AUSTINTOWN — Not every police chase involves a subject in an automobile. Austintown officers got a taste of what an exciting Monday evening might have looked like in the days of founders Calvin Austin and John McCollum.

Their quarry was not a suspicious character in a sedan but rather a self-propelled single-horse-power vehicle with no passenger.

Yes, about 8 p.m., police responded to a resident report of a pony running loose on Staatz Drive. An Austintown dispatch center report chronicles the adventurous animal’s harrowing 15-minute romp through town.

Austintown Dispatcher Kerri Humphreys — honored in April along with colleague Kristie Zimmer-Rossi as the Mahoning County DIspatchers of the year for their handling of the Phoenix House explosion — was the one on duty, along with Dispatcher Christie Slanina.

They advised responding officers of the pony’s path. After heading westbound on Staatz, the pony went south on Hamman Drive, then onto Paisley Street and Nottingham Avenue.

A minute later, the pony darted east on Kerrybrook Avenue, as reported by the caller who followed it in a red Chevy Silverado. Another caller, former trustee Jim Davis, also called in to inform dispatch that the pony was in a three-sided fenced-in area behind one of the Kerrybrook apartment buildings.

A minute later, the pony was “on the run again” headed north, in the middle of the northbound lane of Raccoon Road, and then abruptly made a right turn to head east on New Road.

Lt. Dan Burich said this was the most intense portion of the pony’s excursion.

“New Road had the green light, with cars going 35 mph,” he said. “That cross traffic is not going to see it. I mean, when do you ever look for horses on the road?” he said.

Officer Matt Bellish, in pursuit of the pony, saw the danger and activated his lights and siren to get the attention of oncoming traffic, Burich said. That alert brought cars to a stop and gave the pony time to get through the intersection.

“If Matt hadn’t activated his siren, we’d be taking an accident report and putting a horse down, because the cars were not stopping,” he said.

As the pony proceeded east, it slowed down at Moorefield Avenue. Bellish, Davis, and another good Samaritan in a Jeep came to a stop along with the pony.

Burich said the Jeep driver was an animal lover who had multiple leashes in her vehicle. They used one to tether the runaway pony in a Moorefield yard.

Police then contacted Sarah Oaks at Compassionate Paws Animal Rescue, whom Burich said has been helpful before with loose animals, including recent incidents with a goat and a fox.

Oaks called local horse keeper Chris May, who brought the pony back to his farm until its owner could be located.

Burich said that was achieved through Facebook after the pony’s rightful keeper posted about its escape from the site where they were providing pony rides on Staatz Drive. The animal, who made a hasty getaway when someone there left a gate open, was promptly returned.

The dispatch report states the pony belongs to Cody Westbrook. Oaks said the pony was returned to a house on Staatz, where it was only staying overnight.