“What little boy doesn’t love animals?”, said Ruth Peck, volunteer leader for the Dawson D Rings 4-H club in Glendive.

She had just learned that Andrew Velasco, a 6-year-old Brooklyn boy, was coming to Glendive through the generosity of the Make a Wish Foundation to live out his lifelong dream of digging for dinosaur bones.

There wasn’t much time to plan, but with help from Ruth and other volunteers, local 4-H’ers invited Andrew and his sister, Amber, to explore their own personal petting zoo. The kids brought goats, chickens, ducks, horses and even a miniature pony to a barn at the Dawson County Fairgrounds.

Thanks to enthusiastic community members, one rainy afternoon that was too muddy for dinosaur digging turned out fun after all. At their indoor zoo, Andrew and Amber got a taste of Montana farm life, feeding the animals, milking a goat, and doing a bit of cowboying.

Angie Cullinan, a member of the Dawson Double D’s 4-H Club, was happy to let Andrew ride her miniature pony, Mickey. She said that seeing how much fun Andrew had with the brand new experience made her appreciate things she had taken for granted, even simple things like feeding Mickey.