14 DAY TRIAL // The news broke that a couple from Indiana might end up spending a considerable amount of time in jail as a result of their choosing to look after an injured baby deer.
As Jeff and Jennifer explain, the deer that has now gotten them into so much trouble was bitten by a coyote, and at the time of their stumbling upon it (i.e. about two years ago), the animal was unable to move.
Thus, the baby deer was simply sitting all curled up on one of their neighbors' front porch, and there is little doubt that it would have passed away shortly after if it had not been for this couple's decision to take it under their care.
Since Jennifer is a registered nurse, the couple, together with their teenage daughter, were able to soon get the deer back on its feet, and even named it Little Orphan Dani.
According to Daily Mail, they were hoping that they might release it back into the wild at some point, yet the Indiana Department of Natural Resources stepped in and argued that their harboring this animal was illegal and that the deer must be euthanized.
Whereas the deer somehow managed to escape from its enclosure and was never seen again (the Councellers deny their being involved in any way in this incident), the family is now left to face the legal consequences of their actions.
The same source informs us that, judging by the charges filed against them by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, the couple is facing as many as 60 days in jail and a $500 fine (roughly €372).
“I spent a year and several months nursing her into adulthood, getting to the point where she was able to go out on her own. No matter what the law is, we did what was right for the animal,” Jennifer Counceller told members of the press.
Presently, the family plans to fight these charges on account of, “Sometimes, it's not always about the DNR laws. Sometimes it's about common sense and what's right in God's eyes.”