A deer that had been running around Coupeville for weeks with an arrow sticking out of its back is apparently free from its painful burden.

At least a half dozen Central Whidbey residents called 911 since mid-September to report the woeful buck.

In the evening of Sept. 29, a lieutenant with the Island County Sheriffs Office responded to a report of the deer in the area of Northeast Fourth Street. The deputy saw the buck with the arrow imbedded in the area of the spine.

The deer appeared to be moving easily as the deputy approached it and didn’t seem like it was suffering, the deputy noted in a report. The deputy took a photo but wasn’t able to “dispatch” it with a gun since the area was surrounded by houses.

Ralph Downes, an enforcement officer with Fish and Wildlife, said the department was notified of the deer. An officer stopped by in the area but wasn’t able to find the deer.

Then on Oct. 6, Downes was notified that the arrow came out of the deer’s back on its own.

Archery season for black-tail deer on Whidbey Island is Sept. 1-24, though it’s not allowed within the town. Coupeville is well known for having a multitude of semi-tame deer walking through streets and yards. A doe and its youngster recently walked across the school football field in the middle of a game.