Is this still a great country, or what?

Out of the produce section and through the exit

Parts of it, anyway. In rural Pennsylvania, deer crashes supermarket party and is ushered out by shoppers.

Robert Beck III needed some cold medicine, but ended up with a deer in his hands instead.

The Conewago Township resident had been at the Verizon store just outside Manchester Monday night with his wife, Tonya.

They walked to the Giant store to get a couple things. Beck, 45, an avid hunter, who most call "Bobby" or "Bob," has been battling a head cold for the last few weeks. They were there to get some Gatorade and cough medicine.

So the couple grabbed a cart and went to the first aisle.

But three minutes into their visit: a loud bang, followed by some shouts and screams.

"First thing I thought, 'Man, there's someone in here with a frickin' gun," Beck said.

Turns out, that guess was wrong.

A deer had busted through the glass of an entrance door at the grocery store. It was shortly after 9 p.m.

He then caught a glimpse of a doe running toward the store's bakery section, where muffins and doughnuts sit behind glass.

"When I seen it, it was game-on," he said.

Beck later learned the deer had made it back to the vegetable and fruits, but ran back toward the front. When he spotted the doe, Beck grabbed her around the neck and made her do a U-turn, away from all the bakery glass.

He then started leading her out of the store, but she got spooked when they turned a corner and spotted more people. She started kicking and squirming.

The deer kicked him in the ribs, knocking him down.

"I think she was scared from all those people," he said. "She was like, 'Oh my God, what the heck did I get myself into?'"

Fortunately, Beck got some help from two other shoppers, including another hunter. That man offered to help hold the deer. Another man put a jacket or shirt over her head.

They led her outside, to the side of the building near a field. Beck checked her out and noticed she had a bloody nose, which he guessed was from hitting the entrance. Other than that, she looked fine.

"Then she ran back towards Starbucks, and that's the last I saw her," he said.

Northeastern Regional Police responded to the Giant. The store ended up with minor damage. By the time officers arrived, the deer was long gone.

The department praised Beck's efforts.

Still, it warned against the average citizen getting involved with controlling a wild animal.

"There is too much risk of injury to the citizen," Northeastern Regional Police Chief Bryan Rizzo said.

"If the citizen is an experienced hunter or someone with experience in wildlife then I would say they should use their own judgment," Rizzo continued. "In this case, it was a hunter who had experience in handling live deer, and we are grateful for his intervention and quick thinking in getting the deer under control before the animal could injure anyone, itself or do more damage."

As I recall, the last incident like this we had in town, a buck crashed into a restaurant/ food-store at the top of the Avenue, and Greenwich residents all had to wait for the police to arrive and tranquilize the poor thing and remove it. At the time, our chief made no suggestion that citizens "use their own judgment" in these situations, which was probably wise. But they're made of sterner stuff outside the metropolitan area, it seems.