Jodi Proger, 64, had spent 12 years helping the whitetail deer until one day, she was attacked by one of the very animals she had rescued, tragically losing her life
A grandmother spent 12 years caring for deer before being killed by the very animal she loved.
Jodi Proger, 64, looked after the creatures on her five-acre property but died after being trapped in a deer enclosure and attacked by a buck. Police officers were forced to shoot the aggressive deer in order to reach Jodi, who was pronounced dead on the scene from her injuries, which were not detailed.
“Family members attempted to intervene and dispatch the animal prior to the arrival of law enforcement to reach the victim; however, the animal was ultimately dispatched by responding deputies to ensure scene safety,” Belmont County Sheriff James Zusack said in a statement.
READ MORE: Animal handler connected to ‘Tiger King’ Joe Exotic mauled by big cat at Oklahoma preserveREAD MORE: Woman killed by her own camel when it knocked her to the floor and tried to mate with her
“Tragically, Ms. Proger succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced deceased at the scene.” Jodi had a long history of working with deer. In 2013, she stepped in after she watched a doe get killed by a car on an Ohio highway — rescuing its days-old fawn as it heartbreakingly circled its mother’s body on the side of the road.
“I wasn’t gonna do it but I did it,” she told The Dodo news outlet, recalling how she turned her car around and scooped up the newborn male. Before long, Wheezer became a regular member of the family.
“He’ll climb up on the loveseat and he’ll watch a little TV and he’ll crash on the loveseat,” Jodi told the outlet, via People, adding that the deer was kept on a dog tether or in an enclosure when left unsupervised. “Him and the dog will lie on the floor with each other. He loves the cats – he licks them to death.”
Following Jodi’s death, her daughter Jennifer Bryan took to social media to clarify that the deer that had attacked her mum was not the one she rescued all those years ago.
READ MORE: Animal lover’s horror death as she’s mauled by her pet bear Teddy
“Wheezer DID NOT kill my mother, he was neutered per the requirements of ODNR when she received her permit,” she wrote in a Facebook post. “My mom knew the dangers of owning deer, she’s been doing this for 12 years.” According to Jennifer, Jodi was alone at the time of the attack as her husband was recovering from a work accident in the hospital.
When the family was unable to reach her, Jennifer sent her husband to the property to search for her mother. “My husband searched the property, unable to locate her [for] what seemed like hours but was probably 20 minutes, he discovered the deer was not locked in and he struggled to close him in,” Bryan explained on social media.
“The deer almost broke my husband’s hands during the struggle,” she continued. “I told Matt to get his gun, if there was a deer in his way to kill it if he had to get to my mother. I stand by this decision.” When she called her husband back, however, Jennifer was told the terrible news.
“I then had to call and talk to my stepdad… and tell him his wife was gone,” she wrote. “I’m sure you could imagine the heartache that was exchanged as I stood outside screaming and crying for my mother.”
