The scope of the rescue at a Julian animal sanctuary was like nothing the San Diego Humane Society had ever seen. More than 400 cats, some 165 horses, dozens of farm animals, even a few peacocks and alpacas.
Some of the animals were OK, while many others were being treated for “various medical conditions,” including malnutrition, emaciation and contagious infections, the Humane Society said. Four horses, a pony, a bull and at least one kitten were euthanized.
The mass rescue unfolding over the past week at Villa Chardonnay Horses with Wings was presaged by years of turmoil — people demanding their animals back, complaints regarding animal welfare, and a roughly $2 million judgment against the nonprofit and its founder arising from a defamation suit, according to court records.
There is now a bankruptcy in the works, and the court-appointed trustee recently indicated the case likely will move from a Chapter 11 reorganization to Chapter 7 liquidation. Court documents indicate the trustee is looking to sell the 40-acre property in hopes of paying creditors.
Villa Chardonnay’s website describes the organization as “dedicated to providing a forever home to animals who have been abandoned, neglected, or abused, ensuring they live out their days in peace and comfort.”
The rescue group was based in Temecula, then Hemet, before moving to Julian in 2020. Within a few years, the number of animals the nonprofit cared for doubled, from 300 in 2020 to 600 animals by 2024, according to tax forms. Donations didn’t reflect a proportional increase.
Founder Monika Kerber Perez did not respond to a request for comment Friday. She has previously denied that the animals were mistreated. “We rescue the animals that nobody wants,” she said on May 1, the day the takeover started. “We rescue from rescues.”
The bankruptcy
The bankruptcy appears to be the catalyst for the rescue.
Public records indicate Villa Chardonnay bought the Julian property for $2.35 million in 2020. Villa Chardonnay initially filed for bankruptcy on Sept. 1, two days before the foreclosed property was slated to be sold, according to a court filing from two creditors. That first filing was dismissed for lack of insurance. The organization refiled in October.
A dog taken from Villa Chardonnay. (San Diego Humane Society)
Senior creditors soon sought an emergency order to have a trustee step in. The bankruptcy trustee went to work, securing money to maintain the site and tend to the animals, many of them disabled. The trustee also won orders to bring in veterinarian teams and to get the animals turned over to the Humane Society.
The trustee is also seeking to have Kerber Perez and partner Mercedes Flores vacate the property. In a status report filed last week, the trustee told the court that, given that the two had not voluntarily left, she will request law enforcement assistance “in the immediate future to finalize removal.”
In her status report, the trustee told the court she continues to investigate the nonprofit’s past operations to “unravel the various debtor/creditor/donor relations” and to identify available assets. She is also analyzing “whether any criminal referrals are warranted.”
Tax forms that Villa Chardonnay filed with state officials give a glimpse into operational changes as the number of animals in its care grew.
A veterinarian examines a horse at Villa Chardonnay. (San Diego Humane Society)
The amount it was spending on feed was nearly $250,000 in 2020, growing to more than $1 million in 2024. The sanctuary’s reported veterinary and farrier expenses nearly tripled to $200,000, according to tax documents.
Donations didn’t appear to grow to compensate for the increased costs. The sanctuary reported more than $1.5 million in contributions and grants in 2024, just slightly more than the $1.3 million in 2020.
Neither Kerber Perez nor Flores took reportable compensation from the organization in 2020 or 2024 — and by the end of that year, the organization reported net assets or fund balances at $3,073.
Court records indicate Kerber Perez has filed personal bankruptcy twice before — in 2005 and 2015 — and then again last fall.
Prior local suits
Disputes involving Villa Chardonnay also ended up in court.
In 2020, the same year it moved to Julian, the organization was sued by animal rescue group Ark Watch and its founder, alleging that concerns about the welfare of animals prompted it to ask Villa Chardonnay to return eight donkeys and two horses it had placed in the organization’s care.
A cat from Villa Chardonnay is examined and cared for at the San Diego Humane Society. (San Diego Humane Society)
The judge eventually ordered the animals returned. A 2023 judicial order indicates the Sheriff’s Office helped secure the transfer of eight donkeys — the two horses had died — and that the Sheriff’s Office also contacted the county Department of Animal Services after seeing other horses on the property in poor shape.
In 2023, the rescue group sued Villa Chardonnay again, this time alleging defamation. In a court filing seeking a default judgment, Ark Watch attorneys alleged Kerber Perez had “unleashed a defamatory onslaught” against Ark Watch and its founder, repeatedly sending letters with false accusations to several people and entities, including Ark Watch’s primary benefactor and several members of the horse rescue community, as well as law enforcement agencies, including the FBI.
After getting no response from the defendants, Ark Watch secured a default judgment for more than $2 million. The rescue group is among the creditors in the bankruptcy filing.
Separately, in 2022, four people sued Villa Chardonnay, citing concerns about the animals and seeking to get back some of the money they had donated or loaned. The four people won a court judgment, their attorney said, but have received no money. One of the people who sued had also sought the return of her horse, which was eventually returned.
Fate of the farm animals
Humane Farming Association, a nonprofit that provides homes to hundreds of animals seized in cruelty cases, said it started looking into Villa Chardonnay about a year ago after hearing animal welfare concerns. The nonprofit said it checked public records and discovered the county Department of Animal Services had fielded complaints about the operation going back to 2020.
HFA said it has been monitoring the bankruptcy case, attending meetings and hearings, and in April, after securing approval from the trustee and the bankruptcy court, the rescue group paid to have veterinarians conduct a comprehensive inspection of the animals.
Goats are examined at Villa Chardonnay. (San Diego Humane Society)
The veterinarians found sick and injured animals who appeared to be neglected, some that were housed in an ammonia-filled “hospice barn,” with an apparent lack of adequate clean shelter or true palliative care, HFA said in a statement.
“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,” the statement said.
Last week, the group said it will transfer farm animals seized from the Julian sanctuary — goats, alpacas, chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, pigs, donkeys, ponies and a mule — to Suwanna Ranch, a 7,000-acre farm animal refuge in Elk Creek, roughly 100 miles south of Redding.
The move to Northern California likely will take several days, HFA spokesperson Grace Wainscoat said. Professional haulers will move animals in a trailer and then return to take the next batch. Pigs and goats will go first.
Late last week , the San Diego Humane Society finished removing all the cats — 446 of them — from the Villa Chardonnay property. Rescuers also removed about 30 dogs and dozens of other animals, including goats, pigs and chickens.
San Diego Humane Society staff members carry rescued cats in boxes to be distributed to other locations on May 4 in San Diego. The cats were part of a mass rescue operation at Villa Chardonnay in Julian. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
About 165 horses remain on-site, as do several ponies and red-eared slider turtles, with about 15 to 20 Humane Society staffers and a veterinarian out there every day to care for them.
The Humane Society is also working to reunite animals with previous owners when possible and has received more than 100 submissions from people whose animals may have been boarded at or surrendered to Villa Chardonnay.
Staff writer Phillip Molnar contributed to this report.