Claimed by no one, pony pulled from canal needs a home

The pony pulled from an irrigation canal just outside Modesto earlier this month needs a home.

No owners have come forward to claim the brown male that was rescued Oct. 13, so he became available for adoption at the Stanislaus Animal Services Agency on Saturday.

On the Animal Services website, there's little information on the animal: only that he is unaltered and his age is unknown.

The adoption fee is $100, said Animal Services Agency Executive Director Annette Patton.

Though parents have been known to make rash decisions like bringing home bunnies and chicks for Easter or a puppy or kitten for a birthday, she doesn't expect a suburban child to wake up Christmas morning with the pony standing beside the Christmas tree.

"We usually have experienced horse people come to adopt," she said. "My experience has been we have not in the past had people come in to adopt on an impulse a pony. They are required to bring a horse trailer with them at the time of adoption and usually come with experience."

Inquiries can be made by calling Animal Services at 209-558-7387. The agency is at 3647 Cornucopia Way, Modesto, off Crows Landing Road.

Shortly before 8 a.m. Oct. 13, reports came in of the pony running loose on West Whitmore Avenue near Fairview Elementary School.

It's a county area, but Modesto police joined Stanislaus County sheriff's deputies and animal control officers in responding.

The skittish pony jumped into an irrigation canal to elude capture, so had to be rescued.

The responders got the pony into a trailer and took him it to the animal shelter, where he's remained since.

This story was originally published October 31, 2017 at 2:08 PM with the headline "Claimed by no one, pony pulled from canal needs a home."