Pony back with circus after Christmas kidnap
VIENNA (AP) - A tiny pony is back at its Austrian circus home more than a week after apparently being kidnapped by a woman who wanted to give her sick daughter a Christmas surprise.
Fridolin the pony, who is only about 2 feet (60 centimeters) tall, went missing from the Vienna Christmas Circus early last week. He was found near a Vienna bus stop Wednesday.
Circus director Adolf Lauenburger told the Austria Press Agency Thursday that a woman called the circus and told officials where to find the pony. She said her daughter wanted a circus pony and she'd taken him to fulfill the girl's wishes for Christmas - but decided she couldn't keep the animal.
Lauenburger wasn't able to identify the woman. Police were looking into the matter.
Fridolin the pony, who is only about 2 feet (60 centimeters) tall, went missing from the Vienna Christmas Circus early last week. He was found near a Vienna bus stop Wednesday.
Circus director Adolf Lauenburger told the Austria Press Agency Thursday that a woman called the circus and told officials where to find the pony. She said her daughter wanted a circus pony and she'd taken him to fulfill the girl's wishes for Christmas - but decided she couldn't keep the animal.
Lauenburger wasn't able to identify the woman. Police were looking into the matter.
Shouldn't it really be horse rustling or just plain theft rather than kidnapping? I love my pony too & consider her part of the family but truthfully, she's an animal. Calling it kidnapping when an animal is stolen is nothing more than sensationalism.
Hopefully the thief returned the horse before the little girl knew it was there.
 @katiemcc You beat me to it. Maybe PONY-napping? :-)
Did she not consider maybe contacting the circus and asking if they'd be willing to help her daughter have a special visit with the pony? Many places that deal with children on a regular basis are willing to help out with special requests like that, especially in this day of viral media. The right kind of funny or heart-string-tugging youtube video has been enough to convince even big celebrities and athletes to help out with stuff like that for sick kids. Instead she set a bad example and possibly hurt her daughter by stealing the animal for her and then taking it away once she realized she couldn't keep it. It doesn't say whether it was her wallet or her conscience that made her aware she couldn't keep the animal, but I'm hoping like heck it was her conscience.