Tennessee boater jumps in to rescue struggling fawn

June 30 (UPI) -- A Tennessee boater jumped into a lake to save a fawn struggling to keep its head above the water and the rescue was caught on camera.

Caitlin Ridell said in a Facebook post she was boating Sunday with her boyfriend, Rob Hersch, and his roommate, Tim Wilhoit, at Choto Marina on Fort Loudoun Lake.

She said the group spotted an object they initially thought was a log until it began to move.

"We knew it was some sort of animal. I thought it was a beaver or something at first. Tim joked he thought it was a chihuahua because it was so small," Ridell told WATE-TV. "We finally realized it was a deer and it was a good ways away from the bank and it was really struggling at that point, so we kind of panicked for a second and weren't sure what to do."

Wilhoit pulled the boat up loader to the struggling fawn and Hersch jumped into the water wearing his flotation device, Ridell said.

"We saw the deer go under water completely for a second and saw some bubbles go up," Ridell said. "Then Rob jumped into the water. I threw him a second life jacket and he swam up to it and wrapped the deer up."

Ridell's video shows Hersch towing the deer to shore.

"As he got closer to the bank the fawn looked like it had kind of given up or was scared. When he got it up to the bank the guy from Choto picked it up and held it kind of like a little puppy dog almost. It seemed to have a sense of comfort about it once the guy got it to take it and dry it off," Ridell said.

She said an employee of the Choto Marina contacted the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.