SATSUMA, La. (BRPROUD) – Residents in one Livingston Parish neighborhood are outraged tonight after a deer who they considered a pet was shot.

A beloved member of the community, now gone.

“It’s heartbreaking knowing that, that she ain’t here no more,” cried Patt Leblanc, a neighbor who witnessed the doe’s shooting.

For the past three years, a deer known as Butterbean, become a part of this neighborhood’s family. LeBlanc says Butterbean was everyone’s pet. Different residents would pitch in to feed her and make sure she was taken care of.

“And I just really liked to pet her,” said PJ LeBlanc, a child from the neighborhood.

Patt agreed, “She was such a sweet deer. She tried to come in my house to try to play with the animals, she plays with the kids. It was it was really a joy.”

He says even as a hunter he could not shoot Butterbean himself. One neighbor did not get the memo.

“Exactly 10:00 on the dot is when it happened. It was like the (game) warden was there. It was it was surreal. I mean, it’s like, ‘No, this didn’t just happen in front of me and the children,'” LeBlanc continued.

While LeBlanc’s kids were playing with Butterbean, he says a neighbor came outside and shot the deer with no permit. Now, the community wants justice.

“We didn’t want that for Butterbean,” he said.

“If you’re over the age of 18, you’re going to need a basic hunting license, a deer license and deer tags,” said Michael Blanchard, a senior agent with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF).

LDWF is pressing charges.

Blanchard said the person responsible could be facing civil and criminal fines.

“As well as if an animal is taken illegally. Civil restitution may be involved where you’d have to go to court, whether it be in a criminal jurisdiction or civilly with our department,” Blanchard said.

For more information on hunting rules and regulations, click here.