Zero is much too high a rating. The owner as well as others are being charged with multiple felonies. Melissa Borden isnot even allowed to solicit in Michigan. She has had dozens of abused animlas seiezed from her place with many more to follow. Anyone can look up her many court dates, charges outstanding fines through the Michigan.gov court lookup.
I volunteered here for a year. While I was taken aback at the conditions, I thought that although it was bad, it was only temporary and it bought the animals time to find their loving forever home. After a couple of months I realized that all of the dogs had been there for over 3 years! And there was no effort to get them out of those conditions and into a real home / family. None of the dogs were listed on pet finder or any other adoption site. Occasionally they would take a couple of dogs to petsmart but they would not let anyone actually adopt them, it was just used for fundraising. The dogs had no heat or real shelter…in winter we had to use claw hammers to chip through their water pails so they could drink. They were only out of their kennels for 10-20 minutes twice a day. The environment made behavior (and health) problems worse and no effort was made to better their lives or rehabilitate them. Some people did express interest in adopting some of the dogs and were rejected. I stayed as long as I did because I genuinely cared for several of the dogs and had bonded with them. I was worried what would become of them if I stopped volunteering (the manager next to never was around) but in the end I had to leave because I felt that was enabling the abuse and neglect. I was excited that the city finally stepped in and seized several of the animals. I don’t know how she is still able to get money. It is definitely not going towards the care of the animals and their needs are not being considered at all.
What kind of fraud is this? Melissa Borden recently charged with FELONY Animal abd/abuse charges. 64 animals seized by AC. Where is all the money that should have been going to house/feed/vet these animals that left 64 on a vacant lot with no electric/running water/waste management/small make shift shelters? Unpaid fines. Various lawsuits.
Review from Guidestar
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Where oh where did my donations go? The Devoted Barn working under this non profit has yet again been evicted from the facility they were trying purchase. Where are the animals now? That question is not being answered. Nevermind the hundreds of thousands of dollars that were frequently begged for, it's possible my donations were spent on legal fees after sifting through pages upon pages of legal documentation that is publicly available. When I questioned the existence of a business plan and a more transparent view of where the donations were going, I was blocked from their main source of communication, Facebook.
Review from Guidestar
Be AWARE!!!! Multiple lawsuits. Fundraising for personal animals and living expenses, court fines and lawyer fees. Very little goes towards the sanctuary animals. Sanctuary animals living in the woods with shelter made of PALLETS AND TARP. No running water or electricity. Owner of land is currently trying to evict them. Feral dog program is obsolete. Melissa just hoards them in a dungeon where they sit in cages all day. They are so overweight, a couple look like they are about to pop. No worse than a puppymill. Do not give this lady any animals!!! If you ask any questions that make her look bad, you will be blocked. A lot of people end up on the NOT devoted-Blogging about The Devoted Barn facebook page to compare stories with former volunteers and supporters. Here is the link to the page
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088718679842
Review from Guidestar
This has become a criminal enterprise. 3 evictions, multiple court cases for not following rules, laws and paying her bills. Now MDARD has caught on. She keeps er 140 animals in secretive locations and moves them to shanky shelters consisting of temporary fencing and a tarp to cover, even during tornadoes. The cow lives in manure and they did not bring his prosthesis from the last place they were evicted from that was left in shambles! Poor animals are tortured but she says living their best forever lives with her. She is hoarding animals and needs an intervention.
I would give The devoted Barn negative stars if possible. Evicted from Frenchtown Township, evicted from Rose Township leaving behind a disaster of the property, dogs that are lifers kept in small 4 by 5 kennels for 23 hours a day, lester the cow still in a stall over a month after being captured, 28 civil infractions recently in Springfield Township where the farm animals are located, constantly begging for money, supporters and volunteers harrassing and bullying people that speak up,..... the list goes on and on about what a super horribly ran "rescue" TDB is.
After over a decade in rescue, I unfortunately stumbled upon The Devoted Barn. I regret ever stepping foot on that property or spending a year volunteering there. The sheer bullying, manipulation and harassment allowed is unfathomable. The manager seems to get a kick out of watching the in-fighting with her volunteers, likely because it takes the spotlight off of her. The dogs sit in 4x4 kennels 23+ hours per day and the manager consistently "forgets" to actually show up for her shifts. There has been little to no rehab for the animals in well over 4 years so now she just classifies all of the animals as "lifers". Money intended for use for the rescue animals is used for personal dogs and horses by the manager, while the rescue animals lack vetting and having their basic needs met. Animals are brought in with horrible injuries that go untreated for weeks and sometimes months, despite funds being raised for their vetting needs. Over the past couple of weeks the manager posted a live on her personal page stating she needed 35k per month in donations to feed the animals or that she would be forced to start euthanizing, however, she continues to bring in more animals. Sadly, multiple rescues have stepped up and offered to take animals to help lighten the load, however the manager refuses. People, including very successful former fosters for TDB, have offered to foster and or outright adopt some of the current dogs that are ready for their next step, yet the manager refuses and holds the animals hostage. Steer clear from this place, it is only a matter of time before it is shut down by the IRS or one of the state agencies. This rescue has been run out of two different towns because the manager refuses to follow rules. These poor animals deserve better and all of the dogs have been in her care from 4-8 years. What an atrocity!!
If I could give this 0 stars I would. This “rescue” needs immediate change of management or to be dissolved & the animals to be regimes. I have watched first hand, for almost 4 years, the horrors, manipulation & narcissism that run this place. The manager actively uses funds dedicated for rescue to live a lavish lifestyle of having 11 personal horses, while simultaneously constantly begging for money “just to feed the rescue animals” & threatening to euthanize them if they don’t get the money.
I have watched cows live in a pasture with poop mountains, animals be kept alive for donations while quality of life absolutely dwindled. I have watched new animals NEVER be quarantined. I have watched completely wrong & incorrect vet procedures continue to be done.
The manager has absolutely no business running this rescue. She is in no way qualified to & consistently bashes any bit of constructive criticism or feedback. The animals continue to suffer because her ego seems more important that the actual success & quality of life at the rescue.
For more information, check out “not devoted” on Facebook or the blog page at www.devotedbarn.info
Please do your research before believing anything the owner states. Evicted twice and now hiding hundreds of animals. She posted a recent video to the kikes of extortion. Demanding 35,000 dollars a month or animals will be euthanized. NO business plan or up to date financials/ board.
Review from Guidestar
I have been harassed by their volunteers just for asking questions!! Beware of this place and the people associated with it! One of the worst rescues for transparency! I will not donate again!!
Review from Guidestar
Absolutely a scam !!! No accountability for the $$&& that are raised for the animals. These poor animals are living in filth and without proper exercise or vet care . Recently evicted from their second property that was left destroyed. Unable to provide 990s when requested.
Stay far away !
Could I give a negative rating? This is at best a woman’s and her friends hoarding animals and scamming well meaning people. But really it’s a sociopath with a cult following that abuses animals and their non-profit standing to steal and live off donations. Their horse trainer is an actual convicted felon. Check out Not Devoted Blog for receipts and proof.
Review from Guidestar
I have volunteered at many organizations but The Devoted Barn takes the cake for the absolute worst! The owner, Melissa is an animal hoarder and doesn't provide adequate care, vaccines, services or homes for the animals! Twice I asked for an injured dog to be seen by a vet and both times I was told that she couldn't afford a vet bill yet I knew of many people donating thousands of dollars. I myself tried to adopt multiple barn cats and was told each time the cats were "lifers" at the barn? Correct me if I am wrong but don't rescues bring in money by adopting animals out when able? A friend also tried to adopt goats and was told "that goat is Melissa's daughters favorite" and/or a "lifer". I also know multiple people that have fostered animals only to be stuck with large medical bills when Melissa refused to pay them. I have seen Melissa post a sob story about one of the animals and literally bring in Thousands of dollars in hours yet she didn't pay the land rent on the Rose Twnsp property for years and finally was just evicted in March 2023. All I can say is, I will continue to pray for all the animals in Melissa's care!
Review from Guidestar
the devoted barn works under the unbrella of DFAS. The Devoted Barn was evicted from their location in rose twp, mi early march 2023. this is the second eviction for The Devoted Barn. numerous lawsuits over the years with 2 ongoing lawsuits at this time- one for an unpaid $60,000 loan and one with rose twp over the manure pile that has accumulated- a manure pile in the lasture the cows of the deovted barn lived in and were left behind after the eviction.there has been a lot written about the wrong doings of the devoted barn over the last year covering many different topics about the devoted barn .
https://www.thedevotedbarn.info/
Review from Guidestar
I’m sorry but this charity is anything but great and anything but devoted. If I could rate it zero stars I would. They have destroyed what was once a beautiful property. They have far too many animals then they can afford, let alone maintain on the acreage they have. Animals that are meant to be in turnout are left in stalls for days at a time, never fed in any consistent schedule and ridden when they are lame. Horses meant to be on stall rest are allowed to run in the arena bucking and kicking, dogs meant to be on “crate” rest for recovery from injuries are given full run of the house while others are left to languish in crates all day long with little interaction at all.
They pull on your heartstrings to claim how wonderful it is they rescue dogs from meat trade and various abusive situations. But the truth is it doesn’t take 8 years to rehab a feral dog. If everyone thinks that animals who’ve been at the shelter for over a year is horrible - how do you think they should feel when these dogs have been there in the same cages, with dirt floors, no heat, almost no time outside for at least 2 years and some for 8???
Feeding dogs food from a spoon is not rehabbing. Feral dogs deserve 1 on 1 time, in a calm environment with a dedicated trainer to work with them.
If You have 40 dogs in this program - how much time a day does that break down to that you actually spend working on rehabbing them?? Not to mention the 200+ other animals you have to tend to?
Add to that - they are currently in forfeiture, haven’t paid property taxes for 2 years and have failed to maintain any consistent maintenance on the grounds. Fences are broken because they refuse to keep the electric fencing on but blame the previous owners saying they were broken to begin with?
Let’s talk about their accounting practices shall we?? They didn’t file the required tax returns for 2020 until 2022? They advertise their dogs to the township as “personal” dogs yet post them as sanctuary dogs and ask for money to support them on their website?? They take money from clients that boarded their horses there and then fail to provide the basic daily care needs - hay, grain, stall maintenance?????? They clearly run a for profit business by being a boarding barn and advertise for the “devoted equestrian center” but then say they are a non-profit so they can avoid paying property taxes????? They make an offer to pay the township attorney bill of 40k but 2 weeks later, when the township rightfully turns them down, now claim they will be bankrupt if they have to pay to board dogs for 7000 a month. Now they claim it’s 8000 a month. So what happened to the 40k they had to pay the township???
They threaten anyone who stands up against their deceit and neglect, they berate and belittle their employees and allow their “loyal” volunteers to harass and threaten others on social media??
They have continued the same shameful practices in Holly that they did in Frenchtown Township.
There are far too many other charities that deserve to be called great - The Devoted Barn is not now will they ever be one of them.
SMH
I have followed the work of this fantastic non-profit for years. Melissa their fearless leader is an amazing woman with an attainable vision for rescuing animals that others discard or are feral. Beginning with feral dogs as a focus many years ago, she has built The Devoted Barn to include dogs, cats, pigs, sheep and goats, cows, llamas, alpacas, horses and just about any critter that crosses her path.
Melissa partners to help smaller rescues with limited resources and travels the country to help them. She also works with the Soi Dog Rescue in Thailand, not only rescuing some of their dogs, but also training them in how to work with the many feral dogs they encounter more successfully.
Now it is time for the organization of Devoted Friends Animal Society to add a new location to help even more animals. This new location is still in need of more funds to acquire it, and will allow the DFAS to not only help more animals , but also expand the programs they have that help people too. These programs help special needs people of all ages, veterans, and also schools with programs to educate and enhance their lives.
The volunteers of DFAS are truly a family who will drop everything when needed to do what is needed to help another animal. There are more than 250 of them and they are the most dedicated. So the infrastructure is in place to insure a successful expansion.
So donate if you can, volunteer if you are nearby, and help spread the word to save even more of the animals others have abandoned.