--- title: Deer Just Trying to Stay Cool Did Some Laps in a Pool description: A deer was discovered in a New Jersey neighborhood's swimming pool, casually doing some laps in the water. canonical: https://time.com/5356379/deer-in-pool/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-08-02T16:42:45.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:54:07.828Z og:title: Deer Just Trying to Stay Cool Did Some Laps in a Pool og:description: The New Jersey deer was safely rescued from its aquatic recreational pursuits og:url: https://time.com/5356379/deer-in-pool/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt78889d68db9d28d0/698936e4096a944eaf6a313b/deer-on-road.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TOPSHOT-US-WILDFIRES-CALIFORNIA og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Deer Just Trying to Stay Cool Did Some Laps in a Pool twitter:description: The New Jersey deer was safely rescued from its aquatic recreational pursuits twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt78889d68db9d28d0/698936e4096a944eaf6a313b/deer-on-road.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Deer Just Trying to Stay Cool Did Some Laps in a Pool  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Aug 2, 2018 4:42 PM UTC  TOPSHOT - A deer stands on a road painted with fire retardant during the Carr fire near the town of Igo, California on July 28, 2018\. - The US federal government approved aid Saturday for California as thousands of firefighters battled to contain a series of deadly raging wildfires that have killed six people and destroyed hundreds of buildings. (Photo by JOSH EDELSON / AFP) (Photo credit should read JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images) TOPSHOT - A deer stands on a road painted with fire retardant during the Carr fire near the town of Igo, California on July 28, 2018\. - The US federal government approved aid Saturday for California as thousands of firefighters battled to contain a series of deadly raging wildfires that have killed six people and destroyed hundreds of buildings. (Photo by JOSH EDELSON / AFP) (Photo credit should read JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images)JOSH EDELSON—AFP/Getty Images  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Aug 2, 2018 4:42 PM UTC Look, we’re all going through it with the [summer heat wave](http://time.com/5342627/wildfires-arctic-circle-sweden-heat-wave/). All of us: adults, children, dogs… deer. That’s certainly the case for one [New Jersey](http://time.com/5305503/state-trooper-surprise-cop-delivered-him/) woodland creature who decided to take a dip in a residential pool earlier this week, just chilling amongst the pool floaties in an apparent attempt to beat the [all-consuming heat](http://time.com/money/5332885/best-fan-cheap-value/). The Township of Hamilton Police Department shared their amusing animal encounter [on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story%5Ffbid=1982328578500333&id=242762849123590) on Monday, retelling the story of the lap-swimming deer who figured out a smart way to take advantage of human development in its homeland. “This little cutie decided that it was a bit too humid out today and was looking for some relief!” the police explained in their post. “Officers Thumhart, Bakker and McCarthy were able to use the deer rescue training they learned in the academy (not really) to safely remove the deer from the pool. It then decided to take in some sun and relax for a few minutes, before running back into the woods to spread the word!” From the photos, it appears the police were able to remove the deer from the water without any incidences; you can see it reclining, seemingly relaxed, as the officers snapped some images with their new friend. While it’s unclear if its swim was intentional or not, the pool owner might want to keep an eye out for return visits: we are in for plenty more warm weather through the rest of August. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5356379/deer-in-pool/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5356379/deer-in-pool/"},"headline":"This Deer Just Trying to Stay Cool Did Some Laps in a Pool","datePublished":"2018-08-02T16:42:45.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:54:07.828Z","description":"\"This little cutie decided that it was a bit too humid out today and was looking for some relief!\"","url":"https://time.com/5356379/deer-in-pool/","keywords":["Newsfeed","animals"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt78889d68db9d28d0/698936e4096a944eaf6a313b/deer-on-road.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt78889d68db9d28d0/698936e4096a944eaf6a313b/deer-on-road.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"TOPSHOT-US-WILDFIRES-CALIFORNIA","caption":"TOPSHOT-US-WILDFIRES-CALIFORNIA","creditText":"JOSH EDELSON—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5356379/deer-in-pool/","name":"This Deer Just Trying to Stay Cool Did Some Laps in a Pool"}}]}] ```