Zebra, pony get loose in NYC

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NEW YORK, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- Casper the pony and Razzi the zebra had an excellent, if brief, adventure in New York City Wednesday, galloping through a Staten Island neighborhood.

The two animals were spotted making their way through a shopping center parking lot in the Travis neighborhood where they ignored Metropolitan Drape & Blind owner Zachary Osher as he shot video of them and then heading down Victory Boulevard where a motorist honked at them, the Staten Island Advance reported.

"They ran past me, and then they made a loop around the parking lot," Osher told The New York Times. "I thought they were circus animals.

"They came around and they were galloping. The pony was in the lead, and the zebra was behind."

The Times reported police said the 14-year-old pony and the 4-month-old zebra were rounded up a few blocks away within a half-hour or so.

It turns out their owner, Giovanni Schirripa, 31, had left the gate open on their pen after feeding them and they made a run for it -- it was Casper's third escape.

Schirripa said he plans to move Razzi, who he bought a couple of months ago from a breeder in Wisconsin, to a New Jersey location where he keeps several horses.

"I always wanted a zebra, 'cause nobody else has one," he said.