The Gift of an Animal

In Northern Bellingham a one-of-a-kind farm full of animals is helping individuals overcome attention deficit disorder, trauma, grief and loss, autism and anger management. Animals as Natural Therapy is a local non-profit organization that operates out of a 100-year-old, five acre farm that uses animals to help its clients get a greater sense of self competence, trust and mutual respect.

Animals as Natural Therapy, otherwise known as ANT, “provides therapeutic growth and learning opportunities for at-risk youth and veterans,” Amy Schilder the development and community outreach coordinator said. The farm, Windy Acres, which is located off of Hannegan Road in Northern Bellingham, plays host to 14 horses, five rabbits, one dog, eight chickens, two goats, one llama, one cat and three ducks. All of the animals on the farm are used to help the clients learn to communicate with the animals and other individuals.

The instructors at Animals as Natural Therapy use the animals to teach their students how to communicate in a nurturing, caring way. “If they are too aggressive or assertive the horse will tell them so,” Schilder said. Ages 8 through 18 are the most effective for building the children’s relationships with the animals and are the primary ages at ANT Schilder said.

Animals as Natural Therapy have three, 10 week sessions a year, each usually with 40 kids per session. Children go once per week and stay for one to one and a half hours. ANT has individual sessions and group sessions where the children get to work with a variety of animals. Each 10 week session costs from $400 to $500. Ninety percent of the students at ANT are at-risk youth who cannot afford the 10 week session said Schilder. The farm works hard to provide scholarships for those students who cannot afford it. The scholarships come from mostly individual donations.

Over the past year the number of clients attending Animals as Natural Therapy has grown from 40 students per session to around 52 students. To help provide scholarships for the students, Animals as Natural Therapy is throwing a free continental breakfast on Nov. 9 from 7:30 a.m. until 8:30 a.m. The benefit, called Healing Hearts, is being held at the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship Social Hall at 1207 Ellsworth St. There will be multiple speakers at the breakfast to share with the audience their experiences at ANT and how it can greatly help an individual. After the speakers, ANT will then ask for donations from their guests; they hope to raise $14,000 so more students will be able to participate in the ANT program.

At Windy Acre farm the staff of Animals as Natural Therapy uses its equine program, which mainly focuses on the trust and communication with a horse, to help individuals with therapeutic needs. The students get to choose a horse they will work with for their whole 10 week session. They then learn how to communicate with the horse, with and without physical contact. They learn how to take care of the horses and eventually how to ride.

Along with the equine program, Animals as Natural Therapy visits nursing homes with a group of their teens and animals as part of their intergenerational program. The program is designed to help build relationships with the seniors who miss the companionship of animals and youth. “It’s amazing what a bunny or chicken can do for a person,” said Shelley Tuttle the volunteer coordinator at Animals as Natural Therapy. The farm also has an equine program for veterans. The veterans work with horses to learn how to develop relationships and team skills as well as helping with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, suicidal thoughts and reintegration back into noncombatant life.

To run a farm the size of Animals as Natural Therapy takes 200 volunteers and year round work. The farm has three different types of volunteers to keep things running smoothly. Mentors work directly with the youth and the animals, event volunteers help plan events and chore volunteers who keep the farm clean.

The volunteers at Animals as Natural Therapy also receive therapeutic rewards by working with the animals and children. Taylor Callaham, intern and volunteer at ANT said the most rewarding part of her job is “working with the children and teaching them something they did not know about themselves before.” Callaham and other volunteers at ANT get to work with young women ages 13-19 who are recovering addicts. Callaham said it is great feeling at the end of a session to be able to tell the girls how great they are and see how much they have progressed.

Animals as Natural Therapy opened in 1999. Over the past 13 years the farm has continued to grow and change lives every day. ####