< PREVIOUS SLIDE SLIDE 1 of 4 NEXT SLIDE > Commercial fishermen helped rescue a deer about five miles away from shore off the coast of Addison, Maine. © Jared Thaxter

A group of fishermen on a lobster boat reeled in an unexpected catch off the coast of Maine.



Jared Thaxter, who was aboard Warren (Ren) Dorr's commercial fishing boat, told ABC News the three men were off the coast of Addison, Maine, just south of Nash Island when the incredible rescue took place.

Dorr shared a series of photos on Facebook that showed how he and two other lobstermen helped rescue a deer that they spotted swimming five miles (eight kilometres) offshore.

"Couldn’t let the poor guy suffer and drown so we brought him aboard and sailed him half hour to land and dropped him off on the beach," Dorr wrote on Facebook. "And sailed back out to haul!"

© Jared Thaxter Commercial fishermen spotted a deer in the waters off the coast of Addison, Maine.

Dorr, a captain aboard the Ryss & Stace 32-foot commercial fishing vehicle, received countless thank yous and congratulatory comments on the Facebook post, which has over 5,600 likes and nearly 1,000 comments as of the time of publication.

"We had to circle a few times to get a hold of him," Thaxter said. "They grabbed him by the spikes and maybe a leg or two and just dragged him in."

Once the deer was safely aboard the boat, they gave the animal space and let it rest, Thaxter added.



Thaxter, who worked alongside Shawn Dowling, his stern man, told ABC News he "just started going [out] with them as the third man about a week ago."

"It was a great feeling once they helped him back into the water, headed in the right direction, and to see him finally touch land," Thaxter said."

"It was definitely worth the time and effort," he added. "You can't let anything suffer like that when you can easily help."