I love my job. I really do. And….you know when you play that game with friends where you ask, “If you were going to have another job, what would it be?” Well, I have always wanted to operate an animal refuge.

And then, it just appeared. Honestly. Just. Appeared.

The Haven Wellness Center (The Haven) is our private practice located between East Dallas and Downtown. We LOVE this neighborhood. We love the diversity of people that we see and serve here. We love that people care about this neighborhood and that although there is gentrification happening, there are also some long timers here. The buildings range from old to new, run-down to renovated.

Anything can happen in this neighborhood.

So, you won’t be surprised to hear that when we arrived at work one morning last spring, there were farm animals in the vacant lot next door. I will give you a second with that. Farm animals in a lot close to downtown. Right.Next.Door.

So, selfishly, this is a dream come true. But, we also felt worried for the animals. Were they being treated right? Did they have enough food and water? I have hopped the fence in a skirt to refill water, I bought a salt lick, I have called Dallas Animal Services when I was concerned. When the animals started breaking out of the fence 6 times in 2 days, our office AND the whole neighborhood flew into action. There were neighbors boarding fences, neighbors who had ordered and were providing farm animal treats (they do exist) and there were neighbors herding the animals back through the fences.

Y’all, we have never met the owner of this property (although we have left sign after sign for him to call us!), but the animals sure have become ours. They belong to the neighborhood and our clients now too.

I am not very traditional as a therapist. Some therapists think that therapy done sitting in a therapy office is the only way to heal. I think that therapy is important AND it is ONE way to heal. But, let me tell you what we see every day now.

In addition to our well stocked break room full of apples and carrots provided by our staff here at 4310 Gaston, everyone else brings them food as well. Healing is about connection, sometimes to people but sometimes to animals. Bruce Perry, the renowned psychiatrist, says:

“For years mental health professionals taught people that they could be psychologically healthy without social support, that ‘unless you love yourself, no one else will love you.’…The truth is, you cannot love yourself unless you have been loved and are loved. The capacity to love cannot be built in isolation”
― Bruce D. Perry, The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog: And Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist's Notebook

So on the surface it looks like our clients and neighbors go to the lot next door to connect with the animals, but what happens is that they connect with each other as well. This is the healing. Seeing the good in others, seeing people with a shared sense of doing what is right and caring, seeing people standing out by the fence with food, talking and laughing that would have never found each other in any other way.

At the end of a day when I have heard trauma after trauma that people should never have had to go through, I can feel pretty pessimistic about the world. But then as I leave I grab some carrots, I go see the animals and things just feel better. So, thank you, real owner that we do not know, but we got them now!

Additionally, in the spirit of fun, we have no idea what these animals’ names are, but here are what we have named them: the miniature horse’s name is called Bonnie Kamala Haven, the large white goat is called Billie Holiday VonTrapp, the brown female goat is called Mama Lady Lakewood, and the black male goat is called Gaston Peak McDallas. But! There are two babies without names. So, we need your help community! Comment to help us name these two!

Animal Haven

Why should you start therapy in the summer?

The Haven Wellness Center