Posted on Apr 28, 2015
By Ellie Laks, Founder of The Gentle Barn
I've had two "assignments" as a volunteer at The Gentle Barn. The first was hanging out with Monty (RIP), the big, flirty turkey whose body was getting very challenged to support his artificially increased weight. The second was to goat-sit Sun Dance, the abandoned baby boy who needed special and immediate care. I could go on for pages about how special, how unique, how adorable these two animals are. But the real soul-value of spending time at the Barn is much more intimate. Everyone has a personal, sometimes unspoken, secret of discomfort, injury, insecurity, or injustice. Could be pain, loneliness, confusion, and grief, whatever. Every animal at the Gentle Barn shares those secrets too. They all have a story of abandonment, neglect, abuse and pain, loneliness, and fear. Sitting with an animal there, you exchange stories without words, without judgment, with forgiveness and understanding, and you both heal just a little more. I've never been in more loving place.