ROVINJ, Croatia (AP) — 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.
