Karen Pavlakis: Don't hunt in urban areas - even with a bow and arrow

I am writing with regard to an incident that occurred at my home on the afternoon of Sept. 19. Unbeknownst to me, there was a large buck with an impressive rack of antlers sitting under my deck. Although we have had deer seeking shade under our deck previously, they usually get up and walk away when they hear our footsteps. However, when I approached this buck he tried to stand up and simply collapsed. I noticed a lot of flies on him, and I smelled rotting flesh.

I called the Nevada Department of Wildlife, and Game Warden Jake Kreamer arrived within 30 minutes. I met him in our driveway and explained the situation. He thought he knew which buck this was, and he asked whether the buck had an arrow sticking out of him. The game warden shined his flashlight on the buck and showed me the arrow sticking out of his left shoulder. The game warden said he had been trying to find this particular animal for a week. He told me the buck had been shot with an arrow in the residential area of Ash Canyon Road. The "hunter" chased him onto private property in and around Brush Drive but lost the trail. The hunter called to report the wounded animal the following day. Game Warden Kreamer found a blood trail on the bike path near the Western Nevada College, but he didn't find the deer.

I was shocked to learn that it is not illegal to shoot a deer within the urban area of the city limits with a bow and arrow, so long as you have a deer tag. Although I understand a hunter is required to make reasonable efforts to capture a wounded animal, the hunter shouldn't initiate the hunt in the urban areas where he and the animal are engaged in a hunt (or chase) on the private property of unsuspecting citizens.

I would like the person who thought it would be a good idea to go deer hunting with his bow and arrow on Ash Canyon Road to know how much this buck suffered for the week before his discovery and death. Game Warden Kreamer shot the buck twice with a tranquilizer gun to calm him so that he could be dragged by his antlers out from under the deck and into our back yard, shot, and put out of his misery. It took several shots to the head to kill this beautiful animal. The game warden asked our neighbor and her grandchildren to go inside so they wouldn't witness the shooting. This large buck was then loaded onto the wildlife truck for disposal.

I would like to thank Kreamer for responding so quickly and for being extremely professional and caring at all times. He took the time to explain the situation to my husband and me. Our home is within a mile or two from the area in which this deer was shot. We live in a neighborhood where children play and people run, bike, and walk their dogs.

This letter is not anti-hunters or anti-hunting. Hunting should occur in areas where people can hunt. Hunting should not be allowed within the congested urban areas of Carson City. To the person who shot this buck, you should be ashamed of yourself.

•-Karen Pavlakis is a Carson City resident.