Georgia Officer Shoots Pet Donkey ‘HeeHaw’ During Missing-Child Search; Placed on Leave Amid Investigation
POLICY WIRE — Cedartown, United States — A Cedartown, Georgia, police officer shot and killed a family’s miniature donkey named HeeHaw on August 30 while assisting in a search for a missing girl,...
POLICY WIRE — Cedartown, United States — A Cedartown, Georgia, police officer shot and killed a family’s miniature donkey named HeeHaw on August 30 while assisting in a search for a missing girl, according to an internal department report released amid public outcry.
Officer Trenton Garner responded with a K-9 handler, a Haralson County bloodhound team, and a Rockmart Fire Department drone unit after the girl was reported missing approximately two hours earlier.
Garner stated that officers followed footprints from the woods into a private pasture, where horses scattered upon their approach—but HeeHaw charged directly toward them from the side of a hill, prompting the K-9 handler to alert the team.
The bloodhound team retreated as the donkey advanced, and Garner attempted to deploy his Taser without success. He then drew his service weapon and fired, striking HeeHaw, who turned, ran up a hill, and collapsed.
Garner told supervisors he acted to protect the K-9 handler and bloodhound team. Drone footage captured by Rockmart firefighters documented the incident.
The missing girl was later located unharmed further down the same road the officers were searching.
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Hannah Israel, HeeHaw’s owner, told investigators the animal—raised in her home and used in petting zoos—was valued at $6,000 and had never displayed aggression. She condemned the unauthorized entry into her pasture and described HeeHaw as a ‘bottle-raised baby donkey’ who ‘never knew a stranger.’
In a statement shared by Elsberry Riding and Farm, Israel said she is ‘heartbroken and traumatized’ and is demanding accountability and answers from law enforcement—while explicitly rejecting threats against Garner or others involved: ‘We can seek accountability without hatred.’
The Georgia Department of Agriculture Law Enforcement has opened an investigation into the shooting. Garner has been placed on administrative leave for its duration.
Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)
