Residents of a south Arlington neighborhood admit they were caught off-guard Wednesday when a stranger walked into their yards – and started eating their grass.
At about 11 a.m. Wednesday, 911 dispatchers received multiple calls that a dark-colored horse was wandering by itself along Pleasant Ridge Road. By the time officers caught up to him, he had crossed the busy street and trotted deep into a neighborhood along Glen Ridge Drive.
“My worry was that it was going to get into traffic and get hurt or cause an accident,” said Arlington Police Sgt. Michelle Stellato, who responded to the call. “On the way, I actually started to take the strap off of my briefcase, so I could maybe use it to help capture him if he’d let me.”
Stellato says the horse was friendly and calm when she and other officers approached it.
Chris Patten, who lives in the neighborhood, was at home when police arrived. He gave them some rope that they used to make a leash for the horse until animal control and the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office could get there.
“I have to say this was a first time for me,” he laughed. “A while back, we had some rabbits running around here. But a horse – that’s the strangest thing.”
Meanwhile, the horse’s owner Johanna Storm, was frantically searching for him. She told NBC 5 that she and “Cowboy” – as he’s named -- just moved to the Dalworthington Gardens area Tuesday. When she let him out into his enclosed area Wednesday, he escaped. Not long after police found him, they got in touch with her. She said she was “very, very happy and relieved” to have him back.
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“Anytime a call can end like that with positive results – the horse not being injured, no officers or civilians being injured – that’s always a win for us,” said Arlington Police Sgt. Dana Richerson, who also responded to the call.
