Carlee's Love of Animals

Carlee Thornton, 10, with her horse Trigger. Trigger was rescued by the the Thornton family.

Carlee Thornton, 10, proudly displays  the one hundred dollar bill she received as a donation

“I feel that animals are not getting the appreciation that they should be,” says Carlee Thornton, 10, of Wainfleet. “I’ve learned a lot about what animals go through in their life. Like what people will do to animals when they don’t want them.”


Carlee, a grade four student at William E. Brown School, was given a class project to find a way to make the world a better place and she decided to raise money to help rescue animals.

“It’s called the Nobody 2 Somebody project,” says Carlee’s mom, Melissa. “They have a nobody doll that represents the faceless or whatever the cause may be. The project premise is just basically to ask the children what can they do to make the world better for somebody. Turn a nobody into a somebody.”

Melissa says each child “translates that differently based on their own personal life experience” and projects range from shovelling the snow and raking the leaves for a neighbour to donating their hair for cancer.

She says it was natural that Carlee would gravitate towards helping animals.

“Carlee’s heart is with horses. And she’s personally touched by our neighbour, Kelly, who makes it literally her life’s work to help horses. She runs K “N” D Horse Rehabilitation and Rescue.”

K “N’ D is run by Kelly Bennett and Dave Boucock in Wainfleet.

Carlee was inspired by Kelly’s dedication to helping horses that are injured, can no longer work at the track or were headed to be slaughtered for their meat.

“Lots of people don’t know that horses are one of the most abused animals,” Carlee says. “Many horses are mistreated and neglected. If horses are injured at the track or can not run fast enough they are no longer worth keeping to lots of owners. Someone has to help them get the vet care they need and find them suitable homes…that is just what K “N”D does.”

Carlee regularly helps K “N” D by cleaning stalls and her family has even adopted a few horses from them.

“We personally rescued two of our horses from Kelly. One of them is a mare who was going for meat who was in foal,” says Melissa. “Knowingly in foal, so they knew she was pregnant and the meat buyer was bidding on her. Kelly saved her from going for meat and we adopted her. It just makes you feel horrible when you think that this animal was going to be destroyed.”

Although horses are Carlee’s favourite animal, she is also raising money for the Welland & District Humane Society to help the animals there. She wishes people would stay committed to caring for their animals instead of abandoning or harming them.

“It’s important to help animals because animals are no different than humans. They should be treated the same,” Carlee says. “People shouldn’t just stop caring about their animal. They shouldn’t just leave them somewhere. I think people should understand that animals have feelings.”

So far Carlee has raised nearly $600 by selling homemade treats for horses, dogs and cats. She researched recipes online and then adjusted the ingredients to create 9 unique treats. Each treat is named after a special animal in Carlee’s life and the packaging is personalized with stories about them.

Carlee even decided to use her birthday as a fundraiser for her project. Instead of presents, Carlee asked guests to give a donation for her cause.

“I have enough gifts so why do I need more? These animals have nothing and I have a whole whack of things. I thought maybe I shouldn’t get anymore stuff. I wanted to give something to the animals.”

Carlee’s love of animals has influenced her family greatly, says Melissa.

“Pretty much all the animals we have are rescued,” she says. “From our dogs to our horses. I would never have fallen in love with horses had it not been for Carlee. It was her love for them that created my love. Now I can’t imagine my life without them. It’s something that has made her and I closer and we share this love together. Our favourite place to be is out in the barn.”

Carlee says there is something special about horses and she feels “really lucky to have one”

“They are harmless, amazing creatures and I’m really proud of myself for doing what I can to help.”

Melissa says she is also proud of Carlee’s initiative.

“I can’t tell you how happy she makes me every day. This didn’t surprise me because her love for animals is just outstanding. Lots of people love animals, but she loves animals to the point that she’ll do something about it.”

Carlee knows that her future will involve animals in some way.

“I’m not really sure what I’m going to do, but I definitely want to work with animals,” she says.

Carlee is selling her animal treats for $5/bag and 100% of the proceeds will go to help the animals at K “N” D Horse Rehabilitation and Rescue and the Welland & District Humane Society. Orders can be placed by emailing Carlee at carlee.n2s.fundraiser@gmail.com or calling (905)788-1873.

Carlee also has created two you-tube videos explaining her project and showcasing some of the animals in need at each shelter. Search “Carlee’s Nobody 2 Somebody Project” at http://www.youtube.com/.