A woman living in the Coffey Park neighborhood of Santa Rosa had some serious choices to make as the Tubbs Fire raged into the area on October 9. She is the owner of three horses, but could only fit two of them into her friend’s horse trailer. At the last minute, she managed to persuade her Pony to get into the back seat of her Honda, thus saving them all.

Decision to make to save three horses from the fire

People living in the Coffey Park area of Santa Rosa had only moments to flee as the ferocious fires hit the area. They didn't have time to spare, so they had to grab anything that was important to them before they evacuated.

Lauren Mesaros, a 55-year-old registered nurse who works at UC San Francisco, lives just across the train tracks from the affected neighborhood. The area was destroyed by the devastating Tubbs Fire. The only things that were really important to her were her three beloved horses. Mesaros told The Santa Rosa Press Democrat that the horse trailer, which belongs to her friend Carol Spears, only fits two horses, leaving her worried about her remaining pony, Stardust.

Pony persuaded to get into the car

According to a report by SFGate, Mesaros finally came up with the idea of just how to save the pony.

Using the proverbial carrot to lead the horse, Mesaros and her friend – who she dubs the “horse whisperer” – persuaded Stardust to get into the back seat of the Honda Accord.

Mesaros said the pony went into the car, just like a big dog. She said being a horse owner, they didn’t think twice – adding it was exactly like putting your cat or dog into the car.

As traffic was heavy in the area, Mesaros did say she was worried the pony might get carsick, but she said she decided to sing to keep both of them calm. After they all got out of the area to safety, the horses are now being cared for at the Wind Horse Ranch.

While it was all happening, the horse owner’s neighbor, Lisette Hall Frye, took a photo of the pony in the car which was posted it on , where it has since gone viral, with almost 17,000 shares.

Hall Frye later said her reaction to seeing them getting the pony into the car was “sheer amazement.”

She said they couldn’t believe it when Mesaros coaxed the pony into the back seat of the car with just a carrot, but were both relieved and thrilled that Stardust could be taken to safety. Hall Frye added that her husband said it now looks like Ford has some serious competition from Honda for a new pony car.

As for Mesaros, she said she was joking with her friend that she should start clinics to teach people how to load their horse into a Honda car.
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