Animal rescue caring for sick pony spotted walking around South LA

An animal rescue took in a sick pony after spotting it walking around streets in South Los Angeles.

Animal rescue advocate Joey Tuccio started searching for Dolly the pony after seeing social media videos showing her being pulled along by a man on a bike in South LA.

"We do a lot on Skid Row, in South LA," Tuccio said. "When I saw this pony, I was like, 'Well, OK, I'll treat this like a very big pit bull."

He went around the neighborhood to track Dolly down, stopping at a few businesses to track down some leads. While he was searching for her, a rescue called, ready to take her in. Just an hour later, a neighbor spotted Dolly and her owner and called Tuccio.

"I was able to convince the owner like this is not an OK situation," Tuccio said. "He kind of understood, but at the end of the day we have to make sure the animal is taken care of."

After taking her in to get examined, Tuccio realized that Dolly was not healthy. 

"She has full pneumonia, might need a blood transfusion," he said. "There's no reason why a pony should be walking around for months on the streets without proper vet care."

Dolly is not at an animal hospital getting breathing treatments. She's got some spunk back in her step but she's not out of the woods yet. 

If all goes well, the rescue says Dolly will head back home to them. For Tuccio, Dolly's rescue comes with a message. 

"I hope more people, when they see a pony being exploited like that or dragged around the streets, this actually is not OK," Tuccio said. 

The rescue said they've received plenty of calls from people wanting to adopt her but said she's staying at the sanctuary.