short of being ready.
How Animal Lovers Can Help
For readers who have ever bottle-fed a baby animal, comforted a frightened pet or simply paused to watch a deer step out of the woods at dusk, Forest’s story is a familiar kind of heartbreak — and a familiar kind of hope. He cannot go home. But he can have a home.
Donations toward the fencing and barn can be made directly through 101 Paws and Claws, which operates as a registered nonprofit sanctuary and educational facility. The organization also offers private tours as part of its fundraising for animal care, giving supporters a chance to meet the rescued animals already in residence and see firsthand where their generosity goes.
Every bit helps. A gift the size of a few cups of coffee buys a length of fence post. A larger gift helps frame the barn that will shelter Forest from Florida’s summer storms. And the timeline is real — the deadline Farley described is not a marketing slogan. It is the moment Forest needs his enclosure to be ready.
A Life Worth Saving
There is something tender about the image of a young deer who looks to people instead of running from them. It speaks to the kindness of the rehabbers who refused to let him die alone, and to the patience of the sanctuary now preparing to take him in.
Forest will never roam the wild forests his name suggests. But thanks to Farley, her team and — with luck — a community of animal lovers willing to chip in, he will have his own quiet woods, his own barn and his own choice about whether to come say hello.
That is a life worth building. And right now, it is a life that needs a little help.
This article was created by content specialists using various tools, including AI.
