In February, Sergeant John Hargraves from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Parks Bureau adopted two horses, Miss Ladybug and Dude from an animal shelter.

Both horses had been abandoned by their owners and were found starving. It became John’s goal to get the horses back to a healthy condition so they could be trained to work Mounted Enforcement Detail. Read the original story here.

Don’t miss a thing. Get breaking news alerts delivered right to your inbox

John began a feeding and training program for both horses. They both began gaining weight. As time went by, John noticed that Miss Ladybug’s belly was larger than normal.

Suspecting that she may be pregnant, John had the veterinarian check on Ladybug. It was confirmed she was pregnant with a due date of October.

The veterinarian was off by a few months. On July 7, John was walking out to his corral at 4:50 in the morning, when he heard Ladybug whining. He shined his light towards her corral and saw an extra pair of eyes looking back. It was a little filly, red like her mom, with a large white star on her forehead.

The veterinarian said she was born early because Ladybug had been starved by her previous owners; which often results in premature births. Both mom and baby are doing fine.

John has not come up with a name yet but is considering either “Star” or “Diamond.” In a few years, she may be John’s primary horse for mounted enforcement work.