Bella the Deer

Pulaski, New York

In June 2009, when Bella was just a baby, her mom was killed by a pickup truck near the village of Pulaski. Sympathetic locals fed her, sheltered her, and named her Bella. Because of the risk of disease, New York's Department of Environmental Conservation typically kills deer that hang around with people -- but Bella somehow escaped detection. She grew into a full-size deer and became the town mascot. Schoolchildren would pose with her; a local vet trimmed her hooves and treated her fleas and ticks. She was honored with her own Facebook page.

Then in the fall of 2017, Bella vanished.

In December 2020, accepting that Bella wasn't coming back, Pulaski erected a downtown statue in her memory, mounted on a base engraved with her name. To increase its aw-shucks appeal, the statue is of Bella as she looked when she first appeared in town: an adorable 3.5-foot-tall fawn.