ROVINJ, Croatia — A one-month-old pony named Mile has become the most unexpected resident in an apartment building in the northern Croatian coastal town of Rovinj.
Mile is staying temporarily in his owners’ fourth-floor unit because his mother rejected him shortly after he was born. On top of that, he required surgery to treat a life-threatening infection in neighboring Slovenia, where community members pitched in donations to help cover the medical bills. He now needs constant attention around the clock.
“Every two hours, we warm up his milk and feed him,” said owner Andjelka Josipovic. “If we forget to feed him, he wakes up, comes to us and rouses us up.”
Josipovic shares the one-bedroom apartment with her partner Kristijan Jelenic, her two sons, a dog — and now Mile.
The little pony has turned heads throughout the neighborhood, though not a single complaint has been filed.
Josipovic is optimistic about Mile’s chances for a full recovery. He has been eating well and has put on a kilogram — about 2.2 pounds. She described him as cheerful, with a “strong desire to suckle, eat, and fight.”
“The first night, the vet thought there was no hope and wanted to put him down,” Josipovic recalled. “I said, let’s try until the morning.”
The family operates a small ranch and a children’s playroom in Bale, roughly 15 kilometers — about 9 miles — from Rovinj, where llamas, pigs, horses, and sheep all call home.
During the day, Mile joins the other animals out at the ranch. But each evening, he makes the trip back to Rovinj — one of Croatia’s most visited tourist destinations — riding in the back seat of the family’s car. Once home, he settles in on either a mattress or a sofa for the night.
The family lives in a residential neighborhood away from Rovinj’s famous old town, which draws visitors with its winding Mediterranean-style stone streets and a prominent church.
Jelenic noted that at Mile’s current size — just 16 kilograms, or about 35 pounds — having him in the apartment isn’t all that different from living with a dog or another household pet.
“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.”
