Owners claim pony that ran through Modesto streets

The owner of a Shetland pony that ran wild in Modesto came to claim him Friday.

The frightened creature sent Modesto police on a slow-speed pursuit for more than a mile Thursday afternoon.

The pony was first spotted on the Modesto Junior College West Campus. He crossed railroad tracks under Highway 99 and made his way to a home on Orangeburg Avenue, where he was corraled by three patrol cars.

The ordeal lasted nearly two hours and stalled traffic on Orangeburg as police blocked roads and surrounded the pony to prevent him from getting hit by a car.

Once barricaded in the front yard of a home in the 1300 block of Orangeburg, the pony carefully watched officers and spectators.

It wasn't until an animal control officer offered him hay and a little love that he softened his resolve and trotted into a trailer.

He was taken to the Stanislaus County Animal Service Center, where he was examined by a veterinarian and determined to be well cared for.

The farm animal was clearly stressed from his jaunt down city streets and was still on edge during his temporary stay at the shelter's barn.

Friday morning, staff at the shelter had received numerous calls from people interested in adopting the pony. But by Friday afternoon, his owners had come to retrieve him, according to shelter director Annette Patton.

The owners declined to comment about how the pony escaped.

Patton asked about the pony's name and was told he didn't have one, that they never bothered to name him.

Bee staff writer Erin Tracy can be reached at etracy@modbee.com or (209) 578-2366.