Smile for the camera, horsey!

A pair of fugitives couldn’t resist stopping by a deputy’s patrol car and saying hello before being returned to the pen.

Of course, these fugitives have four legs, swat at flies with long tails and are suckers for peanuts. More than a half-dozen horses got loose in southern Douglas County on Saturday and wandered about a mile to a neighbor’s yard, Sgt. Kristen Channel of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said in an e-mail response to questions.

A deputy drove to the address and used peanuts to start leading the horses out of the yard. About that time, the owner’s daughter showed up and led the horses the rest of the way home.

But two of them couldn’t resist having a little fun.

“These two horses were more interested in our deputy and his patrol car than they were finding their way back home the other day,” a post about the equine excursion said on the department’s Facebook page said.

One of them even smiled for the camera.

The post was on the verge of going viral Tuesday night, attracting hundreds of likes and dozens of shares in only a few hours.

This story was originally published November 15, 2017 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Smile for the camera, horsey!."