Public outrage is growing after a Georgia police officer fatally shot a family’s 1-year-old miniature donkey during a search for a missing child.

The incident happened on August 30 at Ellsbury Riding and Farm in Rockmart, Georgia, when Cedartown Police Department officer Trenton Garner, along with a K-9 handler and a bloodhound team, entered a pasture while searching for a missing 12-year-old.

According to Garner’s report, the horses in the pasture became frightened and ran away. The officer then said the K-9 handler noticed a donkey on a nearby hillside.

Garner claimed the donkey suddenly charged toward the officers. The K-9 handler reportedly tried to stop the animal with a Taser, but it had no effect.

Garner then drew his department-issued Glock 17 and fired one shot, striking the donkey.

The animal, named HeeHaw, reportedly turned around before collapsing and later died.

HeeHaw was a beloved family pet who had been raised by Hannah Israel since birth. She said she bottle-fed him as a baby and insisted that he had never shown aggressive behavior toward people.

“I am still completely heartbroken and traumatized by the loss of my beautiful HeeHaw,” Israel said. “He wasn’t ‘just a donkey.’ He was a baby I bottle-raised, loved, and cared for every single day.”

Israel also shared videos showing HeeHaw interacting with people. She told WXIA that his friendly personality may have been the reason he ran toward the officers.

“Every time he saw somebody, he would run up and bray,” she said, explaining that HeeHaw loved people and had even slept in her bed during the first three months of his life.

“I don’t see any reason that he is not here right now,” Israel added.

Cedartown Police Chief Jamie Newsom has confirmed that body-camera footage from the incident exists, although it has not yet been publicly released.

Garner has been placed on paid administrative leave while the shooting is investigated.

The case has sparked intense criticism online, with many people questioning whether the shooting was justified and calling for the officer to be fired or face animal cruelty charges. Others have focused on the fact that HeeHaw was a young domesticated animal being kept as a family pet.

Israel has also launched a fundraiser to help pursue legal action following HeeHaw’s death. The campaign has reportedly raised more than $150,000 as supporters rally around the family.

For Israel, however, the money cannot replace the animal she raised from birth. HeeHaw was not simply livestock to her. He was a beloved pet and part of her family, making the circumstances surrounding his death even more painful.