Fifth grader Sadie Kraft got the greatest gift an animal lover could get after she finally met her dream animal, a sloth named Helen, at Roosevelt Park Zoo in Minot, North Dakota.
The heartwarming surprise of a lifetime followed an unexpected hospital visit after her dad sought medical attention for what initially seemed like an intense shoulder pain but turned out to be a much more serious condition.
Sadie’s father, Sean, was experiencing serious neck problems that made it difficult for him to walk. He eventually went to Sanford Hospital in Bismarck, where doctors discovered that his ruptured discs were compressing his spinal cord.
“The discs were very, very ruptured and compressing my spinal cord to the point that they were pretty amazed that I even walked in the building,” he said, as cited by KFYR TV.
Interestingly, a casual conversation sparked by his sloth-themed T-shirt that said “Daddy Sloth” with a Sanford social worker eventually helped make his daughter’s dream of meeting her favorite animal come true.
A three-toed sloth hangs from a branchMARTIN BERNETTI/AFP via Getty Images
After learning about her love for sloths and how she had spent the entire summer helping and supporting her father, the social worker, Kristin Wentz-Krumwiede, contacted Roosevelt Park Zoo in Minot to see if it could arrange a special encounter.
The zoo, which normally required visitors to be at least 14 years old to handle or have close interaction with animals, waived its usual age restriction so Sadie could fulfill her dream of meeting a sloth.
View this post on Instagram“So Roosevelt [Park] Zoo not only lifted the age requirement for it, but then they also gifted the family the experience as well,” Wentz-Krumwiede said.
A week after the father’s surgery, Sadie didn’t just get to meet her dream sloth; she also had the unexpected opportunity to help train and feed the animal named Helen, making her dream-come-true visit even more memorable.
“It brought tears to our eyes,” Sean said, expressing the family’s deep gratitude for the sweet and meaningful gesture. “It was above and beyond. It was really touching for her and even Sanford to go above and beyond. It was just really, it was, it was a nice thing. It was a breath of fresh air after everything we’d been through.”
Sean shared that his daughter’s love for sloths doesn’t end with Sadie’s one-on-one interaction with Helen. In fact, the fifth grader already has a collection of more than 100 stuffed sloths.
As for the slow-moving tropical animal, Helen has been with the Roosevelt Park Zoo since 2020 and debuted as an Animal Ambassador at the Canvas, Corks, and Conversation adult event in 2024.
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