Coming across a deer in Greater Victoria is pretty common, but a woman’s recent encounter with one is said to be the first of its kind on the South Island.

A buck charged at a woman who was out jogging with her dog in Fairfield Monday evening.

“The deer went up on his hind legs. It looked like he kind of stomped on the dog with his front legs and then he had his head down and he nailed her with his antlers,” said Natalie Bowes, who witnessed the attack.

The dog’s owner fell onto the sidewalk and sustained minor bruising.

BC Conservation officer Peter Pauwels confirmed it’s the first-ever report of a deer physically attacking someone on the South Island.

“Pretty much 100 per cent of aggressive interactions with people involve a dog and it’s a dog that is what the deer is unhappy with,” Pauwels told CTV News. “If a person is there with the dog, they’re just collateral damage.”

Just a few hours later and a few blocks away in Oak Bay, Stella, a miniature pinscher, was attacked by a buck as well.

“The buck came at her and when she went close to it, she started stomping her feet, her hooves, on my little dog,” said Shawn Burton, the dog’s owner.

It’s unclear if it was the same buck in both attacks.

Encounters between deer and dogs are not uncommon.

In 2010, a dog took a beating from a doe in Cranbrook after getting too close to its young fawn.

Conservation officers say during the fall months, people need to be cautious around bucks.

“This time of year we have bucks that are in the rut and they become very aggressive,” Pauwels said. “They become very unpredictable and they do things that they normally wouldn’t.”

Officials are warning people not to approach the animal if they see one. 

“You want to avoid the buck getting up on its hind legs and making contact with you so try and put something between you and the deer,” Pauwels said.

Conservation officers say safety is the primary concern. They will kill a deer if it becomes a problem, but it hasn’t come to that just yet.

Burton plans to keep a watchful eye over Stella over the next few days.

“She’s walking around with a little bit of a limp today. I’m going to take her to the vet tomorrow to get her checked out,” Burton said. “She may have a small fracture or something like that.”

With a report from CTV Vancouver Island's Louise Hartland