Darien Second-Grader Applied for Horse Adoption by Herself, Got Life-Changing Trip Instead

2nd-grader Lucie Bohnsack has wanted a horse for years. She took matters into her own hands and tried her luck at applying to adopt a horse.

    Read Lucie’s full adoption letter and application below

    Darien 2nd-grader Lucie Bohnsack, 8, has wanted a horse for three years, so she took matters into her own hands and tried her luck by filling out a horse adoption application by herself.

    Lucie was searching online on how to adopt a horse for free when she came across the Doris Day Horse Rescue and Adoption Center in Murchison, TX, which is operated by The Humane Society of the United States.

    “Dear Sir or Madam, I know you do not usually get applications from a second grader,” Lucie wrote as the start of her cover letter. “... I decided to take matters into my own hands and complete your adoption application.”

    She continued, “I Know my chances aren’t very high, but I am still going to take the risk. Please do not think my application is a joke. Please read it all the way. Even if I don’t get a horse, could you please give me some feedback on my application. I feel in my heart that, even if not this year, then one year, I will provide a loving home for a horse!”

    She filled out the application, stating that she was in second grade as her current occupation, she has a cat and small dog as pets already, and already has been riding horses for a year.

    Lucie got references from her babysitter and teachers, gathered the vast majority of her savings for the $50 application fee and asked her mom for a stamp.

    Lucie was turned down for the adoption, but instead got the chance to take an amazing visit to center, which is part of the Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch.

    Lucie and her mom Kara Bohnsack took a plane to the Texas ranch in early May,

    “It was an inspiring and somewhat life-changing experience for both of us,” Kara Bohnsack said.

    Lucie got carrots and apples from Connecticut and brought them to the sanctuary to feed the animals. The two got to take a ride in a pickup truck to see much of America’s largest and most diverse animal sanctuary.

    “The folks at the ranch are really inspiring and were so generous with their time for Lucie,” Bonsack said.

    Lucie and her mom also got to meet Milagro (miracle in Spanish), a two-week-old donkey foal whose mother was rescued from slaughter.

    Bonsack asked Lucie what her big takeaway from the experience was.

    “Animals have voices too but you just can’t hear them,” Lucie said.

    She also said all of the animals changed her.

    Lucie is crazy about horses, but loves all animals. She became a vegetarian by herself in November and once even pleaded with her mom to let a deer tick go free outside instead of killing it.

    She participated in a summer program at a non-profit horse barn in New Canaan where participants learn how to ride and perform the full set of barn chores.

    Even though she is only 8-years-old Lucie has already begun advocating for animals.

    “It’s great when you see as a mom your kid passionately want to work on something,” she said.

    Image courtesy of Brandon Wade/AP Images for The Humane Society of the United States.