For the next few evenings I'm going to be featuring stories of children learning to heal from, or being rescued by, animals. Some of the stories have happened here, and others I have permission from the Gentle Barn to share. These stories. These changes. These rescue animals rescuing children, are everything Safe in Austin is about.

How do rescue animals heal children?

Let me share some stories...

With tears streaming down her cheeks, I hugged this precious Momma and heard her whisper- "Thank you. Thank you so much. In the last two hours meeting all of your precious animals I have heard him speak more words than he has in the last two months combined. What a gift you all are. We will be back soon."

"At risk" kids.

Kids that maybe haven't been making the best decisions lately. Kids that get judged immediately based on their past, or the environment they were brought up in. Kids who had to get hard and be tough, in order to stay alive. They didn't get to choose who their parents were, how much money they have, or what side of the tracks they were born on. These kids feel like the world is against them but Safe in Austin wants to remind them they matter.... and we think our bully breed rescue dogs are perfect for the job.

"My new foster son is only three. He's angry. He's violent. He's hurting. Can we come? Is he too young? Will it help anything? We don't have any money. We don't know what to do."

YES! Come. Please come.

My friend "J" here has Aspergers Syndrome. He told me that he has a hard time in school because most of the time it feels like everyone else has their own language that he doesn't understand.

"Zachary is 19 years old and has autism and sensory processing disorder and a few other issues. He tolerates his service dog and the other three dogs in the home. We make him do activities that will require him to be exposed to animals and interact with them. Usually, he does a quick little touch with his finger tips and has to wipe his hands off. This was our first visit here and it went so much better than I could have ever expected.

Learning to Listen! 
Everyone meet my sweet, eight year old, chicken loving friend! Girlfriend is madly in love with the chickens. She thinks they are the sweetest animals ever and she wants all of them to be her friend. 

What a difference a day makes. 🐾❤️🐾
Yesterday she cowered and flinched at even the slightest movement near her and she hadn't eaten in days.

We have been talking to her, reading to her, asking her permission for touches, giving her lots of choices, and feeding her non-stop. A couple of hours ago (when we were not looking at her 😉), she felt comfortable enough to leave the crate and come out to the dog bed we placed outside of it. ❤️

"You cannot share your life with a dog, as I had done in Bournemouth, or a cat, and not know perfectly well that animals have personalities and minds and feelings."
Jane Goodal

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Their stories...

Spotty- severally abused (possible bait dog) and then dumped and homeless for 4 years.
And then we found her...

"He was the most resolute teenager I'd ever had in the barnyard. I could feel all the pain that was balled up inside him under that false front of apathy.
It was two hours into the tour and him listening from a far that I heard his deep, quiet voice behind me.