Hundreds of animals — including alpacas, donkeys and more than 150 horses — were being rescued from a sanctuary outside Julian on Friday in a massive operation that was expected to take days, a San Diego Humane Society spokesperson said.
The effort comes as the agency’s law enforcement officers served a search warrant at the property as part of a criminal investigation, San Diego Humane Society spokesperson Nina Thompson said. She would not discuss the details of the investigation, which she said started in early April.
About 100 cats lived at the sanctuary. (San Diego Humane Society)
Thompson said a judge turned over ownership of the animals from Villa Chardonnay sanctuary and officially transferred it to San Diego Humane Society. She called it “a critical development that allows us to move forward with care plans for these animals.”
Villa Chardonnay Horses with Wings has rescued more than 600 animals, according to its website, which further describes the organization as being “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.”
Villa Chardonnay founder Monika Kerber said in a phone call Friday evening that the animals were not neglected, were being fed and are not in bad shape.
“They were my life. They were my everything,” she said, sobbing. “Today, they just showed up. I said, ‘Please don’t take my animals.’”
She said her organization is a sanctuary. “We rescue the animals that nobody wants,” she said. “We rescue from rescues.”
Kerber said she believes another animal rescuer, whom she said was a competitor, raised concerns with authorities, and said it is a “personal thing.”
Kerber handed the phone to a woman who identified herself as Mercedes Flores and said she is a partner in the sanctuary. “We are a true sanctuary model,” she said. “We are the retirement home. We provide assisted living, hospice, nursing care.”
Federal court records indicate the organization filed for bankruptcy last year. The filing lists several creditors, including San Diego Gas & Electric and the Internal Revenue Service.
While the location is outside the local Humane Society’s jurisdiction, county Animal Services officials asked the organization to step in on April 24 to lead the investigation and operation, Thompson said.
Thompson said the rescue efforts were days in the planning and involve the help of several animal welfare agencies. “This is unlike anything we have ever seen before,” she said.
As of late Friday, officials estimated about 165 horses and several ponies were at the large rural property, as well as dozens of other animals, including geese, chickens, roosters, turkeys and goats, she said.
There were also more than 150 cats and 30 dogs at the site. It took five transports to take 130 cats to the Humane Society’s San Diego campus. Other animals were also taken.
In a video interview provided by the local Humane Society, San Diego Humane Society Law Enforcement Chief Jace Huggins called it a “massive intake and rescue,” and said the animals also include 50 to 70 livestock. He said the animals are within “various stages of needing medical support. Some are doing OK.”
“We are just really focusing on assessing these animals, getting sick animals out of here that need to get out of here, and then figuring out how to make sure that all of these animals get the care that they need from this moment forward,” Huggins said.
County spokesperson Chuck Westerheide said the county Animal Services medical team is “working alongside our partners to provide medical care and basic animal care to help a large number of animals at the property.” He said hundreds of animals are being assessed and treated at the site.
Westerheide said the county “had previous reports about the property, but only recently received legal authority to enter.” He said the country transferred the case to the local Humane Society “to provide broader resources in coordinating the care of the animals.”
About 100 cats that lived at the sanctuary will need new homes. (San Diego Humane Society)
There were dozens of rescuers at the site Friday, including 90 Humane Society staffers. Thompson said the effort to collect all the animals “is not a one-day operation.”
“We want to make sure we have left no animals behind,” she said. “This is going to take days.”
Thompson said officials do not need help removing or handling the animals — which are in protective custody — and asked that no one show up at the property to help. “It will just hamper our investigation,” she said.
The effort “is a massive undertaking for San Diego Humane Society, and we are already operating well over capacity,” she said. “Now, more than ever, we need the community’s support.”
She discussed only a slice of the plan for housing the animals — several cats from the main campus in San Diego were moved to other campuses to make room for the dozens of incoming cats.
The local Humane Society is working with partners from Pasadena Humane Society, Marin Humane Society and Los Angeles County Animal Care & Control.
The operation is so big that the local Humane Society has set up a webpage for people to donate money in support of the effort. It can be found at sdhumane.org/julianrescue.
Thompson said that once news of the operation broke, several people reached out, indicating they had boarded or surrendered animals to Villa Chardonnay. The webpage also includes a form for people who believe their animal may be at the property.