In side their one-storey, metal-roofed house on Vancouver Island's west coast,Janet Schwartz and her domesticated deer, Bimbo,are returning to their normal lives. The law--represented by men and women dressed in black uniforms and carrying guns -- is no longer threatening to forcibly separate Schwartz and Bimbo,freeing the l0-year-old deer to the fates of the surrounding rainforest and its hungry wolves and black bears. 

"We love each other,"said Schwartz who turned 70 on Saturday. "she'll come up to me and she'll kiss me right on the lips,1ike a man kisses a woman'' 

For four days last week,Schwartz' life turned as rocky as the rough logging road that connected her life to the outside world. Conservation officers had arrived with orders to 1oose Bimbo. Schwartz was to1d she wasn't allowed to touch Bimbo any more It seemed somebody had complained,said Environment Minister Terry Lake earlier in the week, noting it's illegal to keep wild animals as pets. 

During those tense days,sleepless nights were made even more restless by nightmares,said Schwartz. There were news stories and Facebook pages which supported Schwartz and by Friday,the government had changed its mind. Schwartz could keep her pet with the help of a veterinarian and conservation officers. 

"It makes me feel good,"said Schwartz of the announcement."She is my life.and I've had her since the day she's been born." 

The relationship began when a friend found the orphaned fawn along a nearby logging road,more than a kilometer away from her current home,said Schwartz. The friend brought the fawn over because she knew Schwartz had raised a deer before. 

Schwartz named the fawn Bimbo,based on a Gene Autry song that was playing inside her home at the time,and began feeding the animal goat's milk. 

Days turned into months and years, and now Bimbo's a part of the family.
How does the deer show a special connection to her?
she'll come up to me and she'll kiss me right on the lips,1ike a man kisses a woman'' 