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LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY)- Information is sought in the death of a local family’s pet miniature goat.
The animal was found shot to death on Jan. 18, 2020, near the family’s Lafayette home.
The Humane Society of Louisiana and the Gardiner family of Lafayette have teamed up to help find the suspect responsible for killing the pet, affectionately named Uncle Baby Billy Goat.
Lauren Gardiner found the animal at about 12: 45 p.m. in a neighbor’s yard, dead from an apparent bullet wound to the neck.
The goat was last seen at 11: 15 am on the same day.
The wound is believed that ha been caused by a .22 caliber rifle or a pellet gun.
“The Garnier’s three daughters and niece regularly played with Billy, and he was a cherished member of the entire family,” the nonprofit said in a statement.
The Gardiner family is offering a $500 reward for information that leads to the arrest of the person(s) responsible for the death of Billy and the amount has been matched by the Humane Society of Louisiana.
The Humane Society also raised an additional $300 from online donations, which has increased the reward fund to $1300.
The Gardiner family filed a police report as soon as the animal’s body was found.
“We are deeply saddened to hear of the death of Billy and how it has affected the Gardiner family. We receive reports on a regular basis of family pets being shot, wounded, or killed by firearms or hunting arrows, and we don’t understand the desire to kill harmless animals,” says Jeff Dorson, HSL Director. “We can’t imagine what the Gardiner’s family is experiencing since Billy was such a loving and integral part of their family. We are hopeful that the reward fund will cause those with information or leads to contact us or the Gardiner family. We will share all leads and information with the local law enforcement agencies.”
Lauren Gardiner made the following statement on the family pet’s death:
I just don’t understand how someone can get away with shooting someone else’s pet in the middle of the day like this. He was a little tiny goat that hasn’t hurt anyone and didn’t deserve this. I wish the law enforcement would be more proactive, treating it as a gun crime since that’s what it is.. my little girls and niece play outside on a regular basis so this is a little scary and uncomfortable that this isn’t more serious to them that someone open fired in our neighborhood.
For additional information, please visit www.humanela.org or its page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HumaneLA/.