SPRING, Texas (AP) _ A suburban Houston homeowners association has rescinded orders that a family get rid of a kangaroo that’s become the beloved companion of a 16-year-old girl with Down syndrome.
The Houston Chronicle reports The Estates of Legend Ranch Homeowners Association wrote to Nick and Jeni Dreis last week to demand removal of Mike, the 6-month-old red kangaroo that’s their 16-year-old daughter Kayla’s pet.
Amid intense Internet publicity, the HOA board reversed itself. Spokesman Jeff Crilley says it was “unaware that the kangaroo was being used for therapy purposes.”
Nevertheless, Crilley said the board expects the family will “be working in good faith to find a more suitable home for the animal.”
The family intends to keep Mike for a year before moving him to a wildlife park they’re planning.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)