Cue the “awwwwws.”
An abused dwarf pony named Cucumber meets Pumpkin, his new family member, for the first time on Saturday’s episode of Animal Planet’s “Dodo Heroes.”
Single mom Ashley DeFelice runs Twist of Fate Farm and Sanctuary in West Grove, Penn., with her 4-year-old son Deacon. Together, they take care of 75 animals who have been abused, faced slaughter or just neglected.
“We try to take on a lot of critical cases where most people think [the animals] don’t stand a chance,” DeFelice tells The Post. “We try to give them the help and care that they need and show people that it’s worth it.”
DeFelice started her farm in 2012. She first rescued Pumpkin and her mom, Thea, from “people who didn’t know a lot about ponies,” she says. Though Thea is a miniature pony, Pumpkin and Cucumber are both dwarf ponies, meaning that a genetic defect causes unique problems for them, particularly leg issues.
“More times than not they can pull through, they just need people to help them,” says DeFelice. Both Pumpkin and Cucumber underwent several surgeries and wore leg braces. (Cucumber is still wearing his, as shown in the clip.)
Deacon, 4, helps introduce Cucumber to Pumpkin at the Twist of Fate Farm. Animal PlanetIn addition to healing him, DeFelice says, “our whole goal for [Cucumber] was to find him an animal family, where he had a mother figure and someone that was similar to him who he could spend his time with.”
“Could Cucumber and Pumpkin be the perfect set of friends?” she wondered.
They could.
After six months, the two finally met. “It was surreal,” says DeFelice. “It’s so emotional for me because we did everything we could to make that happen.”
Though they tried to match Cucumber with other animals, “it’s not the same as having a friend who’s the same species,” says DeFelice.
“As soon as they met, they knew that they were the same.”
“Dodo Heroes” airs Saturday at 9 p.m. EST on Animal Planet.
