Painted cow prom proposal lands P.E.I. girl date to the dance

A cow, pink paint, and a question.

When Natalie DeCourcey was getting ready to ask her boyfriend, Jacob ter Beek to prom, she wanted it to be special.

DeCourcey, a Grade 12 student at Morell Regional High School, went to ter Beek's prom with him last year.

"I just wanted to do something even bigger this year because it was my prom, and it was going to be the last time that we'd be doing that."

Ter Beek's family owns a dairy farm, and DeCourcey decided she wanted to incorporate ter Beek's favourite cow into her prom proposal.

"I was thinking of just putting a cardboard sign around its neck to ask him to prom, but then his mom came up with the idea of spray-painting the cow," DeCourcey said. "I was surprised that I was actually allowed to do that."

Animal lovers need not worry — it wasn't actual spray paint. Ter Beek's mom, Sharon ter Beek, bought pink marking paint, made specifically to use on animals.

DeCourcey painted "Prom?" onto the cow. When ter Beek got home, DeCourcey popped out from behind the cow, and popped the question.

"I walked in the barn and I was kind of wondering why [the cow] was tied up, and I saw something on her, and I didn't know what was happening," said ter Beek. "It was a total surprise, I didn't expect that at all."

DeCourcey said most people she knows didn't plan anything elaborate to ask their dates to prom.

Ter Beek said his friends "thought it was pretty cute."

As for the cow, there's still a bit of pink left, but the paint is wearing off.

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