Enlarge image
Pony Patrick in mayor's robes
Photo: The Adventures Of Patrick The Pony / Facebook
A pony who is the mayor of an English village and is thrown out of a pub: This news made the rounds first locally and then in the international media in late summer.
In its annual review, the »Guardian« now asks how Shetland pony Patrick is doing today.
"Patrick is doing really well and still enjoying being the mayor of Cockington," owner Hannah Petrakis told the newspaper.
She emphasized that her pony had even been seen "several times on German television".
But how did it come about that Cockington elected a four-hoofed mayor?
According to media reports, Petrakis and her husband Kirk had created a Facebook page for the pony and also published videos on YouTube during the Corona period.
A successful petition then emerged from an idea that was not really intended to make the animal the mayor.
Eventually Patrick was given a red robe with a gold chain of office and is now listed as Honorary Mayor of Cockington.
Petrakis told the Guardian that his main job was to "open businesses by biting through a ribbon with his teeth."
Otherwise, Patrick often stood in a small spout next to the local pub - originally so that he, as a therapy animal, could get used to dealing with people.
It was said that Patrick had a few sips of Guinness there.
But shortly after his election as honorary mayor, according to the Guardian, there was a complaint that the outlet apparently did not have a building permit – and Patrick was thrown out.
It was "devastating" and they cried, Petrakis told the "Guardian": "It was really a big deal for some families." The last person Patrick had visited next to the pub was a terminally ill child.
However, the story has a good temporary ending: According to Kirk Petrakis, Patrick now works as a therapy pony in a nearby hospice.
okay