Faline, the gentle deer, who chose a human family, The McGaughey’s,  as her own, entered the McGaughey residence on the morning of December 19, 2016, ate three cookies and then left to wander around outside. By that afternoon, she had been fatally and purposely shot by Tanner Dixson, Sadist Game Warden, while her human family and caretakers watched in horror.
Tanner Dixson, a game warden for the state of Kansas, was practically salivating at the prospect of knowing he would soon be able to end an innocent life. For a psychopath, ending an innocent life is seemingly more thrilling and packs more of a punch than ending the life of someone who deserves it.  A psychopath has had to practice his entire life and become good at balancing fitting into society and being able to continue his psychopathy; what better occupation than a law enforcement officer. And in this case just throw out a few official sounding reasons that are exaggerated parts of obscure laws and a few scare tactic statistics and there you have it;  and now he is ready to murder an innocent deer who is quiet, meek, shy, loving and kind. Faline came into the Mcgaughey’s life after she followed Kim Mcgaughey home one day to the family’s six-acre farm outside the town of Ulysses around 22 months ago when the animal was less than a year old.  The family started feeding Faline two years ago when she came in with a broken leg and then refused to leave. “But she had free rein to do whatever the heck she wanted.  “There was no way you could keep her in an enclosure.” What is clear about Faline is that she was an unusual doe.  Taryn McGaughey, 34, said in an interview that the deer had followed her mother, Kim McGaughey, and the two, had an “instant connection.” Soon the deer had been dubbed Faline, after Bambi’s companion, and she made fast friends with the dogs, horses, and goats on the property.  The doe came and went as she pleased, sometimes roaming several miles, said McGaughey, who added that her mother had previously been told by a local game warden that this relationship was fine so long as the deer was not confined. Kim Mcgaughey fed Faline and gave her water. She put colorful knitted collars on the deer so that hunters would know not to shoot her.
The three-year-old deer apparently hated the wind and would lock the front door using her head and would often sleep in Kim McGaughey’s room. “She would get on the bed and stand like she owned the place,” said Taryn McGaughey, a fashion, fitness and glamor model. Taryn McGaughey, who said she believes Faline “thought she was a dog,” has photos and videos of the deer inside the home, standing on furniture and playing with her 8-year-old son. “She was house-trained, she would also come into the house behind me, sleep on the floor while I watched TV,” Kim McGaughey told the commission Thursday, describing how the deer would knock on the door with her head or bleat when she wanted inside. “I would answer her with a bleat back because it sounded like she was hollering, ‘Mom.’
Everyone in the area knew Faline, so when she went missing in December, Kim McGaughey posted a Facebook message asking people to keep their eyes peeled. That, the McGaugheys think, led someone to tip off wildlife authorities. On the afternoon of Dec. 19, 2016, game wardens arrived at the workplace of Kim McGaughey, an emergency medical technician, and issued her a ticket for the confinement of wildlife. [even though Faline was never confined and came and went as she pleased] She told the wildlife commission that she immediately called three Kansas zoos to ask if they’d take the deer, and that one told her to call back when they reopened in the morning.   Kim McGaughey questions the rush, saying the deer was dead within 45 minutes of the game wardens approaching her at work.

“After having her 22 months, they couldn’t even give us 12 hours to try to take her to a sanctuary,” said Taryn McGaughey.

“They said they were worried about our safety, but cats and dogs carry more diseases than any deer ever would. ” She would never get a chance to explore alternative locations for Faline. The wardens had gone to her house, said Taryn McGaughey, who was visiting from Las Vegas and filmed what happened next. In one video, she asks a warden who pets Faline’s head:

“So you’re going to shoot her in the head?” He responds: “Yeah, I am . . . it’s the most humane way to shut her down, to solve this problem.”

In another video, the wardens can be seen walking around the McGaugheys’ property after the deer, who takes quick steps but does not run from them. Taryn McGaughey can be heard saying, “Run, Faline, Jesus.” Soon, when the deer and the wardens are far from sight, a gunshot rings out and McGaughey is heard breaking down into sobs. Four additional shots were fired after that, she said.

[wpvideo KGGUZOWt]

     

A petition was written by Michelle Phillips to bring Justice for Faline

Petition to fire Tanner Dixson for murdering an innocent deer

Her reason for the petition is as follows”

As a veterinarian and rural farmer, I recognize that Faline and the bond between her and this family was one in a million. That such a rare and precious thing could be so callously and senselessly destroyed, sickens and saddens me to no end. No amount of justice is going to bring Faline back, or erase what happened to her, but hopefully in achieving justice, this family can find some consolation when the perpetrators are punished. Just because something is legal does not make it morally or ethically right. What these men did while hiding behind their badges takes morals and ethics to, for me, an unimaginable low. They should be fired for unethical behavior unsuitable in a public servant. And they should continue to be publicly ostracized. They need to feel some of the pain that their actions have caused – a fraction of the pain that this family will continue to feel for the rest of their lives.
Hopefully we can send a message to people who think they are above the law or who think they are big fish in a little pond and therefore can act with impunity, that they will be held accountable. Maybe in doing so, we can prevent something like this from happening in the future.
Thank you, Taryn, for bravely taking the video and shining a light on this tragedy. Without you and your camera, they would have gotten away with it scott free.

Michelle Boelter, Delta, CO

Jan 11, 2017