Today we’d like to introduce you to Limor Ness.
Hi Limor, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My love of animals began in my very own home as a child born and raised in Israel, the youngest of four daughters, my father, Joshua, consistently seemed to come across animals in need of rescue and had an intuitive ability to rehab them. My father taught us by example not only how to heal animals but also how to relay unconditional love to frighten animals that were often in pain and suffering. This childhood led me to pursue a Veterinary career. But before I could get to schooling, I was required to serve in the Israeli Defense Forces, as is required of all Israeli’s when they come of age.
During my service in the Israeli Air Force, my family relocated to the Los Angeles area where I joined them and began my studies in Biology and worked as a Veterinary Nurse in a local clinic. In the early days of 2001, while Israeli civilian were being attacked by suicide bombers, I was contacted by Mike Herstik, a well-known bomb detection K9 trainer, to join a large scale counter terrorism project for Israel. There I worked as the in-house veterinary nurse. This project combined my love of animals and the need to help the people of Israel during these difficult times.
As I returned to the LA area, my Israeli Air Force and Mixed Martial Arts background came into play as I was called upon to become a personal bodyguard for several well-known Hollywood Stars. After several years of bodyguarding, my husband and I decided to begin our family, I knew I would need an alternate career option as no one wants a pregnant bodyguard chasing after them, that’s for sure! My first pregnancy ended as I discovered I had a very rare form of cancer instead of a fetus. After extensive chemotherapy, with the very close care of my family and therapy dogs, I emerged cancer free and ready for a new start.
During my recovery, our Golden Retriever, Joey, a certified therapy dog was my shadow and guardian. I have always felt drawn to the older crowd and began visiting with residents at a local nursing home, if you need perspective sit with people three times your age, hear their stories, memories, history and regrets and you will find a great shift within yourself. I came to understand that I had my whole life in front of me and the ability to fulfill any dream I wished. My shadow, Joey, and I were always the winning duo at the nursing home visits and I noticed immediately how the residents responded to even just the site of him. As I continued coming for visits, the residents began expecting us and as if overnight went from slouched and unshaven to upbeat and well-groomed with treats in hand for Joey. Even if for an hour we would all forget about our ailments and troubles, being present with each other was the gift that uplifted us all.
In 2005, I had the strength and well-being to birth a beautiful baby boy, our first son, fully immersing myself in motherhood came naturally though it was a very big shift from the world I had previously been living in and experiencing. With God’s blessing, and surprise, we welcomed a second beautiful baby boy in 2007 and I continued to stay home with my babies which allowed the Universe to begin sending me animals in need. We rescued our first parrot, Gameboy, a Goffin Cockatoo who was surrendered by his previous owner. My father had rescued a wild-caught African Grey when I was seven and I fell in love with parrots intelligence and personalities then. Gameboy was a gift and not only was he our entertainer, he became a great friend, along with a sweet cat, Shula, found in a box by my sister. On a visit back to Israel a little dog found us who we immediately fell in love with and name her Chofesh, meaning ‘vacation’ in Hebrew, we did everything needed to bring her home with us to the States. It was around this time my parents summoned us to move to Kfar Saba in Winnetka, CA. Kfar Saba is the name of one of the earliest Jewish settlements in Israel, Hebrew for ‘Grandpa’s Village,’ which truly describes exactly what my parents had created there.
My parents welcomed us with open arms to their Kibbutz in Winnetka along with my sisters, Hebrew for ‘grouping’ or ‘gathering.’ In a nutshell, it is a community of people who voluntarily live and work together on a noncompetitive basis. It is true and proven that it takes a village to raise a child and we were forever grateful for the support we received arriving in our very own Kfar Saba. The property where we moved and have our farm now luckily sits on .5 acres of Agriculturally zoned land, one day I saw my father clearing some land in the backyard and watched as he began to assemble what looked like a stable. My childhood dream of wanting a pony was about to be fulfilled at 35! My father had found a mini horse in need of rescue and brought home Flicka!
When my boys were 2 and 3 years old, my oldest sister presented me with an incredible opportunity to come work alongside her as a Recreational Therapy Director in a private nursing home. Each day Joey and Chofesh would join me at the nursing home to allow me to easily incorporate Animal Assisted Therapy in the resident’s daily lives. This therapy assisted dementia residents by initiating social interaction in a controlled manner which lead to a decreased sense of loneliness and agitation, increased oxytocin levels and decreased cortisol levels. Amazing that the simple act of holding a bird or petting a dog can do this for someone. I began following the Eden Alternative™ philosophy of care which focuses on eliminating loneliness, helplessness and boredom for seniors by creating opportunities for meaningful engagement and spontaneity. This was a very special period of my life as I was able to share my love of animals with my favorite golden crowd, I had the best job in the world!
Slowly the Universe continued to bring more rescue animals into our life, another mini horse, Barbie, made her way to us, becoming Flicka’s best friend. Barbie was so calm and nurturing that I was able to begin bringing her into the nursing home with me! Everyone would relax and will smile when they saw our little dog Chofesh riding a mini horse through the halls! I took almost every activity our boys loved, adopted them to be age appropriate and respectful, and brought them to our residents, from a full zoo with zebra, cow calve and camel, a circus, drum circles, opera singers, harp concerts, roller blade dancers and bubble shows, anything and everything I could make happen I did! After eight years of the most amazing ride, I had to take a break to take care of my own health and began rehabbing the best way I knew pilates.
I devoted the next few years to practicing pilates and becoming certified as an instructor. I still maintained my connection to nursing home facilities and brought in the animals for therapy while also using my new pilates background to teach chair pilates to the residents. In 2020 everything changed for everyone as a world pandemic was announced, my visits where immediately canceled which caused me great concern for the residents well being. As we watched the world shut down around us, our farm truly began to bloom. For the first time in a decade-plus, myself, my husband and two boys, who were 13 and 14 at the time, were home together on the farm. With my family all living on the same street, we had a great comfort in being close by each other. We, of course, were worried what the future would hold and above all wanted to be able to continually provide excellent care for our rescues.
While it was amazing to have this time together with my family away from the busy world, I began noticing the animals and people around me becoming stir-crazy. Hearing of the isolation, anxiety and depression striking neighbors, friends and family around us got me to brainstorming how we could help. I started getting calls from friends who asked to come visit the farm with their children or come alone for some solace. It’s outdoors, filled with furry, feathered and scaly friends who will always welcome you with a smile, full of unconditional and nonjudgmental love. This is it. My question of many years was finally answered. Finally, after having the farm and financial supporting it on our own for 12 years, the true calling of the farm presented itself. I have always wanted to open the farm to the community. It is so magical, the animals are so loving and accepting that it must be shared with the world. Our rescues were educating people on the importance of adopting rather than shopping for animals. The furries offered healing, nurturing and calming energies to all, uplifting spirits and creating a safe and soothing atmosphere. I never advertised our farm tours anywhere, it was a spontaneous organic happening that was just spreading by word of mouth. We now run an Instagram page posting our daily gatherings with the animals and keeping people up to date with our beautiful new additions, rescue stories, gifts from the universe and beautiful and unforgettable human-animal magical bonds and experiences. Another big hobby of mine is photography. It always followed me in every walk of life. I always document these beautiful moments and share them not only on our page but with every family or group that comes here. It makes for a great memory and sometimes awesome nighttime story for the children, families and individuals who come here.
We ended up having visitors from sunrise to sunset daily, filling our days and our hearts, we have met so many beautiful souls here, some of which now feel like family! We have watched as many fears and prejudices towards animals and others have melted away, depressions lifted, reserved people blossom before your eyes when they meet an animal they connect with. Words were not necessary on the farm, just love to bring us all together.
We are making a difference. It fills my heart to know how many people came here afraid, hurt, depressed and emotionally beat and left fulfilled, happy, content and fear-free. With people coming in, the universe kept sending rescues to us. We rescued two alpacas, chickens, birds, tortoises and expanded our rescue farm. Recently we received from nature a little 4 week baby squirrel who was curled up in a ball by our front door. We named her Mochi and raised her at home for four months until her final release back to nature. This was one of the most joyous time, and this last November, with the help of some very famous Tik Tokers we rescued a turkey from becoming Thanksgiving dinner, who we named Tofu who demands to be hugged by people all the time.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It is not always a smooth road. Our farm has special odd bonds between the animals and us, and at times we face sudden or expected passing of furries. Those are the most difficult times for me. Saying goodbye is never easy, we take time to mourn and heal and open our hearts to new rescues and their love. The weather also plays a challenging part in the high of winters and summers, but we always modify and upgrade so we can always know that are animals are in a dry and warm homes in the winter and are nice and cool in the summer. I will never sleep if I knew that any one of our animals is not 100% comfortable, pampered and has all its needs met.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Kfar Saba Urban Farm is a heavenly rescue farm offering private, interactive and educational hands-on tours for all who wish to uplift their spirits, overcome emotional turbulences and most importantly bound with Mother Nature through the beautiful array of rescue animals she has sent us. We offer AAT – Animal Assisted Therapy for groups and individuals, private gatherings, host birthday parties, sound baths, cacao ceremonies, photoshoots and then some! We have recently received our animal rescue nonprofit status, and are consistently amazed and grateful for the love and support of the community around us to keep our farm stable and strong. We welcome and accept with love donations so we can continue to upgrade and add more room in our farm and hearts for new rescues to call our little slice of heaven on this beautiful earth
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
There is no such thing as luck in my eyes. I am Jewish and a firm believer in destiny – goral and following spiritual guidance, signs and my gut feeling. When you have faith and feel connected to your spirit guides, you find that your role on this earth takes powerful meaning. I embrace it and flow with it naturally, always amazed and welcoming of the human and animal interactions that arise this way.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @kfar_saba_urban_farm
- Facebook: @kfar saba urban farm
- Yelp: https://yelp.to/Rjuk4AFBBub
Image Credits
Linda Kasian Ray Skwire
