Hannah Israel is demanding justice after Georgia police shot and killed her pet donkey HeeHaw during a late-night search on her property.
Israel, 30, said officers entered her family’s pasture in Cedartown, near the Alabama border, without notice at about 12:45 a.m. While chasing a suspect. The donkey, whom she had bottle-raised from birth, approached the officers and was fatally shot after they attempted to Taze him first.
“They claimed he ran up to them braying and they thought they were in danger and shot and killed him after trying to Taze him,” Israel wrote on Facebook.
“HeeHaw was raised in the house and did petting zoos he never knew a stranger,” Israel added in her post. “And was shot and killed in his OWN pasture for doing what donkeys do. Alerting to a stranger.”
The donkey had come from Elseberry Riding and Farm in Rockmart before Israel raised him at her pasture. She described him as a gentle animal accustomed to human contact through his work at petting zoos.
“We are heartbroken. He was my son,” she wrote.
A photo taken after the shooting showed Israel crying over HeeHaw’s body, the donkey’s eyes still wide open as he lay on the ground.
Cedartown officials confirmed the officer involved has been placed on leave but declined to provide additional details about the incident or the ongoing investigation.
Israel has vowed to pursue legal action over HeeHaw’s death. A GoFundMe campaign established to cover her legal fees had raised more than $76,000 as of Monday afternoon.
The shooting occurred during an unrelated search for a missing person when officers ran through the pasture where HeeHaw was kept.