METHUEN - Don Brouck was home alone Wednesday afternoon when he heard a funny noise on the back porch.

"I looked out and there was a full-size deer banging his head against the window," Brouck said.

The head banging was just the beginning. Seconds later, the disoriented deer burst through a glass door, launching a path of destruction in the Broucks' home of 37 years.

In the end, Methuen police shot and killed the deranged deer, and Brouck and his wife were left with thousands of dollars in damage and a big, big mess to clean up. Tables were toppled, glass was broken and blood was smeared on walls, floors, fences and doors. Some of the damaged items, including quilts Linda Brouck made, were destroyed.

The house is "completely trashed," the mother of two grown children said yesterday. She sat on the front porch as a Servicemaster crew was cleaning inside. The couple were waiting for insurance adjusters to come by and assess the damage.

"I don't know what the bottom line is going to be," Don Brouck said.

The Broucks are no strangers to wild animals. They've seen turkeys, raccoons, deer and foxes in their yard, which sits at the intersections of Pelham and Salem streets. The couple ran a floral shop on the property until the mid-1990s.

They said they believe the deer may have been hurt before it wandered into their yard around 4:30 Wednesday afternoon. The Broucks don't know who made the call, but someone alerted a city animal control officer as the deer started acting up. Soon a crowd gathered.

"There were a whole bunch of people out here," Don Brouck said, pointing toward Pelham Street.

When the animal control officer arrived, she called police for backup, he said.

It took only minutes for the deer to ruin the house. Meanwhile, officers were trying to figure out how the subdue the animal. Once the deer made its way to a back patio, the animal was shot and put down, Brouck said.

"For the deer's safety, we put it out of its misery," Lt. Thomas Fram said. "It was thrashing inside and outside."

The animal control officer removed the deer from the property, Fram said.

Also, in the middle of all the commotion, a police officer had to go to the hospital. Patrolman Donald Craig was stung by a bee and due to an allergy needed immediate medical attention.

A police report on the incident was incomplete yesterday. The animal control officer who responded Wednesday afternoon could not be reached for comment.

When it was all over, Brouck called his wife, who was on her way home from work in Lexington, to warn her. But she missed the calls on her cell phone, and when she pulled into the driveway, she noticed patio furniture was tipped over on the back deck. She first thought that maybe her husband knocked over the table with a garden hose while he was working outside.

Then she got a good look inside.

"It's just awful," she said yesterday.

And, believe it or not, the Broucks' ordeal still wasn't over.

With their house in shambles, the couple decided to eat out Wednesday night. They took nearby Hampshire Road and drove to T Bones in Salem, N.H. After dinner, as they drove home, they must have run through wet paint on the road.

They got out of their silver sedan and found yellow paint smeared along the bottom of the car.

Yesterday, Don Brouck took a few minutes to go out and grab MegaMillions lottery tickets. He hopes his luck will change soon.

"I'm waiting," he said with a chuckle.

Staff reporter Jill Harmacinski can be reached at 978-946-2209 or by e-mail at JHarmacinski@eagletribune.com.