Ellie Laks couldn’t sit still for the service at her family’s Orthodox Jewish temple. As a five-year-old, it felt like torture to her. Faking a trip to the restroom, she slipped out the temple door. Suddenly, she was covered head to toe in Monarch butterflies. At seven, she defiantly told her parents, “You’ll see! When I grow up I’ll have a huge place full of animals! And I’ll show the world how beautiful they are!” Today she cares for hundreds of unwanted animals at her childhood dream, The Gentle Barn.
