Two weeks before Christmas, Ava, a 1-1/2-year old-dog was shot and killed in her yard on South Allen Drive in North Charleston. “She was the center of my life. Her personality was everything and I spoiled her rotten,” said Ava’s owner, Lamesha Haynes. “She was the light of my life and now she’s gone.”

North Charleston Police are investigating this case of animal cruelty and are actively looking for leads to find whoever killed Ava (Reference OCA 2017038185). If you have any information that can help, please call: Detective J. Lawrence with the North Charleston Police Department at (843) 740-2855.

Daughter Bullied Before Shooting Death of Dog

Haynes says her daughter, a high school junior, had been bullied and assaulted at their neighborhood bus stop in the days leading up to Ava’s shooting death. “My daughter had been harassed. They threw rocks at her and punched her in the face,” Haynes said. On the day before the shooting, a threat from a group of teenagers was so frightening, that the family called police and filed a report (reference OCA 2017037405).

Police cannot say if the cases are connected, but they are investigating. The incidents have left the Haynes family shaken. “We are afraid. They shot my dog! Who I loved. But it could have been my actual child,” Haynes said.

$3,000 Reward Being Offered

A reward for information that leads to the arrest and felony conviction of the person or persons responsible for the shooting death of Ava is being offered by Charleston Animal Society. “We believe someone in the community knows who shot Ava, and we are offering this $3,000 reward, to encourage someone to step forward and do the right thing,” said Charleston Animal Society Director of Anti-Cruelty and Outreach Aldwin Roman. If you have any information that can help, please call: Detective J. Lawrence with the North Charleston Police Department at (843) 740-2855. In 2017, Charleston Animal Society investigated 40 cases of animal cruelty.