Animal forester's lodge

How roebuck “George” came to his dog mom

At Forsthaus Langschlägerwald, roebuck "George" and dog "Clooney" became family.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Imre Antal)

"Clooney" is the dog's name and "George" is the deer! For the young wild animal, the barking four-legged friend became a mommy substitute. So the buck is already part of the family in a Waldviertel forester's lodge.

This is how animal fairy tales could come about: One day, the dog appeared at the door of Itha Walser-Lazarini's forester's lodge. He had a Bambi, just two days old, in tow. "My four-legged darling 'Clooney', a street dog rescued from Greece, must have sniffed out the freshly set fawn and unfortunately licked it so intimately that 'George' recognized him as mom," recalls the landowner of the idyllic vacation home in the middle of the green Tann near Langschlägerwald in the Zwettl district.

Forsthaus Langschlägerwald is located in the middle of the Waldviertler Hochland region - a paradise for Georgi and his wife Itha Walser-Lazarini.

(Bild: Antal Imre)

But all's well that ends well! At first, the little forest dweller was still a little unsure in the living room and kitchen, but now he visits his "family" quite confidently on regular walks.

A family member for 5 years
"In the five years since he's been living with us, our George has become a real member of the family, regularly popping in from the woods. He even lives with us in winter," assures the friendly hostess of the centuries-old house. Local hunters can recognize the tame buck by his typical collar. But Itha is convinced that the hunters wouldn't bend a deer hair on her protégé like that either