CEDARTOWN, Ga. (ANF/Gray News) — A beloved pet donkey was shot to death Sunday by a police officer in Georgia, officials said.

Hannah Israel said her farm is “definitely not the same” without her 1-year-old donkey named HeeHaw.

Israel said she did not hear the gunshots but woke up to the heartbreaking phone call at 12:45 a.m. Sunday from police.

Israel said a police officer shot HeeHaw in his own pasture. Officers were on the property searching for a local missing child.

Israel said police told her they shot HeeHaw after attempts to hit him with a Taser failed because he was running toward them, braying or yelling.

“That would be normal for him because he’s saying hi. That’s what donkeys do. That’s just being a donkey,” Israel said.

Israel and her family are demanding answers after the tragic shooting. She questions how the officer got on the property in the first place.

“We’re very traumatized and shocked,” Israel said. “He just had his first birthday a couple of months ago. So he was still a baby, and he was my little, he was my kid. He followed me everywhere, just like a dog would.”

Israel said she had bottle-raised HeeHaw from birth inside her home. The baby donkey participated in petting zoos at their farm and mobile petting zoos around the community.

Israel said HeeHaw loved all animals and people, and that he never knew a stranger.

“He would normally be right here, wherever I was. If he wasn’t here beside me, he was on the other side of the fence following me wherever I was going,” Israel said.

Cedartown police confirmed one of its officers shot and killed HeeHaw. That officer is now on paid administrative leave.

Officials said the Cedartown officer was assisting Polk County police in searching for a missing child. Police said the child was later found at a church near the pasture where the donkey was killed.

“He should not be dead. The whole circumstances literally say that HeeHaw shouldn’t have died. And donkeys live to be about 35 to 40 years old. Like, I thought I would raise my future kids with HeeHaw, but instead he’s gone. So, it’s very devastating,” Israel said.

Israel is calling for better training and protocols when responding to properties with animals.

Israel said her family has hired a lawyer to pursue legal action.

“Because it’s not OK to enter someone’s property and then shoot their ... He was my kid. He wasn’t just a livestock animal. He was literally my child, and it’s just been devastating emotionally,” Israel said.

The Cedartown Police Department has turned over the shooting to the Georgia Department of Agriculture Law Enforcement Division.

“I cannot imagine the grief and frustration that the tragic loss of HeeHaw has caused,” said Cedartown police chief Jamie Newsome.

The family has started a GoFundMe to help pay for legal fees.

Copyright 2026 ANF via Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved.