DITTMER, Mo. — A popular Jefferson County nonprofit will close its doors, or in this case its gates, for the final time this weekend.
The owners of The Gentle Barn announced the closure in a video on Facebook Friday morning.
For the past eight years, The Gentle Barn has used a 27-acre property in Jefferson County to house a variety of animals.
The owners of The Gentle Barn announced the closure in a video on Facebook this Friday morning.
“While our California and Tennessee locations are thriving and continuing on we must close our Missouri location,” founder Ellie Laks said.
The announcement caught a number of staff members and volunteers, who didn’t want to go on camera, off guard.
“We’ve been working hard to stay open there,” CEO Jay Weiner said. “Because of the weather, the pandemic, the economy, and diminished financial support we have to follow through with this plan.”
That plan includes relocating the animals, including the infamous St. Louis Six steers that escaped from a slaughterhouse, to other Gentle Barn locations in Tennessee and California.
“With the enormous amount of animals in our care we must always be working strategically to get them everything they need,” Laks said.
As they begin transporting the animals to their new homes, the founders of The Gentle Barn are asking supporters around the country for help.
"It's a big journey and we need your help to cover essentials like transport fees, gas, food, hay, water, bedding with stops along the way so that animals can stretch their legs and rest,” Laks said.
If you would like to come out to the Gentle Barn and see the animals one last time, you still have a chance.
Sunday is the final day the farm will be in operation.
The gates will be open from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m.