Jennifur's Helping Hands Farm offers care, comfort for pets of people facing life's challenges

The idea came to her in a dream. Now, that dream is gradually becoming a reality. Jennifer Heran is starting Jennifur’s Helping Hands Farm in Gambier to provide care and comfort to family pets when their family is going through a crisis. 

“We're taking animals that belong to people that are going through really challenging times.” said Heran. “For instance, people trying to leave domestic violence situations, people entering a rehab facility, people who are experiencing mental health crises, deployment, and other things that happen in life. What we're doing is taking those animals, housing them, and taking care of them, while they're going through that. Then, once they're able to, we reunite them.”

Heran is expected to get most of her clients via referrals from New Directions and area rehabilitation facilities.

“We are really trying to get the word out, because we don't have to be specific to just the Knox County area,” said Heran. “We are willing to take animals from all over, if they can just get them to us.”

Heran and her fiancé, Jonathan Miller, have a 16-stall horse barn in Gambier. 

“We are busy renovating it into a facility that will accommodate all animals from hamsters, to horses, and everything in between,” said Heran.

So, it's not just about dogs and cats.

“Oh no, this is everything,” said Heran. “Actually, we just got our first cat client. So, that's really, exciting. We are hoping that by this fall, we will have the dog portion ready to go. Obviously, that's the most expensive part because we don't want to just throw them in a cage. These animals are coming from an environment that is probably going to be a bit rough. They need comfort. We're going to have a concrete floor, so that we may maintain a very clean accommodation for the animals. It's very important to us — comfort and safety.”

Between Heran and her fiancé, they have three businesses, a nonprofit, and are raising seven children. Her fiancé has a woodworking business, while she has been running a pet sitting business. Jennifur’s Helping Hands Farm is an idea that draws on Heran’s experience in caring for animals and gives her a way to give back to the community.

“I was a domestic violence survivor myself, many years ago,” Heran said. ‘I've been wanting to give back and help others, who were in situations that I was once in. In a dream, it was like God asked me, ‘Why did you stay (in an abuse situation) as long as you did?’ One of the reasons I stayed as long as I did was because of my dog. I knew that I couldn't take her with me, because I didn't have a place that would accommodate her. I also knew I could not leave her behind.” 

For Heran, it was a tough choice to make. 

“So, after all these years, I started the pet sitting business and then, suddenly, it just hit me. Why don't I bridge this gap and offer a place for these people’s pets? If something happens and they need to make a quick exit from their home, they can call me anytime, day or night. I don't care what time it is. If they need a safe place for their dog, cat, fish, horse or whatever, we'll make it happen.”

Jennifur’s Helping Hands Farm is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit animal rescue organization, founded on the principle that no animal should be left behind due to circumstances beyond their owner's control. Their mission statement is, “to provide a safe, loving place for animals affected by domestic violence, substance abuse recovery, and elderly individuals who can no longer care for their pets.”

Their goal is to make sure that these animals receive the care, stability, and love they deserve. Getting all of this off the ground is a busy undertaking, but she is getting help.

“We had a couple of volunteer days,” said Heran. “People came up and they helped us tear down some of the walls on the back side of the barn. They need to be redone. Then, we are going to insert special dog doors in them, once we get the kennel up. These dog doors will have sensors on them. The dogs will have collars that match their sensors. That way, when they want to go outside, all they have to do is walk toward the dog door and it will open up for each one of them in their kennel. That way, they will be able to go in and out of it as they please.”

They will have a 5-feet by 10-feet outdoor space for each one of the dogs. 

“They'll have their own personal outdoor space to run,” said Heran. “On the inside, it will also be 5-by-10. There, they will have their cots, food, water, and toys.”

The cat room is almost done. “We put the flooring in,” said Heran. “We've got the walls up. With the one cat we have, she has just had surgery. So, we didn't want to put the climbing walls up yet. The cat is not supposed to do a whole lot of climbing. Once she gets the OK from the vet, we will go ahead and put those up. I'm a big cat person and so, I want to have the mazes on the wall and little tunnels on the floor that they might want to explore. We also have cat trees that we're going to put in there.”

It's coming along, but funding is what's difficult. 

“Right now, we're doing fundraising and we're also applying for different types of grants,” said Heran. “I think the biggest thing is just getting the word out there, because a lot of people don't really know about us yet.”

For more information on Jennifur’s Helping Hands Farm, to donate, or volunteer, please go to their website at: https://jennifurshelpinghandsfarm.com or call (614) 551-8558.