Finding healing through kindness to animals

Safety. This word can bring up lots of images and emotions. Safety may look like burrowing under cozy bedcovers or hugging your loved ones (furry or otherwise). Safety could smell like warm chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven on a rainy day. For Jim Struve, safety is the foundation of healing.

Jim is the executive director of MenHealing, a nonprofit organization dedicated to healing men who have experienced sexual harm. The organization achieves this in various ways, including annual retreats to healing locales such as Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. The retreats are service-based, and their recent visit to the Sanctuary marks their fourth year of volunteering, although Jim’s experience with the Sanctuary began more than a decade ago.

“I visited Best Friends in 2010 for the first time and found the experience of working with abused and neglected animals was very profound,” recalls Jim. “Personally, it was very emotional and profound to help the animals in their need for healing and recovery. If you don’t feel safe, it’s hard to heal and love, which holds true for animals as well. The keystone of our events is that we respect everyone’s safety, both human and animal.”

[Rescuing animals, one flight at a time]

Jim’s experience at the Sanctuary also sparked another idea. “I wondered what the experience would be like to bring men who have been sexually harmed to do service work with these animals,” says Jim. “What it's evolved into is now we bring any staff who want to come, any survivor who we've worked with, and people are invited to bring family, friends, children, parents, whatever. It's a service project for the entire organization.”

The group helps with a variety of service projects, from cleaning the goat barn to revamping tortoise enclosures. “We’ve had opportunities to work with animals (including) dogs, cats, pigs, turtles, desert tortoises, birds, and goats,” says Andrew Swindle, a volunteer from MenHealing. “We’ve cleaned a lot of goat poop, which is actually kind of fun.”

This year, the group also witnessed a horse demonstration that left a lasting impression on everyone.

“One of the horse trainers spent some time demonstrating the therapeutic rehab and training they do with the horses,” says Andrew. “He brought out a beautiful horse named Tuff. The horse was clearly anxious, but the trainer was so gentle and patient as Tuff worked through his anxiety over having the saddle cinched up a bit. The trainer just let the horse sit with what he was feeling and showed him that he was there, letting the horse figure it out without pushing him. It was special to see that Tuff had someone to gently lead and guide him just as we all need in our own lives.”

The retreats also incorporate exploring red rock mesas, hiking through narrow slot canyons, doing yoga, and simply communing with the healing spirit of Mother Nature. “I'm a big believer that if we connect with nature, and we get all the lessons from nature, we heal. And that's going to affect how survivors heal, so we become more holistic,” says Jim. “Healing becomes intergenerational in that way. Let's teach our children to do service work and to help heal animals and people.”

This intergenerational approach to healing is nothing new for Andrew and his father, Art. “I did this trip last year as well with my dad,” says Andrew. “It’s been a place for me and my dad to connect. He’s 81 now and I’m 40, so it was fun hanging out together and doing some manual labor. It was cool to get back to these animals and be with the group again.”

[Credit One Bank team gets hands-on at Best Friends]

Reflecting on the experience, Andrew shares, “I'm strengthened and buoyed up from the experience of rendering service to these animals. It’s just good to get your hands dirty and do something for somebody else.”

Best Friends’ vision is a better world through kindness to animals, and the MenHealing group embodies that.

Andrew says, “If I can show love to this animal who has struggled, then I can show that to myself and to other people.”

Our goal at Best Friends is to support all animal shelters in the U.S. in reaching no-kill in 2025. No-kill means saving every dog and cat in a shelter who can be saved, accounting for community safety and good quality of life for pets. 

Shelter staff can’t do it alone. Saving animals in shelters is everyone’s responsibility, and it takes support and participation from the community. No-kill is possible when we work together thoughtfully, honestly, and collaboratively.