NC friends up the reward for finding killer of a lovely mare named Moonpie
Friends of a gorgeous dark brown mare named Moonpie have upped the reward for information about who killed her in a small, enclosed Gaston County pasture.
The 4-year-old quarter horse was shot four or five times late last Sunday in her paddock off Rankin Road, the farm’s owner, Cassie “Buckie” Dumas, posted on the “Justice for Moonpie” Facebook page she created.
Dumas started the page in hopes of getting information “that helps lead to an arrest into the persons responsible for this horrific crime,” she posted. “We believe it is at least 2 individuals.”
She urged anyone with information to contact her via Justice for Moonpie or call the Gaston County Police Department at 704-866-3320.
The reward began at $500 but has since climbed to $2,000 as donations poured in, according to posts by Dumas on the Facebook page.
In a Nov. 21 post, Dumas described the response as “overwhelming.”
“We want to find out who did this, but we also want people that just want to help to be able to donate to a worthy cause,” Dumas added in Wednesday’s post. “So we are looking into local Horse Rescues, to see about letting people donate on her behalf.”
Donations and expressions of sympathy continued to pour in the final week of November. On the morning of Nov. 30, a delivery truck dropped off a box of Moon Pies from the maker of the snack, Chattanooga Bakery Inc., Dumas posted on Facebook that morning.
“I read about the terribly sad story of ‘Moon Pie’s’ death,” said a handwritten message in the box from Tory Johnston, the company’s vice president of sales and marketing. “I cannot imagine how sad everyone is. Will you and Moon Pie’s family please accept this small token of our sympathy and friendship during this difficult time. We are very sorry for your loss.”
Dumas told Observer news partner WBTV that she heard 18 gunshots that night.
“It’s really a horrific idea,” Dumas told WBTV. “Truly, I can’t imagine what was going through somebody’s mind. This was 11:15 at night.”
Social media reacted with outrage to the killing.
“I’m so sorry that sweet horse crossed paths with pure evil,” a woman posted. “It’s just sick that spineless cowards do that to innocent animals.”
“I really hope you find the piece of crap that did this to this defenseless fur baby,” another woman posted. “So sad. Praying for ya’ll.”
This story was originally published November 23, 2018 at 7:33 PM.