"SOLOMONS, Md. (AP) -- Don Fitzhugh was fishing with his wife Gloria and three others on the Chesapeake last Thursday when they came upon a buck swimming near Solomons Island. [I am so not surprised by this. Longtime readers know that UD's wooded suburban half acre is deer-infested. She expects to find deer in the shower.]

''This deer had no business being out there; he was very disoriented,'' said Fitzhugh, of Churchton. ''Frankly, he was really down for the count. This deer was just desperately trying to stay afloat.''

Only the deer's head was above water and his nose was shaking from the cold, said Bob Smith, of Severna Park, who was also on the boat. [Or would a deer's nose just naturally shake in the Chesapeake?]

Smith used a fishing net to hold one antler and Ken Moser, of Severna Park, grabbed another. The two held on while the boat's captain, Dan Rickwood, drove slowly toward shore. [I hope they took pictures, because I'm a little skeptical of some of these details.] ''You could tell he was so relieved not to have to paddle any further,'' Fitzhugh said.

Half an hour later, they released the deer near shore. The buck stumbled when he first tried to stand up, but regained his footing and walked toward land.

''As he stood there, he turned sideways and looked at us. As he turned around, he started to bark at us. He barked three times. We all looked at each other and said, 'I swear this deer is saying thank you,''' Fitzhugh said. [I'm afraid a deer barking three times means "Fuck you." It sounds very similar to thank you.]

The rescue occurred on the first day of the muzzleloader and the buck may have been fleeing a hunter, said Katrina Blizzard, associate director of wildlife and heritage at the Department of Natural Resources. [Muzzleloader's a new one on me. Nice.]

Blizzard said people should not attempt to handle a deer in the water because the animals are good swimmers and can injure people. [FORGET THIS AT YOUR PERIL]"