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It's a filly! Border Patrol celebrates birth of first foal to agency horses
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There’s a new enforcer at the southern border — one with four hooves and a pretty, blue eye.
Dolly the filly was born March 9 to her mother Juanita at the Sierra Blanca Border Patrol Station, southeast of El Paso, U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson Landon Hutchens announced on Thursday, an arrival that represents a “significant milestone” in the agency’s 100-year-old history.
“This is a remarkable moment for the U.S. Border Patrol,” Chief Patrol Agent Lloyd Easterling said in a news release. “Dolly is the first foal ever born to a U.S. Border Patrol horse, and she represents the potential of our program. We are equally proud that the community had a hand in naming her.”
The newborn’s name was picked from a list suggested by students from Sierra Blanca schools in West Texas.
CBP shared photos of Dolly donning a new-looking green Border Patrol turnout blanket.
Border Patrol horses are an “essential asset” in getting agents into rough terrain unreachable by vehicles, Hutchens said. The horses help agents “track, detect and interdict illegal activity while also strengthening the connection between Border Patrol and local communities.”
He said Dolly stands out from the herd with one of her “most striking features” and a unique trait: one blue eye.
Dolly and Juanita, also shown to have a blue eye like her daughter, are under close watch “to ensure the filly grows strong and healthy.”
Hutchens said Dolly will start working with agents at the Sierra Blanca station toward the goal of “joining the ranks of the Border Patrol’s trusted equine stable.”
