Fat Boy plunged into the water after stepping on the pool cover

A greedy pony drunk after gorging on fermented apples had to be rescued after falling into a swimming pool.

Fat Boy broke into Sarah Penhaligon's garden in Cornwall to get at the fruit trees and ate so many apples he became "punch drunk".

Miss Penhaligon, 28, from Newquay, was woken in the early hours on Tuesday by the sounds of the animal in distress.

She called the fire brigade and crews managed to rescue the pony using a harness. Fat boy was unhurt.

"When I looked outside I saw this massive animal in the dark and I thought the Beast of Bodmin moor was in the pool," Miss Penhaligon said.

"I was terrified, but when I took a closer look I realised it was a horse.

A vet said Fat Boy was not injured by his unscheduled dip

"I didn't have a clue what to do next - who do you call when there's a horse stuck in your swimming pool?"

A spokeswoman for Trenance Riding Stables, where Fat Boy lives, said horses had been known to get "punch drunk" from eating too many apples.

"It looks like he was scrounging for apples in the garden and fell in when he trod on the tarpaulin over the pool," she said.

"It's a good job he's got a lot of bulk, as it kept him warm while he was stuck in the water.

"After he got out he was taken back and checked over by a vet, but luckily he's fine."

 

Brooklyn 'Lassie' heard pal cry for help when no one else did

BY EDGAR SANDOVAL
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Thursday, September 11th 2008, 7:51 PM

Lexi the dog really is Charles Postler's best friend, and he says she always will be.

"She's also a real heroine," Postler said of the 5-year-old Bichon Frise who led rescuers to him after he collapsed in his Brooklyn apartment and lay helpless for hours Wednesday.

Resting in his bed at Lutheran Medical Center, the 85-year-old Postler said Thursday he'll be "forever grateful" to Lexi and that she deserves all the praise she's getting for her Lassie-like feat.

Lexi will be recognized with prayers and declared an "honorary saint" next month at St. Patrick's Catholic Church, where Postler has been a deacon for 35 years.

"We're also grateful," said Msgr. Joseph Nagle of St. Patrick's in Fort Hamilton.

The leashed fluffy white pooch was headed out for a stroll about 8 a.m. from her Bay Ridge building when she heard Postler's faint cries and pulled her owner, Linda Deutsch, 45, to his apartment door.

Deutsch and the building's super entered the apartment, found Postler and called 911 for help.

Postler had collapsed at 1:30 a.m. and had been yelling for help for hours, but only Lexi could hear him.

Postler said his 12-pound pal likely recognized his voice. "I've taken care of her a few times, and she always comes to me," he said.

Deutsch said as Postler was being taken from his apartment, he asked for Lexi. "I picked her up and he said, 'Thank you, Lexi.'"

Doctors said Postler was in stable condition last night, but it was unclear when he'll be released or what caused him to collapse.

Pets appear to have a greater effect on younger children

Young children with pets have fewer days off sick from school, according to academics in Coventry.

University of Warwick researchers found four and five-year-olds whose families kept animals had attendance levels 18% higher than their peers without pets.

Health psychologist Dr June McNicholas said dogs, cats, fish, birds and rodents were among the creatures owned by the children surveyed.

She said the theory was that pets helped boost children's immune systems.

Dr McNicholas said children's health was not improved by any particular type of pet.

The underlying theory is that the immune system develops in relation to what it is exposed to Dr June McNicholas

"It is more to do with just owning a pet and taking care of it, and having it live in the same house as you."

Researchers monitored 256 children aged five to 11 years from three schools.

The children gave saliva samples which were tested as an indicator of their general state of health.

These results were compared with the children's school attendance records.

Dr McNicholas said previous research had shown children whose families kept pets were less likely to have asthma or allergies.

"The underlying theory is that the immune system develops in relation to what it is exposed to," she said.

Pet-ownership had only a marginal impact on school attendance among children aged seven to 11 years, the research showed.