It Started With Saving One Cow
The Gentle Barn is a safe home for the animals “too old, too sick, too lame, or too scared to be adoptable.”
Since childhood, Ellie Laks saw animals as sentient beings, able to heal and be healed just like people. “I would always bring home lost and injured animals. By the time I was seven, I knew I just wanted to be surrounded by animals.” That desire in her soul to create a life driven by empathy, compassion, and peace became reality twenty years ago with the founding of The Gentle Barn.
Santa Clarita, California is a warm and dry canyon region approximately 35 miles north of Los Angeles where the remnants of the old west, including acres and acres of farmland, thrive. And that is where the Gentle Barn opened, first populated by a group of animals Ellie rescued from an abusive petting zoo and her first cow (and longtime Gentle Barn ambassador), Buddha. Today, 130 animals are living there, cared for and deeply loved by Ellie, her husband Jay Weiner, a dedicated staff, and many devoted volunteers.
Then the healing starts with “veterinarians as well as acupuncture, acupressure, chiropractic, ice therapy, water therapy, ultrasound, deep tissue massage, energetic…
