April 3 (UPI) -- A Pennsylvania police sergeant came to the rescue of a petite pony spotted running loose on a busy highway -- and he decided to adopt it.
Sgt. Ted Lewis of the Westtown-East Goshen Regional Police Department was called out Tuesday on an unusual animal complaint.
"We got the call for a horse running loose at 202 and 926, and we had multiple officers in the area, but we were having a difficult time locating the horse," Lewis told CBS Philadelphia.
Lewis said he located the miniature horse and quickly formed a bond with the animal.
"We had a dog leash that we hooked onto her bridle and that was it," Lewis said. "She just walked down the street with me like it was her daily job. When I met the horse, it was just a sweet, sweet horse."
The horse, named April, had escaped from the Horse Angels Rescue farm just one day after being surrendered. Rescue worker Penny Parker said April had managed to slip through a gate.
"I had called the state troopers. I had called the local police to see if anyone had turned in a mini missing," Parker said. "Within 10 minutes of me jumping in the truck with the trailer to fly back up here, 45 minutes away, we found that the police had had her."
The police department posted a photo of Lewis and April to social media, joking for April Fools' Day that the small equine was the first member of its "mounted unit."
The joke turned out to have a kernel of truth to it when Lewis decided to adopt the horse.
"We have some room at a farm that we're associated with, and I just thought it would be a nice addition to our farm and our family to be able to give this little horse its forever home," Lewis said.
Parker said the adoption made for the perfect ending to April's story.
"I was elated. How amazing is that? That was incredible," Parker said. "It was meant to be."
