Whereas most people might have an issue with their dog or cat, perhaps snake or hamster, one family is finding out that its pet is something that can't be kept at all.
Did we mention the fact that the family's household pet is a deer?
The pet deer, named Lilly, is not always kept in the backyard, believe it or not. Often, Lilly prances around the living room of its Michigan family who wished to remain anonymous, as seen via an ABC News segment from Tuesday, June 4.
"She's just like a big brown dog," one of Lilly's owners (seen but not identified) says in the news clip, noting that the pet deer is "part of the family."
Part of the family or not, Lilly is now at the fulcrum of a legal battle involving her owners and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources who says that it is illegal for a wild animal -- even a "pet" deer -- to be possessed as Lilly has been for the past five years.
The owners first came upon Lilly while she was being born from a mother who had just been hit by a car on a street in Genesee County, Mich. The owners and local police stood by as Lilly came into the world via her dying mother. After asking the police officers on the scene if they could try to take care of the poor baby deer, the onlookers who would become Lilly's owners were told they were more than welcome to, as the animal probably wouldn't have long to live, in the officers' estimation.
As it turned out, five years later, Lilly is now as seemingly domesticated by her owners as any typical pet; but after a complaint was issued by the friend of a local neighbor, the owners may now be losing Lilly after all.
"It would be like taking a child away," the owners said. "She sleeps on a futon, she watches TV ... plays Frisbee with the boys."
The Michigan DNR, however, says that keeping a wild animal in the house could prove to be dangerous, as such creatures can turn violent. The owners, meanwhile, are worried that since Lilly has never actually been in the wild before, she may end up being euthanized by local authorities.
"It would be very, very devastating," Lilly's owner concluded. "I think there's exceptions to the rules. Sometimes love should be enough."
What do you think? Should the owners be able to keep Lilly, or is it bad to keep a wild animal inside the house? Sound off through our comments below!
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