Refuge for Animals Is a Lesson in Love

Just off the Ventura Freeway on Corbin Avenue, Ellie Callahan has created a home for dozens of animals that were once starved or beaten or bred for reproduction or slaughter.

Callahan calls their home the Gentle Barn. Last January, she established it as a nonprofit refuge for abused animals and a place where she can teach humans, particularly children, to respect and care for furry and feathered beings.

“I want to teach people that these are not dirty, stupid animals,” Callahan said. “I firmly believe that we are the same as animals. We feel happy, sad, scared and we have lots of love to give.”

Callahan lives in a neighborhood where zoning allows barnyard animals. But while many homeowners use the extra land for tennis courts and pools, Callahan’s straw-strewn lot harks back to the San Fernando Valley’s agricultural origins.

Some of Callahan’s animals have permanent disabilities, such as Rebecca the chicken, who lost most of her beak after a farmer chopped it off.

A goat wobbles on crossed legs because his previous owner neglected to cut his toenails, which grew so long the goat could not straighten his two front legs.

She has two potbellied pigs, Barbie and Doogie, abandoned after their owners grew bored with the novelty.

Callahan has rescued chickens, goats, horses, sheep, pigs and a cow from petting zoos, farms and slaughterhouses throughout Southern California.

She pays for the animals from her personal savings. A goat might cost her just $50, but she paid $2,000 for Buddha the cow, unwanted because he was too small to be bred for beef.

Barnyard doors are open to the public on weekends from 10 a.m. to noon and to other groups by appointment. Admission is free, but tax-deductible donations are accepted.