LIBERTY COUNTY, Texas – Before the Brett family had any children, they had Chicken Nugget: A pony with dwarfism.

He stood 25 inches tall and weighed no more than 80 pounds. But for eight years, he was the perfect companion, and larger than life.

“Local celebrity, local favorite, people came and took their pictures with him,” Kylee Brett said. “And he would just hang out with us! I’m serious, he would just lay down and watch TV.”

Nobody loved Chicken Nugget more than Kylee’s 5-year-old daughter, Rylee. At 6 months old, she was already riding him at the rodeo. They did everything together.

Early Wednesday morning, authorities said someone entered the Brett family ranch in Hull, Texas, in Liberty County, and shot Chicken Nugget in the head at close range. The Brett family found him when they woke up, and buried him later that morning.

“Rest in Peace,” Kylee wrote on Facebook, “You now have your wings and are flying high. You will never be forgotten, you will forever be missed. My heart is absolutely shattered as I try to find the words. The way you were taken from us was the act of a coward.”

VIDEO: Family's pony shot, killed

“On another note,” the post continued later. “Whoever stepped foot on our property and point blank shot him in the face will pay.”

The post quickly received thousands of responses, comments and shares.

“We’re going to catch him, whoever did this,” Rylee said. “And he’s going to get in big, big, big trouble.”

“He never ever had any kind of a bad day,” Kylee said. “He never had a moment to where you just had to worry about him. He just, he was there. He was our best friend. And he was just, he was special to everybody.”

The Bretts told Rylee that Chicken Nugget is now in heaven, watching over their family.

“Our hearts are broken,” Kylee said. “Very broken, and we’ll always miss him, we’ll always have that piece of our heart that’s broken. But good memories always help the heart heal a little faster.”