A lifeguard is never off the clock. His duty goes beyond the assigned hours and extends to any situation when a life is in danger. Besides that, a lifeguard should also be able to rise to the challenge and become a first-responder paramedic should the occasion call for it. However, recently, a surfing enthusiast who doubles as a Belmar lifeguard added animal rescue to the list of duties.

Thomas Buckley, a 22-year-old resident of New Jersey, has melted the hearts of all with his heroic act of compassion. As a Belmar lifeguard, he is responsible for all beachgoers’ safety. But when he saw a poor deer in need of rescue, he didn’t hesitate to go beyond the fine print of his employment contract.

Surfing enthusiast going beyond the call of duty

Thomas Buckley had six years of lifeguarding experience under his belt, but the rescue of a distressed deer was a first for him. He had no experience with handling a deer and didn’t know how it would react. But when he saw the poor creature stranded in the water on Labor Day, he could not help but react. To make things worse for the young surfing enthusiast, a huge tropical storm was blowing through New Jersey at the time. Speaking to People Magazine, Buckley said, “I get to the beach…First thing I see… a deer head floating in the water”. The poor animal was “gasping for air” and tried its best to stay afloat in the ocean. The young lifeguard wasted no time and put his surfing skills to good use as he paddled out to the deer.

By the time Buckley could move beyond the thrashing waves, the deer had “swam parallel to the shore all the way to the 13th Ave jetty”. The deer stood on top of the rocky jetty, shivering in fear. Thomas Buckley surfed close to the jetty and splashed the buck with water so that it would jump back into the ocean. This would allow him to guide the deer back to the beach. But the swells were beyond his control, and he didn’t want to go close to the jetty for fear of an accident. At one point, the ocean showed him a favor, and he seized the opportunity for the final push.

A glimpse of hope

The standoff between the buck and Buckley continued for about 10 minutes when the waves finally scared the deer back into the water. By that time, the brave surfing lad had jumped into the water. The currents pushed the deer against his body, and he hit the jetty on his back. However, he was not injured and quickly mounted his surfboard again. The buck started swimming back to the shore, and he surfed alongside him, egging him on.

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Finally, both hit the shore and fell on the sand face first out of exhaustion. Buckley said, “It just got slammed onto the sand, and it was rolling around in the wash”. But the buck was disoriented and attempted to run back into the water. Buckley put himself between the ocean and the beast, which ultimately “sprinted up the beach and ran north towards First Ave and disappeared”. Thomas Buckley’s act of courage has saved a life and is a vital lesson in kindness.

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