Melissa Borden, the director of The Devoted Barn, a reported animal sanctuary that was evicted from a property in Oakland County last year, and who had dozens of animals seized last month, is facing a felony charge.
According to Livingston County Court Records, Borden is charged with one count of abandoning/cruelty to 25 or more animals, a felony.
Often alone and in the woods is where the pigs, donkeys, sheep, goats, llamas, and alpaca lived on vacant land. And that's where Livingston County Sheriff's deputies found the 64 animals, sparking an investigation into their care and well-being.
The animals belong to The Devoted Barn, a reported animal sanctuary that was evicted out from an Oakland County property last year.
The director of The Devoted Barn, Borden, has come under scrutiny from animal care advocates and former volunteers of The Devoted Barn.
The sheriff's office said they were acting on numerous complaints and were met by a representative of the animal sanctuary when they arrived.
People who live close to the area where the animals had been kept said they would see people coming to care for the animals but the only shelter they could see was one or two tents.
"These animals are suffering," said Anna Peterson, who said she volunteered at The Devoted Barn when they were based in Newport but left because of the lack of care and poor conditions of the animals. "It's just wild to me that it's taken this long for something to happen.
"It's just astonishing at what she (Borden) would call living their best lives or their happy place," said Peterson who is now relieved that the animals seized from the vacant land in Livingston County are being seen by a veterinarian.
Peterson is one of many people who, for years, have tried to get authorities to investigate the care of the animals at the various properties they've been moved to around Southeast Michigan.
"It's been so difficult. There are so many agencies that have dragged their feet and have not taken swift action," she said.
7 Action News reached out to Melissa Borden for comment back in January. She did not return our messages.
