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Stowaway mouse grounds SAS plane

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- An SAS plane was grounded in Sweden after the crew on the flight from New York noticed a stowaway on board -- a mouse.

Because searchers could not find the mouse after the plane landed Tuesday morning at Arlanda Airport near Stockholm, the aircraft was unable to make the return trip to New York, The Local reported. SAS said all 200 passengers reserved for the trip were rebooked on later planes.

Anders Lindstrom, an SAS spokesman, said catching a mouse on an airplane is a dicey process. The only other time SAS had to deal with the problem, last August, the errant rodent was never seen again.

"We place traps inside the aircraft and then we shut it down completely," Lindstrom said. "We need to leave it standing for a while so that the mouse can traipse about freely. Otherwise it ends up going into hiding."

Lindstrom said no one knows how long the mouse had been on the plane or where it boarded, since it did not present the crew with travel documents.

Scottish woman moves pony into house

STORNOWAY, Scotland, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- A Scottish woman said her Connemara pony is "very happy" to be living in the downstairs part of her house.

Stephanie Noble, 65, said the owner of the land where the mare, named Grey Lady Too, previously grazed left the pony on her lawn in the Western Isles on Christmas Eve after a personal falling out and she has since moved the animal into her home, The Daily Telegraph reported Wednesday.

Noble, who said she braced her ceilings, added a gate to contain the animal and transformed her kitchen into a grain store, said she is not bothered by complaints from neighbors or the urging of the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to hand the pony over to the organization.

"If I want to even keep an elephant in the house I can," she said. "I have had nothing but stick from people because it is unconventional."

"Grey Lady Too is very happy. She goes out to the lawn, though she has eaten a couple of the neighbor's plants, and comes back in by herself," Noble said. "The situation is not ideal, but it is safe and secure for her."

Gill MacGregor of the SSPCA said the group hopes "Ms. Noble finds the appropriate livery for her pony so that they can remain together but, in the event that this does not happen, we hope she will consider our offer in the best interests of the animal."

Police: Man fled so he could smoke crack

GAINESVILLE, Fla., Jan. 12 (UPI) -- Police in Florida said a man who led officers on a chase told them he fled so he could smoke his crack before going to jail.

Gainesville police said officers attempted to pull over a blue pickup truck Saturday because it had a headlight out, but the driver failed to stop and ran a red light while fleeing the pursuing vehicle, The Gainesville (Fla.) Sun reported Wednesday.

Cpl Angelina Valuri, police spokeswoman, said an Alachua County Sheriff's Office deputy joined the chase and the truck eventually stopped at a Kangaroo gas station on U.S. 441 in Micanopy.

The driver, Kenneth Stine, 53, told officers he stopped fleeing because he was out of gas. He told the officers he had refused to pull over because he had just purchased some crack and wanted to smoke it in his vehicle before going to jail.

Stine was arrested and charged with fleeing and attempting to elude, possession of drug paraphernalia and violating his felony drug probation from a 2010 case.

Boa's escape a mystery but he's back

SHARPES, Fla., Jan. 12 (UPI) -- A Florida woman said she doesn't know how her 5-foot-long red-tailed boa constrictor managed to escape from her home for a few days of freedom.

Linda Simmons, 52, of Sharpes, said Smokey the snake escaped last week from an aquarium with a wooden lid held down by books and a bowling ball, Florida Today reported Wednesday.

"We're just clueless ... I can't figure out how he got out. I'm just livid," Simmons said.

Brevard County Animal Services said the snake was found Monday in a neighbor's yard and taken to the North Brevard Animal Shelter where officials said Simmons could pick him up.

Officials said no citations were issued.

"They're not easy animals to keep. Some people might put them in an aquarium with plywood over it and a concrete block to hold it down. But they're pretty clever escape artists," said Capt. Bob Brown, a spokesman for animal services.