One of the favorite memories that a few of you brought up over the past few days was when we watched Guille take her first step backward, out of the barn. Scott and Kat rewatched the video and gave these thoughts on this moment: It’s amazing to see how different she was. She has grown so much. She’s come so far and just completely transformed. They were so sheltered; I think it’s a reminder of how isolated their world was. When we saw them in that pit, it was hard to imagine them being anywhere else. But seeing her here now, immersed in sanctuary life, you can’t imagine her anywhere else. Looking back, it’s easy to forget the little tiny steps that were so impactful. Pocha and Guillermina took hours to come out of their crate. The reality is, that with the limited life that they lived before sanctuary, autonomy was intimidating. Though they had the ability to leave, they spent a few days in the barn for most of the time. While a lot of people were anxiously waiting for them to leave the barn, explore, and meet other elephants, we were anticipating this being a longer process for them. Our role at this time was to simply watch, listen, and let them know that we were there for them, for whatever they needed.� This first step, backwards, out of the barn, was incredibly brave. We were so proud of her, Pocha was proud of her, and Guille was proud of herself. For the first time, they were given choice, and Guille chose to take that first step on a new journey — all on her own. #elephants #sanctuary #healing #animalrescue #animalsoftiktok #animallover #elephantlover #fyp #rescue #gseGUILLE #amazinganimals #elephant #wildliferescue