A WACKY Scots couple have unveiled the nation’s weirdest house pet – a unicorn.
Jim and Mhairi Connelly bought miniature Shetland pony Tinkerbell from a relative last year.
The five-year-old earns its keep by being dressed up as a unicorn and giving rides to local children.
But Jim, 56, and Mairi, 52, allow their off-duty unicorn unrestricted access to the home they share in Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire.
Tinkerbell steals fruit from the kitchen, and usually noses around in the hallway before sitting down like a dog in their living room to watch TV.
Weirder still, Tinkerbell has a pet rival in the form of swearing parrot Sparky. The bird, who arrived long before Tinkerbell, calls the unicorn a “dirty dog”.
Jim said: “She had four sheep that kept her company in the field but when they got taken away she started coming in the house.
“We’re well used to it. If there’s a door left open in the hallway, she’s through it.
“She normally just walks in and steals stuff out of the fruit bowl, apples and stuff like that.
“You can be out the back working and suddenly she’s there.
“If you leave the door open she’ll just come in. She’s really a big pet, she’s very docile and gentle. The amazing thing is, she sits down like a dog.
Jim admitted there had been accidents. “She’s pooed in the kitchen before,” he said. “I think Mairi was there at the time. It’s not exactly the best.”
Jim and Mairi delighted kids this summer by decking Tinkerbell out as a unicorn and taking her around local events.
Jim said: “We don’t make any money at it, with the amount it costs to keep a horse and transport it.
“But the gala days and fetes always want us there.
He admitted: “Obviously I did question it but when we’re at events traders say “We’ve never seen anything like this.”
The couple’s other pet, Sparky the parrot, is already an internet star thanks to millions of people viewing a Youtube video of him swearing.
But he already appears be jealous of his rival.
Jim said: “It’s quite mad at times because you get the parrot shouting at her, calling her a “dirty dog”.
“The parrot rules the roost. She doesn’t mind but I wouldn’t have him out of the cage when she’s in – just in case.
In 2012, Stornoway woman Stephanie Noble faced a battle with her local council after moving her horse indoors after a row with neighbours.
The animal lover moved grey Connemara pony Grey Lady Too into her home, and shelled out hundreds of pounds on rubber mats and cat litter to deal with the animal’s bodily functions.
