GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — An animal rescue founded by a West Michigan-raised woman has allegedly been abandoned on an island in the Caribbean, leaving hundreds of animals in a desperate spot.
FOX 17 first met Janessa Baar in 2019 when she told us about growing up in Cutlerville and then Byron Center. After being diagnosed with a back problem, she said she eventually became dependent on painkillers.
Overcoming her addiction, she and her husband would go on to follow what Baar called her life’s purpose: opening an animal rescue on the island of Roatán in Honduras.
“Our parents thought we were lying; his mom thought he was joking,” she said in 2019.
They formed Roatán Rescue and began taking in dogs, cats, horses and chickens that needed assistance or didn’t have homes.
When FOX 17 checked back with her in 2021, she said the organization had grown to 25 full-time employees, with 24-hour staff tending to the animals.
At the time, she said they were caring for about 450 animals, and estimated it cost them about $34,000 a month to operate.
“Every month is pray and hope, and we do our best,” she said.
Recently we have learned that Baar has allegedly fled the island, leaving hundreds of animals behind inside enclosures and without the care they need.
Roatán Rescue posted their last video update to YouTube on April 5, 2023, and their website is currently inactive.
The group’s Facebook page has also been taken down.
When Michele Schaut caught wind of the mess left behind in Honduras, she decided to see how she might be able to help.
Schaut formed West Michigan-based Michele’s Rescue in 1997, quickly being pulled into the world of animal rescue and rehab.
She and organization volunteer Theresa Ockaskis traveled down to the island of Roatán to see what they were dealing with.
“She walked away, never to return,” Schaut told FOX 17 Thursday.
“These animals were in dire need. These animals were fighting each other for food, killing other animals in these containments. They were trying to get out of these wire enclosures and injuring themselves.”
They say the situation was far worse than they had imagined.
“I have never seen anything like this. I have never seen two people single-handedly do this and just go about their daily life like nothing ever happened,” Schaut explained.
She says any attempts by her organization, or other groups trying to help with the animals left behind, to contact Baar have so far been unsuccessful.
Now, there is an organized effort by several rescues on the island, and groups in the United States, to get these animals assistance and eventually find them loving homes.
Michele’s Rescue has agreed to take on 31 dogs and cats.
They will have them all medically evaluated, placed into foster homes and then adopted out to permanent homes.
“It isn't anything against the Honduran people,” Schaut told FOX 17.
What has happened is none of their fault. You had two people come in and make a mockery and use those people.”
They say they hope Baar faces some sort of accountability for her actions.
The rescue is looking for families to foster the animals as they recover.
You can find information about becoming a foster home and fill out an application to adopt at Michele’s Rescue's website HERE.
