When Diane Hamilton and her neighbors discovered a wandering pony in their Boulder Creek neighborhood three weeks ago, they immediately put up signs with their contact information.
"I've heard about dogs and cats getting lost, but a horse?" said Hamilton. "Who loses a pony? Seriously?"
Hamilton said she figured she would find the owner in a day or two but no one has claimed the horse since she found it July 18.
"I don't think anyone's looking for this horse," Hamilton said.
She hopes to give it up for adoption to one of the stables or families that have shown interest after seeing her missing pony signs and Craigslist announcement.
It's not clear what happened to the pony's owners, but the Santa Cruz County SPCA was given three large animals in the last month because their owners' homes were foreclosed upon. In fact, officials from Santa Cruz County's SPCA say there has been a 30 percent increase in surrendered animals as a result of foreclosures in the past month.
"People are losing their houses and are being forced into apartments, but a rental that allows pets is very difficult to find in Santa Cruz," said Lisa Carter, executive director of the SPCA.
Despite a 20 percent drop in adoption rates, Carter was able to find homes for the three large animals, which included a miniature horse and a goat and a donkey that came from a Merced shelter due to overcrowding and foreclosures there.
"It's been a tough last six months," said Carter. "The economy is hurting everyone, including the animals."
Overcrowded animal shelters and rescue operations at maximum occupancy throughout the state have been contacting Carter in hopes of finding shelter for animals that run the risk of being put down. The SPCA's policy on killing animals is only to do it when they arrive too sick to be rehabilitated or are too aggressive to be safely placed in a home.
Carter hopes that the new law passed last week Assembly Bill 2949, that will require anyone who encounters an abandoned pet to immediately call Animal Control, will help crack down on animal abandonment.
Jessica Kipp, barn manager of Willow Pond Ranch, a sanctuary for rescued horses, says that because their budget is so tight, the ranch cannot open up the 17 stalls that they have available. The ranch has 15 rescued horses.
"We're being hit as hard as everybody," said Kipp. "We can't take any more in unless someone is willing to fully sponsor their horse but that isn't usually the case for owners."
Kipp said between the price of hay doubling, farriers raising their prices, and people's homes foreclosing there's a definite theme of economic hardship.
Hamilton, who cannot afford to take care of the lost pony, can only hope that the owners will turn up or she can give it to a farm that contacted her about adopting and training the horse.
"The pony is probably better off being somewhere else than where it has been," said Hamilton.
"It's negligent on so many levels." Contact Alia Wilson at 429-2436 or at jcopeland@santacruzsentinel.com.
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