When in Doubt, Bring Strawberry Out!
- Jan 1, 2023
- 11 min read
Updated: Jan 3, 2023
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! It seems as through we've been causing some fireworks!
A live video taken 12/29 was posted to The Devoted Barn Facebook page from Melissa’s personal Facebook account the other day. Of course the video featured Strawberry as her videos seem to accumulate the most views. We do agree that Strawberry is darling. However, it’s heartbreaking that she doesn’t live in a home and lives alone in a room in a barn. First of all, whoever “The Devoted Volunteer” is that is working to get the word out, we don’t know who you are, but thank you for your efforts! Numbers of visits to the blog have been incredible these past few days and more and more people are starting to ask questions.
Let’s break down this latest video shall we? We of course have questions and comments that would undoubtedly be instantly deleted or flamed by supporters just because we, OMG, asked a hard question?! It’s clear that Melissa has been reading the blog and it’s getting to her. We honestly (and we mean it with 100% sincerity) do not wish her to harm herself. At the end of the day, this is not all about Melissa Borden, but about doing right by her responsibilities as the director of a non-profit, tax exempt organization collecting money from the public.
Here are the links to Part 1 and Part 2 of the video but we will be breaking out specific parts to discuss as video clips with the minute mark where you can find the clip in the link. (If you can’t see these videos it means that Melissa has blocked you from seeing her personal page)
3:33-
Again Melissa discusses how she takes no salary from the sanctuary and her “payment” is the benefit of living at the house and keeping her personal horses at the farm. Notice how this time she does not quantify those personal horses. And yes, we agree that by all means it is well within her right to claim a salary and she should! Any other director or board member of a 501c3 that takes a salary from the organization also has to…pay personal income tax! Gasp! By not getting a traditional salary, Melissa can avoid paying any personal taxes herself and add as many personal horses/animals as she wants to the farm until her heart is content. Who is really keeping track of what she is actually spending as her “compensation?” It is not lawful to assume compensation benefits without applying any numerical value so that donors have transparency as to what their donations go towards. And once again…how are you paying for anything at all Melissa? We have already proven that you no longer get alimony as you claimed and your child support payments would not pay for your lifestyle. Once again, there is nothing to show for proof except your word.
4:45-
Here Melissa claims that “they don’t have enough money to misappropriate” and wouldn’t even know what that looks like. Here is the Cornell Law definition of “Misappropriation” if she needs to understand better.
"In law, misappropriation may be defined as "[t]he unauthorized, improper, or unlawful use of funds or other property for purposes other than that for which intended." Misappropriation commonly refers to situations in which the offending party has an added measure of responsibility, such as misconduct by a public official, a trustee of a trust, or an administrator of a deceased person's estate. An individual who has committed misappropriation may be liable to criminal prosecution for a form of theft as well as disciplinary action, if the person is a civil servant."
People who donate to the rescue donate with the assumption that their money is going toward the rescue animals and their care. Nowhere is it spelled out that any donations will pay for the care of Melissa’s personal animals or her living expenses. Any donated penny that has been spent on any personal animals or personal expenses IS misappropriation of funds. Period.
6:00-
Melissa literally admits that she is not a leader and also brings up the board of directors of Devoted Friends Animal Society. Where are they? Where are the Board of Directors showing their online support and standing up and showing public support of Melissa and The Devoted Barn. None of these people showed up and spoke at any of the township meetings regarding the lawsuit about the dogs having to move. Let’s be clear. Melissa is the sole leader of The Devoted Barn. While we are sure that the leaders of each area do their best, it’s her decision that is the final say. Her final decision determines how each dollar is spent, what animals come and go, and ultimately the fate of the future of these animals due to these choices.
10:30-
When discussing vacations Melissa mentions her 2016 trip to Thailand to go to Soi Dog Foundation and claims that the organization did not pay for any of it. Why then did an auditor for the Michigan Attorney General charitable trust division ask for clarification of the over $27k in foreign grants and travel fees documented on the 2016 Form 990? Please see Melissa’s attached response highlighting the breakdown of fees. In her words $2,260 was paid as a grant to Soi Dog (was this the cost to adopt and fly dogs over perhaps?) and over $11k reported for travel fees, international fees and money exchange with a highlighted October trip to Thailand. Why is Melissa lying about the organization not covering the cost of that trip??? Donations absolutely paid for that trip. What other expenses is she claiming the organization hasn’t paid for??
12:46- Here she talks about each day of the week and what her responsibilities are for that day. We have made a handy chart. This was a lengthy topic so we did not save the whole clip.
By glancing at this chart, it may look like Melissa does indeed have a very full schedule. But let’s add some perspective. There are two full time stall cleaners at the barn, Mike and Lance (both of whom she mentions in the conversation). Melissa has rarely had to clean stalls because of these two farm hands. The PM shift horse chores would only entail bringing horses at the rescue barn (not the boarding barn) inside from the pastures (most of which are Melissa’s personal horses anyway) and feeding. This doesn’t take 14 hours, let’s be honest. She is also not spending 14 hours doing any chores with the farm animals or at the kennel on any normal day. So how exactly does she spend her time to earn this compensation that she feels she deserves?
15:10-
This is something we agree on Melissa with! Yes, people can create whatever narrative they do want and no it does not mean that it’s true! The difference is, we have provided proof to support our narrative. Where is hers?
18:30-
We’re sure Melissa is scared. We are working very hard to expose The Devoted Barn and Melissa for fraud because we know for a fact that it is happening and donors are getting the wool pulled over their eyes. If we succeed there is a good chance that Melissa would personally be in some serious trouble. If she’s been doing everything right and not committing fraud, she shouldn’t have anything to be scared of, right? Many have reached out to question why THIS organization and why don’t we focus our efforts on something bigger? The answer to that is this is what we know, and knowing the information that we do we just can’t sit back and ignore it. The public, the people, and animals that have been wronged deserve justice.
Melissa doesn’t think that we know her. She doesn’t think that we have been to the property. She doesn’t think that we have first-hand knowledge of what has happened at the farm. She couldn’t be more wrong. We know her. We wouldn’t have the information that we do if we didn’t.
21:24-
And guess what!! Bringing in more animals!! The constant flow of backyard bred, genetically mutated, designer mutts just keeps coming. Hey Melissa, when these “breeders” surrender these puppies, do you require the spaying of the mothers? If you’re not, what are you supporting as a rescue?? Also, we heard that your kids both were gifted puppies (Stanley & Toby) from the last intakes. Hopefully there is a record of an adoption fee being paid as we are sure there were people willing to pay them.
4:40- At this minute mark Melissa goes on to explain how horrible we are because we aren’t “thinking about the animals” and what they like and need. Do you REALLY believe that nobody else can care for these animals properly??? Seriously?? The rescues that have reached out to us are not “waiting in the wings to come in and swoop up the animals.” They are standing by to assist with placement in the event that The Devoted Barn is shut down due to fraud and mismanagement of funds, criminal activity ya know? It’s not that they want these animals for themselves, but have kindly offered a hand if assistance is needed to find them the right places to go. Because in the end it is ALL ABOUT THE ANIMALS. And no, The Devoted Barn is not the only place that has the knowledge to care for these animals, in fact we will be bold to say that there are plenty of places that would provide them with much better care as well as a more stable future.
8:15-
Here is the response to our story about Louise the cow, and Melissa is finally admitting to killing her. The claim is that Louise is so aggressive that she was a danger to the human caretakers around her. What we know, is that for most of the time Louise was with The Devoted Barn, she had a calf by her side. By Melissa’s own account Louise was a “feral cow” who did not trust humans. Can you blame this girl for protecting her babies?? She was pregnant when she came to the barn with Lester, and then in summer of 2021 when the attack happened, she had another calf (fathered by her own son, Lester) by her side. You will see by these comments posted in the below Facebook post that the individual who went into the field with Louise was warned not to by Melissa herself. Louise was failed by The Devoted Barn. She was a misunderstood, scared mamma protecting her babies. Instead of creating an environment where she could live in peace (a SANCTUARY), Melissa opted to euthanize her. In the clip above Melissa explains how a tranquilizer gun can be used to safely vet or deliver vaccines to a dangerous animal like a cow. So why couldn’t The Devoted Barn manage Louise? This supposedly happened over a year ago and it’s just now being explained to the donors now that the blog broke the news. Why was this not told to the donors when it happened? Again, transparency…does The Devoted Barn know the meaning of the word?
16:20-
We’re pretty sure this statement was about our post regarding the Devoted Barn horse trainer/horse adoption coordinator Theresa Evans. We’re sure Theresa did sign up to “feel good!” She’s got six horses living for free/or extremely reduced board at a donation funded, non-profit owned facility! We’ve also learned that Theresa still owes A LOT of money in restitution that she has stopped paying for (over $72,000) and the court has been unable to collect on. How is she affording the cost of care for six horses at the facility? Our questions about this are warranted and completely logical. They are not an attack, we want answers.
17:50-
Melissa claims that she is so open and you can ask any questions and she is completely transparent. However, she hasn’t answered any of the tough questions we have asked except for admitting that she did kill Louise. Here is our list again Melissa so you have a guide for your next live video.
18:25-
We have been there! We do not agree with the animal care. Is this offer retroactive???
19:20-
If Melissa is a “damn good [sports medicine] trainer” with the “highest credentials” she should get a job and support her own lifestyle and pay income taxes like the rest of us hard working people. We would love to see any proof of these credentials.
28:28-
Notice the annoyed look and big sigh? So, even if The Devoted Barn raises this $350k and gets a mortgage for the remaining $400k to retain the sanctuary property, they will absolutely still be in Rose Township. Rose Township has made it very clear that they do not welcome the rescue there. The dogs will absolutely not be allowed to come back. In fact, the township just filed a second lawsuit regarding a municipal civil infraction. We are unsure of what that violation is yet, but as facts come it we will update the blog. So once again, a lack of rule following is going to cost donors money in yet another lawsuit. Why wouldn’t The Devoted Barn take this money that they are raising, walk away from the eviction appeal and get their $100k back, and get financing on a more suitable, more economical property in an area where they are actually welcomed? Yes, they would walk away from any money they have already invested in the Rose Twp property but there is a much higher risk at stake of losing everything. They would be smart to take the money they have and find a property that would be suitable for all of the animals (dogs included) that would be a much less expensive monthly payment. The "business plan" of making money off the equestrian facility at the property clearly did not pan out, so what is the point of staying there? Is it for the animals, or is it for Melissa? In addition, no details have been laid out for what the monthly payment and terms for the secured lending would be.
31:30-
The definition of a con-artist is "a person who cheats or tricks others by persuading them to believe something that is not true." We absolutely stand by our statements of Melissa being a con artist. “If I was a good con artist I certainly wouldn’t be living this life.” We never said she was a good con artist….If she wanted a better life, she should have used her amazing personal trainer credentials and worked hard for an honest living instead of living off the hard earned money of others by using the lives of innocent animals. Is the comment about how much her life sucks supposed to earn sympathy?As a reminder, SHE CHOSE THIS LIFE. Nobody asked her to start up an animal rescue. She works on a farm just like any other person who chose to make animals a part of their day to day. Melissa, if you are so unhappy and your life sucks, then leave and do something different! You claim that you are not a leader, someone else should easily be able to step into your role of animal care if that is the case. Devoted Friends Animal Society has a whole board. You are under no obligation to stay as a director. Regardless, we’re sure there would be a line out the door or people willing to live in a house and board 12-15 horses at a facility for free if that is part of the compensation package. Post the job. Go be happy!
35:34-
No other rescue that we know of constantly has their hand out in a panic asking for such large quantities of money in an emergency status. In April they needed $50,000 in a short amount of time to avoid foreclosure, and then this fall it was another $25,000, and then it was $100,000 in 10 days, and now it’s $350,000 in two weeks. People, THIS ISN’T NORMAL. The Devoted Barn is living far past it’s means. This is bad business and bad planning! There is business plan other than extending their hand and threatening to close their doors or euthanize animals if their financial goals aren’t met. Instead they should be taking a pause and taking a good, hard, long look at operations and figure out what they need to do to cut costs. Instead, they continue to take in more and more mouths to feed.
Food for thought-If you had a friend asking you for money constantly, but you saw them adding more expenses each month, wouldn't you stop giving and ask them to reassess their budget and financial plan?
36:52-
Isn’t it strange that Melissa wouldn’t want “the haters” to be able to view this all telling live video as it happens? She doesn’t want to answer our questions or have others see the questions that we are asking. Again, if she had nothing to hide she shouldn’t be afraid of what people ask her. Instead we have to respond this way.
38:40-
Melissa has been claiming that she will sue people for defamation for years. This is just another bullying tactic. There will be no defamation cases because once again, the defense for a defamation suit is THE TRUTH. Melissa won’t file a defamation case because the discovery process would absolutely expose her for fraud.
So there you have it! Please keep sending in information and contacting us with your stories. We know so many of you out there stand by us and want to see this cycle of lies and deception come to an end. These animals deserve to be in stable organizations that are not run by a con artist where their futures are constantly at risk due to bad business decisions.
Once again, Happy New Year! We are excited to hit the ground running and keep working for a better future for these animals in 2023!
Me sorprendió que la calculadora también mostrara el coste total para la empresa separado del salario bruto del trabajador. Ese dato me ayudó a entender mejor cuánto cuesta realmente contratarme y me dio argumentos más sólidos para pedir una subida. Es información que normalmente no ves desde el lado del empleado. Un punto de vista muy valioso. http://calculadoradesueldoneto.es