MADERA COUNTY, Calif. (Feb. 26, 2016) – It certainly made people do a double-take.
Some California residents were rubbing their eyes and wondering if they were seeing things after a “unicorn” made a run for it this week.
Juliet spends her days making dreams come true, posing as a unicorn for photo shoots for Fresno-area photographer Sandra Boos. And during a shoot Wednesday night, Juliet got loose.
“She threw her head up, pulled the lead rope out of her hands and that was it. So at that point she ran off and the more we pursued her, the further she ran,” Boos told KMPH.
Everyone who saw the unicorn had a surreal experience, including police who responded to the call.
“We got a call of a unicorn running in the roadway on 12th Avenue near Road 32,” said Officer Justin Perry.
For more than three hours, Juliet ran down roads and avoided capture. A helicopter was even called in to help spot her, but nothing seemed to work. Juliet was simply too spooked to slow down.
Finally, local resident Renee Pardy remembered her horse, Shady, was friends with Juliet.
“That’s the nature of horses. They want to be in a group—they’re herd animals—and so we had been chasing Juliet, the unicorn for so long that she was looking for a friend,” Pardy said.
Juliet followed Shady into a trailer, bringing an end to the chase. And Boos finally got a sense of a relief.
“I was standing with the (California Highway Patrol) at the time and a call came over the radio that said the unicorn is in custody, and there was a huge sigh of relief, a few tears, and some laughter. It was the comedic relief needed in the moment.”
