A Fayette County woman claimed a deer as her pet. The Game Commission took it, saying that's illegal.

There's a dispute over who has the rights to a wild deer in Fayette County. One woman tried to claim the deer as her pet, giving it a dog collar and even getting it vaccinated. But the Pennsylvania Game Commission says she can't do that and took it away from her. 

Tammy Shiery of Bullskin Township says she has the paperwork to prove the 2-year-old buck she calls "Baby" is hers. She says the Game Commission violently took Baby away on Feb. 25. 

Neighbors say they love Baby and raised him as a beloved pet from the time they found him at a few weeks old. They believe they went through the proper channels to keep him as a domesticated pet. Shiery said the vet vaccinated Baby.

"So, he had all the vaccines that they do for deer farms," Shiery said. 

Shiery even went so far as to tag and collar him and used the vet to have him castrated to keep him calm. The Game Commission said when it arrived Feb. 25 to serve a search warrant, it found the buck wearing a collar while a vehicle drove next to it and tried to lead it to a nearby property. 

When the Game Commission came to take deer, citing Pennsylvania law that states it is illegal to own and try to domesticate a wild animal, Shiery tried to stop them. That's when state police came and arrested Shiery, handcuffs and all, over a deer she believes she had a right to have. The charges were later dropped. 

Deer, or other wild animals, can be legally kept as pets in Pennsylvania if they are born in captivity and licensed as domestic. At that point, they fall under the Department of Agriculture's jurisdiction. The issue, according to the Game Commission, is that Baby wasn't born in captivity and therefore does fall under the Game Commission's jurisdiction, and therefore can not be considered domestic. 

Shiery said she thought she had the correct paperwork because she had it through the Department of Agriculture.    

The Game Commission told KDKA-TV they have Baby. He has not been euthanized, and at this point, they are working on deciding the next steps.