First of all, we absolutely know that the vast majority of you love the animals and are involved for all of the right reasons. There is no doubt that you have made a difference in the lives of many of the animals in the care of The Devoted Barn. However, to really improve the quality of life for these animals, something must be done about the current leadership. We hope that you will honestly consider what we have presented here.
What we see, and are told by past and present volunteers, is that The Devoted Barn "rules" over their volunteers using fear tactics to keep everyone quiet. The amount of people who have said that they are terrified to speak against The Devoted Barn because they fear retribution is honestly sad. It seems like if you don't agree with something happening there or have questions, move along and don't say a peep about it...or else. This gaslighting technique is so unbelievably wrong and clearly used to cover their own wrongdoings. THINK about it. Why would an animal rescue organization force volunteers to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement stating that they won't discuss what happens with the animals or share any photos, videos or content containing the animals?? IT'S AN ANIMAL RESCUE. What are they hiding??? Are they embarrassed about the living conditions the animals are in and that's why they don't want it to be shared? Screenshots of a conversation with the volunteers on a Facebook group page were shared with us where Melissa suggests that there are individuals out there (implying us running this site) that might try to "steal our dogs." She went on to threaten to "file charges" against anyone who violated the NDA. Just an FYI, violating an NDA would be a civil matter that would require a lawsuit, it's not a crime where someone could press charges against you.
People, we PROMISE we have absolutely zero intentions of stealing or harming any animals.
Let's move on to that joke of an NDA that was created to scare volunteers into not giving any outside people information. We also were provided a copy of said NDA you were asked to sign. We will post a photo of it below for anyone who hasn't read it. The main goal of an NDA is to protect information or trade secrets that are critical to a company's success. Ask yourselves this. How would the release of any information that a volunteer taking care of animals has, be detrimental to the success of an animal rescue? This "legal agreement" is anything but enforceable in any court of law. Perform a simple Google search on what a real NDA looks like and what wording and clauses are required. The NDA that The Devoted Barn had some of you sign has no legal leg to stand on. There is no definition or what is deemed confidential, no wording about exclusions from confidential treatment, and most importantly, no term of the agreement. In addition, both parties must sign a NDA. There is not a chance that this document hastily typed up and slapped with the tile of "Non-Disclosure Agreement" would hold up in court. Stop falling for the scare tactics presented by the leaders of The Devoted Barn and do what's right for the animals. We have heard that many volunteers have left, including some that had been with the organization for many years.
SPEAK UP and demand that they receive better care and facilities. It may not be illegal, but is it really ok that these dogs are now living in crates for up to 22 hours a day? This is an organization that rakes in hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in donations and continues to take in more animals, but cannot seem to provide the highest quality care for the animals that they do have. They have the choice to pause intakes and focus on repairing the property they have to make it better for the animals already in their care. Notice how many personal horses and animals Melissa has on the property. If you have been to the property, you know that there is no denying that many of the horses there are personal horses of Melissa and her family/friends. Do you honestly believe that she and her ex husband are paying upwards of $7,000k/mo to keep all of those personal horses there? On top of board costs, there are vet and farrier bills for each and every one of those horses to be paid, along with tack, equipment and training. Then you add in the costs of her personal dogs...goats....All of the money and time being used to care for these animals could be going to THE RESCUE ANIMALS. It is simple fact, the more animals on the property, the more money there needs to be to care for them and more land resources are needed to house them.
Think of your own animals and the care that is needed to keep them healthy and happy. Vaccines, worming, nail/hoof trimming, teeth maintenance, grooming, wound care, proper nutrition, clean environment, enrichment, exercise, routine, and human interaction are all critical components to keeping animals healthy and happy. Can you as a volunteer confidently say that every animal on the property is receiving these things? Are all of the horses, ponies, donkeys, cows, sheep, goats, pigs, llamas, alpacas, cats, dogs, chickens, and geese receiving the necessary level of care? If you hesitate to agree, then something isn't right. We are aware that Oakland County Animal Control and Michigan Department of Agriculture have been out to do inspections and found no neglect or abuse. We are not claiming that there is severe animal abuse happening.The Michigan animal abuse and neglect laws are very vague. Basically as long as the animal isn't actively dying due to neglect or abuse, there is feed and water available on the property, and the shelter is suitable for the species, there are no laws broken. There is no law that says you can't leave your dog in a crate for 23 hours. There is no law that says your livestock must have 24/7 access to water. There is no law that says you have to vaccinate your animals (with the exception of rabies for dogs). There is no law that says your horses must go outside on a regular basis. There is no law that says that you can't keep a baby cow in a stall for months on end. There is no law that says your dogs have to see the light of day. There is no law that says specifically when or what you should feed your animals. There is no law about how often you have to clean out animal enclosures. There is no law that states an animal rescue can't breed cattle. Just because there aren't laws being broken, does not mean that it is ethical care and should be accepted. A non profit animal rescue running off the donations of animal lovers should be held to the highest standards. There are standards of care that all animal lovers should follow, despite the minimal requirements of the law. If you see something, say something.
The situations that The Devoted Barn find themselves in is nobody's fault but their own. There is a lack of planning, a lack of financial management and a lack of good leadership that has led them down the current path. We hope that many of you read this and reach out with more information to help us navigate this quest for truth. Thank you to those that have already. It's helping us piece together more pieces to the puzzle to figure out what's really happening. The many anonymous messages we are getting thanking us for bringing these topics to light make it clear that the story needs to be told. None of us want to see anything negative happen to the animals and we are sure that if The Devoted Barn shuts down for whatever reason, the animals will find places to go. There are other farm sanctuaries and dog rescues around the country that could be contacted to help with placement. Please do not let the threat of something bad happening to the animals prevent you from telling their story. Their quality of life depends on change happening.
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