Billy Slater and his wife’s unusual pet has sent people into a fervour as they regularly share videos of the animal playing.
It would seem that ‘Cheryl’, as she has been named, has really captured the imagination of not only Australia, but also garnered an international audience.
Those who enjoy the videos of the deer frolicking include the likes of Paris Hilton and Ariana Grande.
Cheryl has become the main focus of Nicole Slater’s Instagram, with her page littered with videos of their pet deer.
Recently, she posted a video of the deer adorned in Queensland maroon ahead of the start of State of Origin.
And she has been well received, with a recent Instagram post claming that Cheryl’s videos have received over 70 million views.
Billy and Nicole Slater boasts a wide array of animals on their farm including a deer called Cheryl, two guinea pigs and a number of horses
Cheryl the deer has racked up over 70 million views on Nicole Slater’s Instagram
Cheryl can often be seen bounding about on the Slaters’ farm as she enjoys so much freedom
In the post, she wrote, ’70+ million. To celebrate Cheryl’s fan club like @parishilton, @rikve and @arianagrande and many more. Here is a highlight reel so far.’
In the past, Paris Hilton has responded to a video of Cheryl playing with the family dog Alfie with a heart-eyes emoji.
While having a deer as a pet may be somewhat unusual, it should come as no surprise to those who follow Billy and Nicole on social media.
Nicole often posts videos of herself with her horse, so her love for animals is very clear.
That is also reflected in her art, with the majority of her pieces centred around horses as well.
When Cheryl was brought into the art studio while Nicole worked on her horses, Dannii Minogue was also smitten.
‘Cheryl!!!!!!!’ she wrote under the post, with a heart emoji.
Nicole spoke about Cheryl’s fame on 774 Melbourne, saying, ‘My husband actually, I can blame for this one.
‘We do collect a lot of animals, we have rescued a lot of animals, we breed racehorses, we’ve got pheasants, birds, right down to guinea pigs Shirley and Greta.
Nicole’s art work often reflects what she sees around her farm with horses being a prominent feature
Cheryl even had time to pose with the horse art work in her highlight video
‘The farm is wild and then my husband found this lady that we are breeding a quarter horse with, and she had a deer, this baby deer.
‘And my husband asked two-and-a-half years ago, “Where did you get that?” and he found out how we could get one.
‘We were on the waiting list for two-and-a-half years and then we got the call that there was one ready, so he had to jump in the car with our daughter and drive a 14-hour round trip to pick up Cheryl.’
So it seemed that they had plenty of time to wait and come up with the comical name for the deer.
Nicole also spoke of some ground rules around the farm, some of which seemingly do not apply to Cheryl.
‘We are not allowed animals in this house; we built this farm, we started seven years ago, there wasn’t a post in the ground, so we built this brand new home.
‘And the rule was no animals in the house. This is the only animal that is allowed in the house and lives inside.
‘She goes on the couch whenever she likes, she just does whatever she wants and it’s the funniest thing.
‘The dogs are sitting outside, they know not to pass the line where the doors open, they know that rule, but Cheryl can come and go as she pleases.
‘So dare I say she has got a little sweet spot with all of us at the moment.’
So there you have it: Cheryl went from capturing the heart of her own family to capturing the hearts of over 70 million viewers.
