Youngsville kennel owner at center of controversy was previously fined, under close watch by state

After more than 20 dogs were seized and a couple said their dog died at an unlicensed Youngsville dog kennel, WRAL News has learned that the kennel owner faces criminal charges, and has links to two other states.

Franklin County deputies arrested Anne-Marie Green, owner of Green Meadow Kennels on Jan. 17 for a misdemeanor charge of animal cruelty. Court documents obtained by WRAL News say she is accused of intentionally tormenting and depriving more than 20 medium- to large-sized dogs of necessary sustenance.

Even before the Jessica Jones and Brandon Look took their concerns to Franklin County after a dog died in Green’s care, her kennel was under scrutiny by the North Carolina Agriculture Department for operating unlicensed.

The Green Meadow Kennels citation lists findings of fact dating to as early as August of 2023 – when an outreach coordinator tried doing a site visit. Green was fined $1,000 after refusing to respond to the department's attempts to contact her.

Volunteers tell WRAL News that several dogs in an Atlanta-area animal shelter were being put in the care of Arcadia Animal Rescue, based in South Carolina, to prevent euthanasia. Those dogs would then either be fostered out to homes or sent to Green’s facility, Green Meadow Kennels, until they could find a foster or permanent adoption home.

Aly Balan, the director of Arcadia Animal Rescue, said Green offered her help in August 2023, the same time frame listed in the agriculture department’s citation.

“For somebody to say, ‘Look, I got this beautiful kennel sitting here empty. Let me foster-board some for you.' That's a dream come true,” Balan said.

Balan said Green held public adoption events, helped with social media, took dogs to the necessary veterinary appointments and was often willing to help out in anyway she could.

“Everything was normal,” she said. “As you work with somebody longer, you build a closer relationship and a trust[ing] relationship.”

Balan said volunteers had visited Green’s facility on several occasions and never saw poor conditions that may be cause for concern. They eventually agreed to allow Green to start pulling dogs from an Atlanta shelter under the rescue.

Alli Ehrhardt, who fosters dogs in Atlanta, said Green was initially well-respected and trusted in the community.

“With her being affiliated with the rescue, she would list them on the rescue's website, vet adopters for them. If the dog didn't have a foster here in Atlanta, because Arcadia is foster-based, they would go to her in North Carolina,” Ehrhardt explained.

Ehrhardt said she knows certain dogs were being adopted. However, in hindsight, she said their faith in Green, sometimes, outweighed some of the concerns they might have had, like her ability to take care of such a high volume of dogs with little help.

“Then, we found out she wasn't disclosing all the ones she was actually pulling,” Balan said.

Balan said it was right around Christmas time that the Atlanta shelter called Arcadia Animal Rescue directly.

“We got a call from the Atlanta shelter saying, ‘Are you aware that Anne-Marie Green has pulled all of these animals?’ ‘No, we knew of a few…we didn't know that many,’” Balan recalled.

Balan tells WRAL News that Green is believed to have pulled at least 25 dogs within the past six months. Balan said she does not believe Green had ill intent.

“She got out of hand, as many people do," Balan said. "We didn't know all the animals that she had there because we wouldn't have allowed it. One person cannot care for that many animals, even if she had paid staff.”

A white pit bull named Relish was one of the many dogs from Georgia seized from Green Meadow Kennels by authorities in Franklin County.

“There were a lot of dogs that were on that euthanasia list [in Dekalb County]. Relish was one of them,” Tisha Kim said.

Tisha and Eric Kim fostered Relish in October. However, due to their own pets, they knew they could not keep him. They told WRAL News they found a Facebook group, with the hopes of finding him a good home. They were directed to Arcadia Animal Rescue and subsequently, Green Meadow Kennels.

“We saw this opportunity was being referred by these ladies that were extremely sweet, extremely, seemingly compassionate and passionate about animals,” Eric Kim said.

He said they looked up Green’s facility and felt comfortable with the decision to take Relish there despite a few bad reviews.

“She did have a kennel 'Google My Business' page. We looked through it … we didn't find anything that was like, 'Oh, my goodness, this is bad.' At the end of the day, business is business and you're going get some bad reviews. We saw some, but there were also good reviews, and the overall rating was like above a 4.0,” Eric Kim said.

The Kims, who live in Atlanta, said they made the best decision they could at the time. Aside from some troubles coordinating transportation for Relish, they said everything was fine in the beginning.

Green communicated with them regularly.

“Early on, we would receive pictures … She would let us know that he's doing great. ‘He's been upgraded to level two; he's been trained; he's better with dogs now.’ Little things like that, so we felt good. But throughout, she kind of stopped communicating with us,” Tisha Kim said.

It got to the point that they considered driving out to Youngsville to check on Relish in person. Instead, they found out that Relish had been seized and relocated to another adoption facility on Jan. 18. The pictures and videos they received were not what they were expecting.

“[Relish's leg] was swollen to, I would say without exaggeration, like twice its size. You could tell that there was pain,” Eric Kim said. “He also had visible scars or wounds ... on his face. His eye was like almost closed up.”

Now, the pair wants justice for Relish and the rest of the dogs who stayed at Green Meadow Kennels.

“Twenty dogs is a lot, and we don't know how many other dogs suffered,” Tisha Kim said. “It wasn't just a little mistake.”

Green is out on a $1,500 bond. Her next court date is scheduled for Feb. 9.

People are required to get a license if they are hosting dogs at their facility or home for boarding or day care. If someone comes to your home to watch your dogs or let them out, they are not required to be licensed with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture.

The dogs are with the lifesaving organization, LifeLine Animal Project, in Georgia. Several of the dogs have received medical attention. While are some are still recovering, others are already available for adoption.

LifeLine officials said they were "devastated" to learn about the situation at the kennel. They said they will no longer be working with Arcadia and plan to assess weak points in their processes evaluating rescue partners moving forward.

"Our pathways teams work to figure out a path out of the shelter for every animal, and that includes opportunities through our extensive rescue partner network," said LifeLine CEO Rebecca Guinn. "Rescues often take medical cases and dogs with special needs as well."

"We’re so grateful we were given the opportunity to bring these dogs back home and to be able to help them," Guinn said. "They are happy and recovering."

Resources to protect your pet and others

Click here to visit the NC Department of Agriculture Animal Welfare Section. This is where you can file a complaint, learn more about the Animal Welfare Act and find other helpful pet-related links.

Click here to search boarding licenses from the last four years. Under "License Group/Division" select "Veterinary – 3rd Floor – Animal Welfare" from the drop down options, then select your county in the advanced search or search by facility name.