Abandoned pony finds new home with loving girl for the holidays

An abandoned Shetland pony and a California teen got the best holiday presents ever, thanks to her father who couldn’t refuse his daughter's wish to have a pony.

Joseph Sandoval, an Anaheim, California, resident said it was impossible to refuse his 17-year-old daughter the gift of a six-year-old, camel-colored pony she wanted so badly after she saw the diminutive horse on TV. “I’m so excited,” said Michelle Sandoval, who has cerebral palsy and is confined to a wheelchair, as she took possession of the pony she renamed “Snowflake” at the Southeast Area Animal Control Authority (SEAACA) the day before Christmas, as her proud father, sister Angelica, 12, and cousin, Lorenzo Torres, 5, looked on. Known to animal control officers as “Big Boy,” the pony was found wandering in traffic early this month and reported to SEAACA. It took more than a half-hour to corral the three-foot tall horse and take him to a shelter, where authorities waited for his owner to claim him. The owner never did. "This is a great day for us," said Capt. Aaron Reyes, director of SEAACA. "It's always special when we get to bring together an animal with a loving family." Snowflake will reside at Sandoval’s Riverside ranch along with a menagerie of other animals.