COLUMBUS COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) – Kimberly Quattlebaum was at her home in Whiteville Sunday afternoon just after 3 p.m. when she got a call that her cow, Seven, had gotten loose from his enclosure on Tom Sessions Road.
Quattlebaum says she found Seven just yards down the road from the farm with a bullet in his head.
“When I got here, I seen Seven laying on the side of the road,” Quattlebaum said. “I got out of the car and when I picked his head up, I had seen that he had been shot.”
The Quattlebaum family cares for horses, goats, chickens, and other animals on their Columbus County property. Seven was one of Kimberly’s two cows. She says while he has wandered off before, she has always gotten him back.
“I’ve had my animals get out. I’ve had them call me. Animal Control has come out and said ‘Ma’am, you’ve got to do what you can to keep your animals contained.’ Seven was in a five-foot fence. I’ve just never had any problems like this,” Quattlebaum said.
For Quattlebaum, the loss is heartbreaking.
“When you suffer from mental health issues and depression and anxiety, your animals are your life,” she said. “And then when you have to dig a hole to put them in it, it takes a piece of your heart.”
All Quattlebaum has left of Seven is a set of horns and ears. She says she was planning to ride Seven at this year’s Columbus County Agriculture Fair.
“I just want whoever shot him to come forward,” she said.
A spokesperson for the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office says deputies responded to the call Sunday afternoon around 3:30 and the investigation is ongoing.
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Woman searches for answers after cow is shot and killed in Columbus County – WECT
