Woman regrets result of complaint to FWP

Sally Fuchs wants to set a few things straight.

Yes, she lives in Washington, but she spent 42 years in Libby. No, she does not hate wildlife or wish unusual harm on deer.

And yes, it was her call that set the legal dominoes into action that led to the death of the town deer some called Spanky.

A conversation with Sally and her husband, Mike Fuchs, reveals the emotionally conflicting nature of the deer’s demise. Even the couple feels some tension toward each other considering what they know now.

Sally Fuchs first learned of the death of the deer she called Fritzy in a text message from her son.

Her son learned from The Western News story that ran Sept. 20. Fuchs suspected as much after a call four days prior from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks requesting permission to enter her property at 203 E. 2nd St.  

“I wanted his welfare more than anyone,” Sally Fuchs said. “We’ve watched that deer and his family for years.”

The Fuchs own their property in Libby but moved to Gold Bar, Wash., five years ago after a decade of Mike commuting to Washington for work.

After learning of the newspaper article, Sally drowned in the online comments. She could not believe the anger people felt toward her. She read them again and again. She could not sleep. She cried.

They don’t know her father moved her and her mother to Libby in 1968 when he was working on the Libby Dam, she thought. She remembers, at five years old, getting off a bus and staring up at the big red Pegasus above the Mobil gas station that used to be in front of Henry’s Restaurant. They don’t know she has been around wildlife all her life.   

The call that started it all was nothing more than a wife venting to her husband.

“He always has ideas when I have a problem,” Sally said. “I don’t know what I expected from Mike.”

Sally called her husband in Washington from their blue 2005 Chevy Impala, feeling trapped. Back in town for six days to visit with friends and to get her lungs checked at the Center for Asbestos Related Diseases, Sally found the deer in her front yard for the second night in a row. The night prior she threw a couple rocks at him. Eventually, he walked into the backyard where he chewed on plums and apples.

This time she threw a big rock at him. He grunted and stepped toward her. Feeling threatened, Sally Fuchs returned to her car. She had her pistol with her, but she knew she could not fire within city limits. So she called her husband.

Mike Fuchs was raised in Livingston. He is an avid fly fisherman and active hunter.

“I used to go hunting more often, but when you get married you got other things to spend money on,” Mike Fuchs said.

Faced with a concerned wife, Fuchs thought of stories he had heard of male deer getting aggressive during mating season and hurting, even killing, people.

“Sally called with a what-if situation,” Mike Fuchs said. “I took care of the what-if.”

Both Fuchs wish the deer could have been tranquilized and transported. Sally Fuchs was hesitant about Mike calling Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and admits she initially blamed her husband for the deer’s death.

“Maybe if he hadn’t called things would have been different,” Sally Fuchs said.

Mike Fuchs figures his wife would feel differently had she been attacked and he had not called the appropriate authorities.

“We didn’t want this deer killed,” Sally said. “The decision was Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks’.”