An Ohio grandmother who devoted more than a decade to rescuing and rehabilitating injured deer was killed by one of the animals inside an enclosure on her property — and confusion over which buck was responsible has stirred intense public debate.
For the last 12 years, 64-year-old Jodi Proger cared for whitetail deer on her five-acre property in Stewartsville, Ohio, about two hours south of Akron.
On Nov. 15, Proger was fatally injured by a buck after she became trapped in an enclosure with the animal, WSYX reported. Belmont County law enforcement officers said they were forced to shoot the aggressive deer in order to reach her. She was pronounced dead at the scene, though officials have not released specific details about her injuries.
Proger’s journey as a rehabilitator began in 2013, when she witnessed a doe being struck and killed by a car on an Ohio highway. Nearby, its days-old fawn circled the mother’s body on the side of the road.
“I wasn’t gonna do it but I did it,” she told The Dodo in an earlier interview, recalling how she turned her car around, picked up the newborn male and took him home.
She named the fawn Wheezer. Two years later, after someone filed a complaint with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the agency moved to seize and euthanize the deer — a situation similar to the high-profile case of P’Nut the squirrel in upstate New York in 2024. Proger fought to keep Wheezer and ultimately prevailed, later expanding her efforts to rescue and rehabilitate other deer.
“He’s like a big dog,” she said of Wheezer in a 2015 interview with 12 On Your Side.
On social media, Proger frequently chronicled life with Wheezer, sharing photos of the buck sprawling across couches and beds and posing with her in coordinated holiday outfits for Christmas, St. Patrick’s Day and Valentine’s Day. In some images, she even appeared to share food mouth-to-mouth with him as his antlers grew into an impressive six-point rack.
Over the years, Proger brought home at least four other deer, both does and bucks, according to Facebook posts dating back to last year. In some photos, a wild deer stands beside two children she identified as her granddaughters, with one child captured kissing the animal’s shoulder.
Following Proger’s death, her daughter Jennifer Bryan took to Facebook to shut down speculation that Wheezer was the deer that killed her mother.
“Wheezer DID NOT kill my mom,” Bryan wrote in a detailed post. “He was neutered per the requirements of [Ohio Department of Natural Resources] when she received her permit.”
She stressed that her mother was properly licensed and fully aware of the dangers that come with caring for wild animals.
“My mom knew the dangers of owning deer,” Bryan wrote. “She worked within Belmont county to rescue and aide [sic] many animals over her lifespan. This is a sad tragedy and we deserve RESPECT and time to grieve.”
According to the National Park Service, male whitetail deer can stand more than three feet tall at the shoulder and weigh up to 300 pounds, making a close encounter with an aggressive buck potentially deadly.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the Ohio Department of Agriculture are investigating Proger’s death, WSYX reported. The Belmont County Police Department did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Deer are already considered the deadliest animals in the United States due largely to vehicle collisions. They are responsible for roughly 440 deaths in an average year and account for more than 96% of all wildlife-related fatalities, according to the Washington Post.
