NORTH SAANICH, B.C. — While a trio of cats watching this interview being conducted couldn’t be more confident in front of the camera, Pamela Porter says her pony is more cautiously curious.
“He likes to investigate,” Pamela laughs, as Jack the pony slowly leans his head closer to the camera to smell it.
After observing new things, Jack inevitably befriends everything and everybody.
“He’s such a sweetheart,” Cecilia Porter smiles. “He always wants snuggles.”
Jack is part of a herd of horses that this mother and daughter duo have been caring for since Cecilia was a kid. But because he is a pony, Pamela says there were some things the big horses could do that little Jack simply couldn’t.
“He tends to get ignored sometimes,” Pamela says. “Because the other larger horses are doing different things.”
Although the cats were occasionally attentive to his needs, Cecilia and Pamela always are. They wondered what Jack could do to feel special, and then it snowed.
“Well he pulls the harrow,” Cecilia recalls thinking. “Why not pull a toboggan?”
Seeing as Jack seemed to feel proud that he could pull the harrow to level the land in the summer, perhaps the pony would appreciate pulling a person in the winter.
“He was a little unsure (at first),” Cecilia says. “We were a little unsure.”
While the cats were immediately sure that it was a great idea, and jumped on to the back of the sled to be pulled by the pony, Pamela and Cecilia allowed Jack to take as much time as he needed to make his own decision about moving forward.
“He took to it really easily. He stopped kind of looking so unsure,” Cecilia smiles. “He got a little spring in his step and we went, ‘Oh, Jack likes this!’”
And Pamela and Cecilia love that taking turns being pulled around their backyard by a pony allows them to connect — less like parent and child, and more like best of friends.
“By playing with Jack, I get a chance to play with my mom in the snow even though we’re adults,” Cecilia smiles. “And that’s great!”
But best of all, Pamela says, is how Jack gets to show his herd of horses, humans, and cats just how special he is.
“He’s the only one who’s the right size and right shape and can do it,” Pamela smile. “And that makes Jack feel like a star.”
A star — supported by his people and flanked by feline fans — who couldn’t be more ready for his close-up.
