In 1999, Ellie Laks founded the Gentle Barn Foundation with goats and sheep rescued from a neglectful petting zoo. With the help of her husband and cofounder, Jay Weiner, that sanctuary in Santa Clarita, California, rapidly grew to include a variety of animals and two more locations. Laks has two decades of experience as a public speaker, with appearances including a TEDx talk, and has given interviews to numerous magazines and newspapers. She has appeared on Good Morning America, TODAY, Ellen, Yahoo News, Verywell Health, and local CBS, NBC, and cable news/culture shows. More information at GentleBarn.org.
Ellie Laks
- What is The Gentle Barn?
The Gentle Barn is a 25-year-old national, nonprofit animal sanctuary located in Los Angeles, California, St Louis, Missouri, and Nashville, Tennessee. We rescue animals from severe abuse and neglect who have nowhere else to go and give them sanctuary for the rest of their lives. We are home to horses, donkeys, cows, goats, sheep, pigs, chickens, turkeys, llamas, alpacas, peacocks, emus, and dogs. When the animals are ready, we partner with them to heal people from the same stories of trauma and connect people to the love and magic of farm animals. The Gentle Barn is open to the public every Sunday, hosts private tours, school field trips, and gentle birthday parties during the week, and offers healing to hurting humans in our animal-assisted therapy programs.
- How did you start The Gentle Barn?
The Gentle Barn has been my dream since I was seven years old. I always loved animals and noticed that the people around me did not see them as the teachers, healers, and friends that I did. I told anyone who would listen that when I grew up I would have a big place full of animals, and show the world how beautiful they are! Decades later, I discovered an abusive petting zoo and ended up bringing home sick and injured animals from there, healing them, and partnering with them to ultimately start my dream. A few years later, Jay Weiner came in to volunteer, got more and more involved, a year later we fell in love, and joined forces to expand our mission.
- What have you seen about the benefits of the human–animal bond?
To me, the human-animal bond is nothing short of magic! The unconditional love from animals heals us, opens us up, and makes us come alive like nothing else! Because of the interaction with animals at The Gentle Barn, I have seen people who are mute speak, those who are angry soften, those who are shut down and broken find themselves, and those who are grieving find hope.
- Tell us about your first cow and what she taught you?
From my book, Cow Hug Therapy:
“Buddha was a fuzzy, red, eight-hundred-pound cow with a white face, teddy bear ears, and a pink nose. Before I rescued her, Buddha was part of a miniature cow breeding program. Because she could not get pregnant and earn her keep, she was being sent to slaughter. Thankfully I was able to bring her home to me instead. From the minute I met her, I knew she was no ordinary cow. Alert ears framed curly bangs on top of her head, and long, white ringlets coiled at the end of her tail. She looked at me with giant eyes, lashes fluttering like butterflies, and I felt she was gazing into my soul. Compared to many previous animals I had rescued who were terrified and untrusting, Buddha arrived in the quiet of our barnyard open, affectionate, at ease, and inviting from day one…
Buddha taught me to meditate, trust myself, and connect visitors with our animal ambassadors in a profound way. She also showed me that once our loved ones transition, the connection isn’t over; it is only a different experience, with a different form. Instead of opening our eyes to see, smell, touch, and hold our loved ones, we can close our eyes and feel them with us.”
- How do you see animals and how are cows different?
I see animals as our very best teachers, healers, and friends. They listen as we cry, make us feel wanted and valuable, and encourage us to keep going when we would otherwise prefer to give up. Animals are angels who give us the opportunity to be the best versions of ourselves when we are with them. I think that all animals have much to teach us and are valuable healers. Horses give us an opportunity to practice leadership, confidence, and an awareness of our own body language and energy. Smaller animals give us a chance to practice empathy, compassion, and kindness. They make us feel wanted, needed, and have a sense of purpose. Cows offer something truly unique. They are huge and outweigh us by thousands of pounds. We can’t really train them or get them to perform on demand. Yet, when they feel safe, they accept us into the fold of their families and offer up their nurturing and their wisdom. When we are in the company of cows are intelligent, affectionate, grounded, centered, calm, they know who they are, and have much healing to offer us. They meditate every day, harm no one, are completely inclusive and accept everyone, and give the very best mom hugs!
- What is cow hug therapy?
Cow Hug Therapy was created 25 years ago when I rescued my very first cow named Buddha. I would lean against her at the end of exhausting days and she, in turn, would wrap her neck around me and hold me for hours while I cried into her shoulders. She healed me and kept me strong, and I knew that the rest of the world needed this type of healing, as well. Cow Hug Therapy soon became an integral part of the healing we do at The Gentle Barn where people could rest their faces against the cows’ shoulders, close their eyes, exhale, breathe in and out meditatively, clear their heads, wash way the past and worries, and become immersed in present time. Guests feel calmer, more peaceful, less stressed, connected, grounded, centered, and healed without words or thought.
We have used this healing modality for those in foster care, domestic violence shelters, war veteran centers, inner-city schools, special-needs classes, anyone recovering from drug and alcohol, on probation, and anyone out there who is stressed, lonely, depressed, or anxious can come to The Gentle Barn and be part of our healing programs.
- How does cow hug therapy help people?
Cow Hug Therapy works by our guests putting their faces on the cows, closing their eyes, finding the cows’ heartbeats and slowing down their own, and finding the cows’ breathing and matching theirs to the cows. The experience clears the mind of thought, grounds and centers the person, and cracks them wide open to feel humble, vulnerable, and ready to heal.
Unlike holding smaller animals or riding horses, with Cow Hug Therapy we are not in charge. The cows outweigh us by thousands of pounds but want to be with us, hold still for us, and offer us their nurturing. Cow hugging is like meditation but with a giant, fuzzy, soft, adorable animal who is with us through the process of self-discovery.
Cow hugging mimics the feeling of being an infant on our caregiver’s chest, feeling the rise and fall of their breath, hearing their heartbeat, and allows us to feel cared for, small, vulnerable, protected, wanted, and needed.
- How is it different from traditional forms of therapy?
Cow Hug Therapy is different because it allows participants to heal without words. Traditional therapy requires us to talk about our past and our traumas, dissect it, and find the hidden lessons within. When we are too angry or shut down to talk, if we don’t remember our trauma, or if we are recovering from a loss and there is not much to talk about, Cow Hug Therapy can really help. It shuts down the thought center of the brain, opens up our intuitive and creative side of the brain, clears the mind of thoughts and responsibilities, and allows us to feel open, connected, and truly loved. Cow Hug Therapy is not something that we think our way through, it is something that we feel.
- What can cows teach us about being human?
Cows are everything that we should be and will be once we fully awaken to love. They are a matriarchal society led by the wisest female who leads with collaboration, creativity, and connection. Love is the most important value for cows, and they groom each other each morning, celebrate birth, and support each other through loss. They meditate each and every day, practice self-care, trust themselves, follow their own impulses, and rely on their own institution. They are designed to leave a pasture better than when they found it and benefit their environment instead of destroying it. They come together as a community and support each other. Cows are an extraordinary tribe and I dream of the day when we humans can model our society after theirs. When we behave more like cows, our bodies will be healthy, our environment will be protected, and we will all find inner peace, community, and well-being.
- How does animal communication play a role in rescuing animals?
Animal communication is an integral part of the rescue work that we do at The Gentle Barn. When we bring animals home to The Gentle Barn, we don’t always know their stories, where they came from, or the full extent of what they have gone through. Animal communication helps us find the missing pieces of their pasts. It also helps us understand what the animal needs, wants, or feels to better care for them. It helps us resolve disputes with other animals, acclimate them to their new surroundings faster, and understand them better. And feeling heard, seen, understood, and cared for makes us all feel better!
Cow Hug Therapy: How the Animals at the Gentle Barn Taught Me about Life, Death, and Everything In Between
By Ellie Laks
Animals * $19.95 * Trade paperback * 264 pp. * 5 ¼ x 8 * ISBN: 978-1-60868-868-5
Pub date: May 21, 2024 * Also available as an ebook
Author: Bliss
Dedicated to making a positive difference for people, animals, and this beautiful planet!
