Rescuing animalsis nothing new, as wild animals are often found by veterinarians or other experts who can see if they're ill or in a bad condition before being released back into their natural habitat. But what do you do if one of your petsaccidentally 'adopts' the animal you've rescued?

While it might sound like a fairytale come to life, this is what happened to a couple in Missouri, US, who took in an injured and then abandoned baby deer after her mum left her when the fawn showed signs of illness. The couple, who often post videos of their lives on their Missouri farm under the username '@brownhikingtrails', have recalled the moment one of their dogsended up becoming the fawn's 'surrogate mother'.

While the couple often came across wildlife on their farm, they grow close with a doe they named Belle. One day, the female deer ended up giving birth to a fawn at the residents' gate in 2024, leaving the family delighted – but only for a little while.

• Husband forced to turn T-shirt inside out at Disneyland as banned detail spotted


• 'Double' this food in your diet to slash heart disease and cancer risk

Immediately after the birth, the fawn was covered in flies, but the couple initially did not want to interfere with the natural course of events and risk the mother rejecting her baby. However, when they found the fawn three days later in terrible condition, they made their choice.

"Baby was ridden with maggots in all its’ orifices and a wound in knee, we quickly intervened," the couple explained on TikTok. However after treating the fawn themselves using a mixture of vinegar and water to heal the sores infected with maggots, Belle no longer took her baby back.

But this was no problem for the couple, especially thanks to their Golden Retriever Junie, who began to look after Biscuit the fawn like a surrogate mother. An even the family's cat seemed to accept of the new family member, as one video showed the feline licking the then-baby deer.

In another video published on 3 January, the family's two golden retrievers are seen walking around the baby fawn, who was laying on one of the dog beds.

Cut to a couple of years later, and the fawn, which has now grown into a deer, is still happily living in the family's life along with her two golden retriever friends.

In the clip, the two dogs were seen laying in the same bed, while Biscuit, who was wearing a matching collar to the two dogs, joined in and slowly laid down on an empty spot on the bed - despite a separate bed being free just inches away.

"When they say 'he needs his own bed'. Yeah he doesn’t want his own bed, he wants their bed," the couple wrote in the caption of the post.

In other videos posted on their social media pages, the family's 440,700 followers can follow along as the deer joins in on daily activities, including joining in on forest walks while also cuddling on the sofa. But some are happy to hear that he stills get out to spend time with other deer in the area, only to later return back home.

The video from 3 January quickly went viral with over 72.3 million views at the time of writing. Thousands of viewers also took to the comment section to share their amazement.

"I love how dogs just adopt anything that breathes," one person wrote. Another person said: "The collar on the deer has me cracking up."

"Omg domesticated deer," someone else said. Another person added: "So I CAN have a pet deer... I need to speak with my husband."