A month-old pony named Mile is the newest resident of an apartment building in the northern Croatian coastal town of Rovinj.
Mile has moved in temporarily to his owners' fourth-floor flat because his mother rejected him at birth. He also needs round-the-clock care after undergoing an operation for a life-threatening infection in neighboring Slovenia, where people donated to cover the costs of his treatment.
"Every two hours, we warm up his milk and feed him," owner Andjelka Josipovic said. "If we forget to feed him, he wakes up, comes to us and rouses us up.”
Josipovic lives in a one-bedroom flat with her partner Kristijan Jelenic, her two sons, a dog and now Mile.
The unusual newcomer has drawn attention in the neighborhood, but no one has complained.
Josipovic is hopeful Mile will recover fully as he now eats well and has gained a kilogram (2.2 pounds). He seems cheerful with a "strong desire to suckle, eat and fight," she said.
"The first night, the vet thought there was no hope and wanted to put him down,” she recalled. "I said, let’s try until the morning.”
The family runs a small ranch and a playroom for children in Bale, some 15 kilometers (9 miles) from Rovinj, with llamas, pigs, horses and sheep.
Mile spends his days with the other animals at the ranch, but he returns to Rovinj – one of Croatia’s most popular tourist resorts – in the evening. The pony rides in the back seat of the family car. At the apartment, he sleeps on either a mattress or a sofa.
The family lives in a residential part of Rovinj, away from the main tourist zone in the old town, which is famous for its winding, Mediterranean-style stone streets dominated by a church.
Jelenic said having Mile at home at the moment is no different from having a dog or any other pet because he is still relatively small, weighing just 16 kilograms (35 pounds).
"In about twenty days, this probably will no longer be possible," Jelenic said. "I hope he will be strong enough by then to be able to stay at the ranch.”
