As of Thursday evening, 446 cats, approximately 165 horses, 30 dogs and dozens of other animals, including goats, alpacas, pigs and chickens, have been removed during a mass rescue operation at the Villa Chardonnay With Wings property in Julian, according to officials with the San Diego Humane Society.
Doctor Danielle Clem, San Diego Humane Society Senior Hospital Director, told NBC7 Friday that all 446 cats had been medically evaluated. While some were in good health, she said others were far from it.
“Some cats have wounds that need to be prepared and surgeries that need to be performed, but we’re trying to give them what they need and provide that immediate individual care,” Klem said.
The previous owners of animals recovered have been given until 6 p.m. Friday to fill out an online form provided by the San Diego Humane Society to reunite them with their pets. One man even drove from Orange County to be reunited with his cat.
“In very general terms, we believe that people brought their animals to this sanctuary for a nice, kind end-of-life care, and a lot of people are surprised at what ended up being the truth,” Nina Thompson, director of public relations for San Diego Humane Society, said.
The rescue comes at a time when the shelter is already faced with overcrowding. Thompson said it’s been like a game of Tetris, moving animals to other parts of the shelter and campuses to make room for the newly rescued. Still, Thompson and Clem say the medical and animal care teams are overwhelmed with pride to help these animals. In the meantime, the organization is still looking to the community for support.
”We’re really looking to our community to assist, and if that means adopting an animal or fostering an animal or volunteering, every little bit helps,” Clem said.
As the rescue operation goes into its fourth day, some animals were found to be OK while others were neglected and left in critical condition, NBC 7’s Jackie Crea reports.
The rescue operation started last Friday in the 4500 block of Boulder Creek Road, the same day a San Diego Superior Court judge transferred ownership of them to the SDHS.
The Humane Farming Association, a nonprofit focused on protecting farm animals, said it conducted a yearlong investigation into Villa Chardonnay Horses with Wings for alleged “operational concerns and animal neglect,” which led to this month’s rescues.
After receiving court approval to conduct a veterinary inspection of the animals, HFA says they found “sick and injured animals who appeared to be neglected and were left to suffer in an ammonia-filled `hospice barn,’ with an apparent lack of adequate clean shelter or true palliative care. Many of the farm animals were kept in small, substandard pens without access to the outdoors, and harsh conditions caused some animals to attack each other and/or self-mutilate.”
HFA says the farm animals recovered during the operation will be transported to the organization’s ranch in Elk Creek, where they will be provided “permanent homes and lifetime care.”
Hundreds of animals were rescued from a sanctuary near Julian that cares for more than 600 animals. This mass operation comes as part of a criminal investigation. NBC 7’s Jeanette Quezada has the details.
On its website, the 23-year-old sanctuary is described as a shelter where animals who have been “abandoned, neglected or abused … find love, safety and a second chance at life” and “live out their days in peace and comfort.”
Heidi Redman, a spokeswoman for the sanctuary, defended the work of Villa Chardonnay founder Monika Kerber.
“There is no neglect, no abuse of any of these animalsf” Redman told City News Service last week. “They were well taken care of. There is definitely another side to this story, and it should be told. They’re [Kerber and her partner, Mercedes Flores] devastated. These animals were like their children. They [investigators] even took their house dogs, their personal dogs.”
SDHS says its medical teams are providing exams for the recovered animals, many of which are being treated for conditions that include malnutrition, emaciation, untreated open wounds and contagious infections such as ringworm and giardia.
Some of the animals were “in such critical condition that humane euthanasia was necessary to prevent further suffering,” including four horses, a pony, a bull and one kitten.
SDHS President and CEO Gary Weitzman said in a statement released earlier this week, “It truly is appalling. There is no question at all about the neglect, at the very least, that occurred out there. I am very happy that these animals have a new chance at life.”
The Humane Society’s has posted a form online for people who believe they owned animals boarded or surrendered at Villa Chardonnay, which will be closed at 6 p.m.
SDHS says they have received nearly 100 submissions so far and asked “for patience as the organization works to respond to each inquiry.”
The owner of the Julian property is not currently facing charges. The San Diego Humane Society says that it will be up to the District Attorney’s Office whether or not criminal charges will be filed.