‘It doesn’t feel real’: Make-A-Wish grants teen with cancer’s wish to adopt a mini cow

SPRING HILL, Tenn. (WSMV/Gray News) – A 15-year-old in Tennessee who is battling cancer got a surprise that can only be described as a dream come true when she returned to her home on Friday.

Brylee Crutcher is in remission from an aggressive form of cancer. When asked by Make-A-Wish what she would wish for, she told the nonprofit she dreamed of adopting a miniature highland cow.

Make-A-Wish and Tractor Supply then came together to make that happen.

“It does not feel real,” Crutcher said.

Doctors had diagnosed Crutcher with malignant ovarian cancer earlier this year.

The teen had a softball-sized tumor that had to be urgently removed. After removal, they learned it was cancerous. The tumor had ruptured before it was removed, which led to Crutcher having to go through nine weeks of intense chemotherapy treatments.

Crutcher said she did not know if she qualified for Make-A-Wish while she was in remission, but decided to ask for a miniature highland cow. The cows can range in size from 3 to 4 feet tall.

She was shocked when she came home from school to cheers from family and a cow in her yard.

“I was like, ‘Is that mine, or did somebody’s cow get over here?’ I did not know what to think when I saw him,” she said. “He’s very cute. [Highland cows] are so fuzzy and cute.”

Crutcher, the fourth generation on her family farm, decided to name the cow Homer. She said she always wanted to name a pet Homer, but it didn’t fit any of her dogs.

“He just looks like Homer,” she said of the cow.

While Crutcher is in remission, she and her family still lean on a support system to get them through the tough times.

Crutcher’s mother, Jennifer, said their community has helped them raise $70,000 for treatment.

“We could not have done it without our tribe,” she said. “We have yet to pay a hospital bill out of pocket yet.”

Brylee Crutcher thanked Make-A-Wish and Tractor Supply for making her dreams come true.

“It’s been a very good day,” she said. “And I got out of school early.”

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