Woman heartbroken after beloved pet donkey HeeHaw shot and killed by police
A woman has been left heartbroken after her beloved pet donkey HeeHaw was shot and killed by a police officer during a search for a missing person.
Hannah Israel, who lives in Cedartown, Georgia, says police went onto her land without permission while looking for a missing child at around 12.45am on Sunday (30 August).
In a post on Facebook, Hannah said that police told her the miniature donkey ‘ran up to them braying and they thought they were in danger and shot and killed him after trying to [Tase] him’.
The devastated farm owner said that the little bottle-fed donkey was ‘her son’ and was raised in the house as one of the family.
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She continued: “HeeHaw was raised in the house and did petting zoos he never knew a stranger.
"And was shot and killed in his OWN pasture for doing what donkeys do. Alerting to a stranger.”
Israel also claimed that officers didn’t tell her where HeeHaw had been killed and said that it took her and her family around 20 minutes of searching to find his body.
The city of Cedartown has since confirmed that an officer has been placed on leave while an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the shooting continues.
In a statement to 11 Alive, the city of Cedartown said: “The Cedartown Police Department is aware that a city police officer shot and killed a donkey in the early hours of Sunday morning.
“A Cedartown police officer was on the scene after being called by Polk County Police to assist with a nighttime search for a missing child. The child had not been found at of the time of the shooting.
“Thankfully, the child was later located at a church near the pasture where the donkey was killed.
“The Cedartown Police Department has turned over the investigation of the animal shooting to the Georgia Department of Agriculture Law Enforcement Division for investigation and placed the officer involved on paid administrative leave while this investigation is ongoing. Because of the nature of this investigation, neither the Cedartown Police Department nor any other city department can comment further on the matter at this time.”
The Polk County Sheriff's Office has since confirmed its agency was not involved in the shooting.
"We extend our sincere condolences to the family and everyone affected by this unfortunate incident. We understand the concern and sadness surrounding what occurred," the sheriff’s office added.
LADbible has reached out to the Cedartown Police Department for comment.
The family has launched a fundraiser
Hannah has since launched a GoFundMe page to raise funds to ‘cover lawyer fees after HeeHaw’s tragic death’.
A statement on the fundraiser from Hannah says the ‘bottle baby donkey’ was killed by ‘trespassing cops’.
“He was a loved member of our family and did many petting zoos and made many people smile,” she wrote.
“We are raising money for lawyer fees. Anything not used for [a] lawyer will go directly back to the animals care and feed.”
At the time of writing, the page has raised $116,000 (£out of a target of $170,000.
Hannah also confirmed exactly where those funds will go, with HeeHaw hopefully leaving a legacy which will hopefully improve life for the other animals on the farm.
The update read: "We are blown away by the support of our community! Thank you to everyone who has donated, shared, called, texted, made shirts, the list goes on! HeeHaw's life mattered and y’all have proved that!
"I have hired a lawyer that won’t be using the go fund me money. So if you gave for the lawyer purpose please feel free to dispute that and get your money back. We will be using any donations left for the farm, care of the animals, a fund for making a HeeHaw foundation and none of it for our personal needs. This is not a pay day for us. Heehaws life has no monetary value.
"Thank y’all so much for your support."
Topics: Animals
Claire Reid