A Georgia family is heartbroken after their beloved pet donkey, Hee-Haw, was shot and killed by a police officer during a search for a missing child near their farm in Cedartown early Sunday morning.

A farm feels different without Hee-Haw

Elsberry Farm was unusually quiet after the incident. The usual sounds of cows, pigs, and roosters could still be heard, but one familiar sound was missing: Hee-Haw’s loud bray.

“He would normally be standing right over there talking while I’m talking because he thought he could talk like a person could talk,” owner Hannah Israel said.

Israel had raised Hee-Haw since he was only an hour old, bottle-feeding him and caring for him like a member of the family.

“He was my kid. I bottle-raised him from one hour old,” she said.

For Israel, Hee-Haw was much more than a farm animal. He was part of her everyday life and was almost always by her side.

“Just traumatized and shocked. I honestly can’t even believe he’s not here,” Israel said. “He was such a part of our lives, just daily … Yeah, there’s no words.”

Police confirm the shooting

Cedartown Police Chief Jamie Newsom confirmed that one of his officers shot and killed Hee-Haw while searching the area for the missing child.

“That search took them to the incident location where this very unfortunate and heartbreaking event occurred,” Newsom said.

The police chief also expressed his own sadness over what happened.

“They’re members of the human family, and I am too, and heartbroken,” he said.

However, Newsom declined to explain exactly what happened before the officer fired the shot.

He confirmed that body camera footage exists and that he has personally reviewed it, but said he would not discuss what the footage shows while the investigation remains ongoing.

Owner believes Hee-Haw may have approached the officer

Israel said Hee-Haw was extremely friendly and would often run toward people whenever he saw them.

“Every time he saw somebody, he would run up and bray, and they do a really goofy sound, and because he loved people, and he thought he was a person,” she said.

She also recalled how closely Hee-Haw was raised with the family, saying he even slept in her bed during the first three months of his life.

“He was such a part of our lives,” Israel said, adding that she still cannot understand why he did not survive the encounter.

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

Missing child found near the farm

The child at the center of the search was eventually found safe at a church near the pasture where Hee-Haw was shot.

The officer involved in the shooting has been placed on paid administrative leave while the Georgia Department of Agriculture Law Enforcement Division investigates what happened.

For Israel and her family, however, the investigation cannot change the loss of a donkey they had raised and loved from the very beginning.