The Healing Path Care Farm is located in Whitman, Massachusetts, and provides innovative psychotherapy that incorporates interaction with animals. October marked a milestone moment for The Healing Path. Five and a half years after purchasing their original farm in Whitman, the care farm is proudly opening its second location at The Forever Farm in Middleboro.
What began as a 4-H family fostering a baby lamb in their home has evolved into a thriving care farm serving individuals of all ages. The early experiences caring for that tiny lamb planted the seed for what would become The Healing Path’s mission: offering traditional therapy in a nontraditional, deeply relational farm setting.
The journey to this moment has been far from simple. The Healing Path has navigated challenges, learning, stumbling, adjusting, and growing at every step. Their story is one of asking questions, leaning on community, learning to ask for help, and committing to doing a little better each day.
With the opening of their Middleboro location, The Healing Path looks forward to expanding its mission across both communities by continuing to offer spaces where the calming and restorative power of animals, land, and connection can flourish.
Seven years ago (before her care farm existed) founder Leila and her family fostered a tiny lamb named Bebe in their home. She wore diapers, was bottle-fed around the clock, and even tagged along to work each day. The joy and comfort she brought to clients sparked something life-changing: the first spark of what would become Leila’s care farming journey.
Because sheep need a flock, Bebe eventually went to live with Leila’s aunt, where she thrived for years. But now, as she retires from breeding, Bebe has returned back to Leila, to live out her retirement at the care farm she helped inspire. It’s a full-circle moment—one that reminds us how a single connection, even with a baby lamb in diapers, can alter the course of a life.
As Leila says: “Fostering a baby lamb literally changed my life. You never know what impact someone or something might have. Bebe is here to tell us to be open to new experiences because it might just be the best thing that could ever happen.”
This is Tiny 
when he first came to Leila’s farm. He was shy and would back away, isolating, and running from everyone (even his little brother). But slowly—through people giving him time, patience, and wells of compassionate understanding —Tiny began to learn that proximity, affection and care didn’t have to mean danger. One small moment at a time, he discovered safety in connection. Now, he’s able to face his biggest fear and has reached a level of safety (with his selected trusted few) to roll on his tummy and accept pets.
Trust doesn’t have to be blind, and it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. You can move at your own pace, finding the balance between protecting yourself and letting people in.