When I was growing up, I always had animals that were part of the family: dogs, horses, birds, among many other species. Us animal lovers are usually pretty open about the fact we love animals with passion—so when others find injured or orphan animals, they tend to turn to us for help. People asked my dad for help with different kinds of animals all the time, and of course, I was so happy about it because being an animal person is part inherited.

When I was about 11 years old, a friend of my dad gave us a fawn; she was an orphan because her mother was hunted and killed by a human, ironic right? Humans saving animals from other humans. I couldn’t understand how was that even possible at the time. All I knew was the love my family and I felt for animals, and never even considered how someone could possibly intentionally hurt or dislike them.

In any case, at that moment our house was small, or at least not big enough to have a fawn inside. It was tile floor and too slippery for her delicate hoofs, but like my dad, I was sure nobody else would give her better care than us. It was true, we might not have been veterinarians or anything similar, but we had a pretty good knowledge about animals, and most importantly, we had the best knowledge about love.

Something important to remember is that animals have instincts, particularly the wild ones, as they see us as predators. This instinct is already developed and passed down through generations; but despite their instincts they can still imprint on humans, especially when they are babies.

Faline, who I named after one of the main characters of the movie Bambi, was a newborn deer, which made it easier for her to imprint on us. When a “wild” animal is raised under human care, it is unlikely for them to survive in their natural habitat. Thankfully, we had something very similar to a natural habitat for her to live.

A couple of years before Faline arrived in our lives, my dad bought a farm outside the city, with big green areas and all for her. No predators, no danger, just love. We would visit her every weekend for the next eight years that she was on this earth. When we were there, she would enter the house and watch TV with us, among many other things that made me realized how similar they can be to domestic animals. We would tell people about her and they all seemed impressed, ask how was that even possible. I never gave it too much thought.

Now that I look back, I understand the reason why: Love is stronger than instincts.