Nathania Gartman

Reaching to the Heart

Nathania Gartman had seen it over and over again: troubled teens who came to Best Friends and ended up finding a piece of themselves while working for animals.

They came to Best Friends as part of a program to develop better life skills. Some had been caught up in addiction, and were now working to restore their lives.

For most of them, the transformation would begin when they made a special contact with one of the animals at the sanctuary that had been abused. "They realized they were not alone," Nathania said.

A lot of kids who came here had been abused themselves. They met animals who were like them. They saw that these animals had not lost their ability to trust. These animals could give and receive love. "They could bond with another living being who had been through what so many of them had been through, but who felt no need to put up emotional walls."

And later, perhaps in the evening when they were sitting around a campfire, she would watch these "tough" kids melt.

Teenagers who had not cried in years would sob from the heart. The animals seemed to open the gateway to their emotions and they would openly grieve for the first time over their own losses, their own abuse.

For Nathania, this was one more example of the power of teaching compassion for animals as a way for all of us to reconnect with our own humanity.

"Nathania used these programs to help people find their own strengths," says Cathie Myers, Nathania's assistant. "She expected the best from people, regardless of their age and they rose to her expectations."

Her workshops and programs were inclusive of all ages, even to adult internships and teaching educators the concepts of humane education.

And for Nathania, it was vital that these programs and workshops take place here at the sanctuary in Angel Canyon, a place that she believed has a very special healing power.

If you want to look for Nathania's legacy, look for it in the people who met her.

"Her legacy is in the lives she touched," said her colleague Jana de Peyer. "She lived and breathed what she did, and helped other people to define their own."

"People who came to her workshops have been inspired to go home and find how they can help animals. Nathania helped people find their way," Faith said.

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