Napa Donors Fawn Over, Fund $10,000 Baby Deer Rescue Rebuild

NAPA VALLEY, CA — In August, disaster struck at Napa Wildlife Rescue when a giant oak tree crashed down directly onto a rescue clinic in Pope Valley, destroying most of a fence where volunteers care for injured, ill, and orphaned fawns.

The fawns escaped the massive oak limbs.

But rebuilding was more than the organization was prepared to manage.

In less than a year, Napa Wildlife had already accepted more rescues than all of 2024.

"Losing the fawn clinic has added a significant strain to an organization already pushing through unexpected financial pressure due to these increases," staff said.

However, Napa Wildlife Rescue is, by its own account, the only organization in Napa County licensed to care for injured, ill, and orphaned wildlife.

In 2024, they took in 1,427 animals representing 130 different species, including birds, bats, opossums, wildcats, and deer.

The organization designed the enclosure in Pope Valley for orphaned and wounded fawns.

Now, on Aug. 10, the tree's weight had crushed a whole corner of the enclosure's fence.

Photos from the site show two stranded fawns that had been in the enclosure when the tree fell.

Healthy fawns at birth weigh as much as a newborn, but should grow quickly, helping them to escape predators.

The fawns in Pope Valley were between one and two days to a week old when rescued.

They arrived at the clinic weighing less than an average newborn.

Without the fawn clinic, staff said they could no longer take in vulnerable fawns like those two that needed care to survive.

A volunteer temporarily patched the fence while the organization launched a fundraising campaign.

Donors began giving from $15 to $1,000.

By Aug. 16, their donations totaled $10,420.

The fawns have been released and the clinic rebuilt.

"Because of your incredible generosity, Napa Wildlife Rescue has officially reached our fundraising goal to repair and rebuild the fawn clinic," staff wrote.

"Our wildlife protector family has always stood beside us, but the response to this urgent campaign has been nothing short of extraordinary. Thanks to you, orphaned and injured fawns will continue to have a safe place to heal, grow, and prepare for release back into the wild."