'I'm just here, and then poof, I'm gone? Did I do anything that will last?' 'Is this all there is?' I said out loud to a Creator I thought would not answer me. Melanie Butera found out her cancer had returned, her doctor told her to go home and get her affairs in order. Love was the universal language, and Dillie was fluent in love. It didn't matter that all these people came from different professions, social circles, or countries. Steve and I met artists, photographers, musicians, reporters, and animal lovers from around the globe because of our deer. Many of Dillie's fans became personal friends. The DillieCam registered more than a thousand hits a day, and hundreds of people friended Dillie on her Facebook page. People all over the world now knew Dillie. Another mother wrote that her autistic child watched Dillie and petted her through the computer screen. One drawing showed Dillie wearing stiletto heels with a note from the child's mother explaining that her child thought Dillie's hooves looked like high heels. Many of the letters were in children's scrawls and included crayon pictures of Dillie. I received countless e-mails and letters thanking Steve and me for saving Dillie and sharing her story. The Cleveland Fox station publicized the DillieCam, and Dillie started getting thousands of hits. Mark fed Dillie roses on camera, which she gobbled up in a single chomp. She stood on the bed and posed for the camera like a pro. With the webcam up and running, Mark and his cameraman came down from Cleveland to film their clip.

'Do you think people really want to watch her sit on her bed and drool?'

He wanted to film a segment on Dillie, but with a twist: A webcam would be set up in her room so viewers could watch her after the story. 'Hi, this is Mark Zinni, from Fox, channel eight,' said a youthful, energetic voice. One night in January 2010, I took a call before heading up to bed.

Dillie the Deer by Melanie Butera