Lorrie Brown, 57, stood in her southwest Missouri yard last summer and watched Buttons approach with two fawns at her heels. It was the first time in 13 years that the doe, whom Brown rescued as an orphan, brought her own offspring to the people who raised her. The reunion confirmed what Brown had suspected: the bond between the family and the deer had outlasted the initial rescue.
The story began 15 years ago when Brown received a call about a doe killed by a vehicle near a neighbor’s home. The baby was left standing in the yard, so Brown brought the fawn to her property, which offered a safe distance from traffic. She named the animal Buttons. Over the next decade, Buttons became a core member of the household, living alongside Brown’s two children, a golden retriever named GBro, and a cat named Rabbit. Brown wrote a children’s book chronicling their friendship, noting that Buttons treated the dog with complete trust.
Buttons lived for 13.5 years before a car struck her during the rut, or mating season. Her death, followed shortly after by the death of another rescued doe named Biscuit, devastated the family and their online community. Brown had started documenting their life together on TikTok in 2020, gaining a following that found comfort in the peaceful trail walks. The loss of Buttons and Biscuit within two months left a void, but a year later, a follower called about a fawn named Benny whose mother had been killed by coyotes. Benny arrived last summer and quickly became a fixture, bonding with Brown’s ducks, particularly one named Pip.
Now, the yard is filled with life. Brown estimates that 17 or 18 deer visit every morning, nearly all of them descendants of Buttons. Buttons gave birth 11 times during her residence, and her fawns went on to raise their own. Benny, the current buck, is old enough for his first rut, and Brown worries about whether he will stay as close as Buttons did. She compares the anxiety to watching her own children leave for college, though she remains at peace seeing him in the yard. The herd’s presence is a daily reminder of the initial act of kindness that started it all.