When I first started to volunteer at the Gentle Barn, I did it to just try it out. I originally didn't have a certain animal I wanted to work with, but after a few weeks of volunteering, I found my love for goats. I continue to volunteer for…

Like many of the volunteers at the Gentle Barn Tennessee, I was a fan of the Gentle Barn in California before I ever dreamed that there would be a location opened in Knoxville. I was touched by the stories of the animals who found sanctuary at…

Five years ago we were given 250 toys left over in a warehouse just before Christmas. At The Gentle Barn we host children living in the projects in South Central Los Angeles who have so little. Thinking of them we loaded all the toys into the back of the Gentle Barn pickup truck and drove…

It's official: Jasmine is now a big girl chicken and is sleeping with the other birds in the barn.

Jasmine was born with crooked toes and could not walk. When we were asked to help, we brought her to our avian specialist and after a week in the hospital her toes were straightened…

We just came back from an amazing week in Tennessee. We hosted three groups of foster children: one for toddlers, one for 6-10 year olds, and, one for teens. Like our animals, they all have had the most horrendous, unimaginable abuse and are trying to get through life, feel confortable in their own skin, and find trust, forgiveness…

While in Tennessee Jay and I met some cows on a cattle ranch. They were terribly afraid of people. As we walked through their pasture, their eyes were wide with fear, the matriarch trying to figure out why we were there, and, attempting to reassure her family.

They followed behind…

I’ve always loved animals and had an acute sensitivity to all life. That openness was always met with, "Oh Ellie, don't be ridiculous, it's just a bird", or "stop your nonsense I'll get you another rabbit.” You would think that with all the criticism…

I bought a cow. I said words I never thought I’d hear myself say, “Mrs. Duncan, I’d like to buy a cow.” Then I reached into the back pocket of my jeans and handed the cattleman’s wife $300 dollars.

I owed a debt to a calf I’d…

Jay and I are in Knoxville, Tennessee, this week to host children in foster care coming to The Gentle Barn. We also hosted another very special group. We auctioned off a trip from CA to TN during our Thanksgiving event and the winners came to spend time with us and meet Dudley and his…

This month marks the 3rd anniversary of Buddha’s transition, but it feels like yesterday. Buddha was my partner, my teacher, my confidante, and my friend, and when she left it was by far the most painful thing that has ever happened to me. I know she is still with me in spirit and…