Hannah Israel has released footage of her baby donkey HeeHaw nuzzling her just three days before a Georgia police officer shot him dead.
Israel, who owns the Elsberry Riding and Farm ranch in Rockmart, Georgia, posted the clip as she presses for answers about the killing of the one-year-old animal she bottle-raised inside her home. The video shows HeeHaw walking toward her, rubbing his head against her as she ruffles his mane. “Hi, HeeHaw,” she says in the footage. “How are you? Good morning. Good morning, HeeHaw.”
Cedartown Police Department officer Trenton Garner, a K-9 handler who joined the force in July 2023, fired the fatal shot at approximately 12:45 a.m. On Sunday. Garner was among officers who entered Israel’s pasture without permission or warning while tracking footprints during a search for a missing 12-year-old girl. The child was later found safe at a church near the property.
Israel has been vocal across social media about the trauma her family has endured. “Cops entered my pasture searching for a missing person WITHOUT permission or warning and shot and killed my bottle raised BABY donkey,” she wrote in one post. “HeeHaw was raised in the house and did petting zoos he never knew a stranger.”
According to Garner’s incident report, fellow K-9 Handler Thomasson spotted HeeHaw on a hillside and the donkey began moving toward the officers. Thomasson reportedly deployed his Taser, but the device failed to stop the animal. Garner then drew his department-issued Glock 17 and fired once. HeeHaw turned and climbed back up the hill before collapsing.
Israel told AZ Family that HeeHaw “would never act aggressive towards anyone, nor would it try to bite anyone.” She noted he was accustomed to people through his work at petting zoos and believed he had been killed for “doing what donkeys do. Alerting to a stranger.”
The shooting has drawn sharp scrutiny of police protocols during the search. Israel said her family is “very traumatized and shocked” by what happened. She had celebrated HeeHaw’s first birthday only months earlier and envisioned decades with him. “Like, I thought I would raise my future kids with HeeHaw, but instead he’s gone. So, it’s very devastating,” she said.
Cedartown Police Chief Jamie Newsome confirmed in a video statement that Garner has been placed on administrative leave. The Georgia Department of Agriculture Law Enforcement is conducting an independent investigation into the shooting, which remains ongoing.
Israel also shared a photograph of HeeHaw after the shooting, calling him her “son.” The donkey’s death has resonated widely online, with the final-days footage underscoring for viewers the contrast between the gentle animal Israel knew and the threat officers perceived in a dark pasture.
The incident began when Cedartown officers followed footprints onto the Elsberry Riding and Farm ranch property during the overnight search for the missing girl. The officers entered the petting zoo area, where horses became spooked and ran across the pasture. The situation escalated from there, with HeeHaw becoming the second animal encountered and the only one shot.
The Georgia Department of Agriculture Law Enforcement continues its independent review of the shooting.