Farm Owner Shares Why She's Staying in Central Florida During Hurricane Milton: 'These Animals Are Our Children' (Exclusive)

• Sara Weldon and her husband live between Tampa and Orlando, and have decided to stay in place as Hurricane Milton nears
• The couple care for dozens of animals on their farm, and couldn't easily evacuate with all of them
• Weldon says she's been moved by the outpouring of support she's received from followers on social media as she braces for one of the biggest storms she's ever experienced

A Florida woman is explaining her decision not to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Milton's arrival, saying she and her husband are determined to ensure the more than 100 animals on their family farm stay safe.

In a video posted to TikTok, Sara Weldon says, "We are in the direct path of where this hurricane is supposed to hit. ... We're not evacuating. And please, don't ask me to."

"All these animals are our children," she adds, choking back tears.

As Weldon notes in the video, her family farm is not on the coast, but is located in central Florida — in Clermont, which is located in between Tampa and Orlando.

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Weldon says that she and her husband, Rick Bass, have children that are adults and live elsewhere, Their animals, however, are like family.

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Weldon tells PEOPLE the couple has "10 donkeys — including Cash the baby donkey that we have raised inside — nine Highland cows, four goats, over a hundred chickens and six dogs — we would almost fill Noah's Ark!"

In the seven years the couple has lived on the farm, they have weathered storms — but none like Milton, which is projected by the NHC to come ashore as a major hurricane (i.e., Category 3 or higher) in the Tampa Bay area on the Gulf Coast of Florida sometime between 1 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 9, and 1 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 10.

Milton is expected to downgrade to a non-major hurricane (i.e., Category 1 or 2) as it continues northeast through Central Florida before exiting the state off the East Coast, back into the Atlantic Ocean, per the NHC's latest prediction.

"We have been through other hurricanes but never in the direct path like we are for this one," Weldon says. "Evacuating all of our animals would take a miracle, so we stay put with them. They are our children, and we want to stay. We are in a voluntary evacuation zone for now and are not near any bodies of water."

Still, Weldon is taking plenty of precautions in the event that the farm loses power.

"For us, we have stocked up on gas and propane, filled bathtubs and gotten plenty of food and water. We stocked up on feed for the animals, ensured fences were tight, and gave them all the love and prayers we can," she says.

She continues: "I know it sounds counterintuitive, but the best thing to do in a storm is not to put them in a barn but to let them be loose. We will be bringing in about 20 baby chickens, our dogs and of course Cash [the baby donkey]. Cash is used to living inside and will feel safer with us."

Weldon adds that the outpouring of support she's gotten on social media has "blown us away."

"We already had a large following for our account, OurSimpleHomestead, due to the world loving Cash and his story; however, since posting a video about staying with our animals through the storm, our account has doubled overnight," she says. "We have been filled with so much love from all over the world — offers of farms to bring the animals to, and more importantly, we have an entire world praying for the protection of our farm."

Still, Weldon admits she is scared, acknowledging, "this storm is unlike any other we have even seen, it's a monster."

"I alternate between feeling calm and then crying over my animals," she says. "When I say goodnight to them tonight, I have no idea if I will see them again; that is an excruciating and heavy thought."