“My Gentle Barn is a wonderful book. You’ll love Ellie Laks and the animals she rescued–and who rescued her back.” –Sy Montgomery, The Good Good Pig

Founder Ellie Laks started The Gentle Barn after adopting a sick goat from a run-down petting zoo in 1999. Some two hundred animals later (including chickens, horses, pigs, cows, rabbits, emus, and more), The Gentle Barn has become an extraordinary nonprofit that brings together a volunteer staff of community members and at-risk teens to rehabilitate abandoned and/or abused animals. As Ellie teaches the volunteers to care for the animals, they learn a new language of healing that works wonders on the humans as well.

My Gentle Barn weaves together the story of how the Barn came to be what it is today with Ellie’s own journey. Filled with heartwarming animal stories and inspiring recoveries, My Gentle Barn is a feel-good account that will delight animal lovers and memoir readers alike.

The Story Behind the Cover Model, Dakota Rey

Dakota Rey, the Hereford cow featured on the cover of My Gentle Barn, was born on a 3,000-acre beef ranch along with hundreds of other cows. There was a tragic accident, and her mom died shortly after Dakota Rey was born. Orphaned, hungry, weak, and afraid, Dakota Rey tried her best to survive and follow the other cows, but each day she grew more and more frail. When the ranchers found her they were going to take her to slaughter, but we were able to bring her home to the Gentle Barn instead.

She was very scared of us, as her only encounter with humans before she arrived at the Gentle Barn was with the ranchers who chased and roped her. She was also extremely malnourished. We moved slowly around her as we began the process of helping her heal. We started her right away on bottles, so she could feel nurtured and we could boost her immune system with nutritional supplements. Dakota Rey began to look forward to us feeding her and would even call for us when she heard us coming. That was the first step in her trusting us.

We spent our days sitting with her, quietly showing her that we loved her. At first we would sit in the corner and read a book or just talk to her while she kept her distance. In time she began to trust that we didn’t want anything from her and would not approach her if she didn’t want us to. She began to relax, come closer, and even lie down while we were with her. After several months we were able to pet her and sit with her head in our laps.

Once Dakota Rey was big and strong and eating hay with a good appetite, she joined our other cows in our big pasture, where she made many friends. Whenever we visit, she comes running over to us and follows us around, chewing our clothing and trying to eat our hair. Dakota Rey is now two years old, but for cows that’s still a baby. She’ll continue to grow until she’s five. She has plenty of room to kick up her heals and run, head bonk other cows and have quiet, lazy afternoons chewing her cud or meditating. Dakota Rey has come home and will always know she’s a part of our family.

The children we host at the Gentle Barn relate to Dakota Rey, for they know what it’s like to feel scared and alone, unsure if they’re strong enough to make it. Dakota Rey helps them believe they too can find a home and a family. She inspires them to persevere and to embrace their second chances.

Dakota Rey is the perfect embodiment of the Gentle Barn; she was saved from horrendous circumstances and survived. With us, she learned to trust, forgive, and love. And for the rest of her life Dakota Rey will teach those principles to everyone who visits her at The Gentle Barn.

Product Features

• My Gentle Barn Creating a Sanctuary Where Animals Heal and Children Learn to Hope