Founder of The Gentle Barn: Animal Sanctuaries for Abused & Neglected Farm Animals — Ellie Laks

Ellie Laks founded The Gentle Barn after adopting a sick goat from a run-down petting zoo in 1999. Now, thousands of animals later (including cows, chickens, pigs, goats, horses and many more), The Gentle Barn has become an extraordinary nonprofit that brings together; volunteers and at-risk children & teens to rehabilitate abandoned and abused animals. The Gentle Barn aims to inspire people through stories and interactions with their animals, so future generations can see reverence for all life, protect our planet, live good healthy, happy lives, and be one step closer to having peace on earth. The Gentle Barn has a second location in Nashville, Tennessee, and a third in St Louis, Missouri. It’s Ellie’s mission to open a Gentle Barn in every state so that everyone in America can hug cows, cuddle turkeys, give pigs tummy rubs, and look into the eyes of these animals and know for certain that we are all the same, and deserving of the same rights, respects, and freedoms. To date, The Gentle Barn has saved thousands of animals lives and hosted over 500,000 people. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS // + Her first memory of being drawn to the animal world + Getting bullied and enduring a rough upbringing, attempting suicide at age 7 + How hard things in our lives got us both into the fields we were meant to pursue + Getting through the passing of a dear animal ways she has learned to do this more gracefully + The behind the scenes story of “Dudley” the viral Gentle Barn cow who Ellie rescued and helped get a prosthetic limb + How Ellie first learned to communicate with animals + How going through our biggest challenges can gift us beyond measure + Being highly sensitive souls we need to be aware of finding healthier ways to cope + We share our near death experiences + Why Connection Is Magic + Cow hug therapy and mediation at Gentle Barn explained