The pony-napping in progress. |  Arcata Playhouse Security footage

The Arcata Playhouse’s 16-foot mascot “Peggy,” the peg-legged, polka-dotted pony that shoots bubbles out of its butt, mysteriously went missing Sunday morning.

Peggy at Greenview Park the next morning. | Photo provided by a reader

Upon checking security footage, Arcata Playhouse co-founder David Ferney told the Outpost that a group of pranksters likely wheeled the 1,000-pound pony away on Sunday at 1:36 a.m.

“It seems like there was a group of people that stole the pony [based on the security camera] audio, but only one person showed up on the camera,” Ferney said.

After playhouse employees spread the news about the missing pony on Facebook, residents spotted the hard-to-miss mascot at Greenview Park in the Arcata Bottoms around 10 a.m. —

nearly a mile away from its Creamery District home.

No official police report was filed over the pony-napping. However, responding Arcata Police Department officers escorted Peggy back to the playhouse as workers towed her back from her early-morning adventure.

“It was so fun to see the pony arrive by police escort!” Arcata Outdoor Event Grant Coordinator Shoshanna Anthony said. “So glad she came home safe.”

Ferney said that Peggy is usually locked away behind a fence, but that the mascot was left unsecured overnight near the circus tent for convenience purposes. 

“The short answer is, it wasn’t locked up in its usual home, but now it is,” he said.

Built in 2014 by local artist Lush Newton, Peggy has since become an iconic part of Arcata and is known to show up at local events, where she dazzles crowds with bubble blowing abilities.