The painful investigation of Miranda’s Rescue in northern California may not have happened – without the unknown fate of a cat.
Jennifer Raymond, who operates a spay/neuter facility, took a cat to Shannon Miranda for placement. But over the next 24 hours she felt a persistent tug, and reached out to bring the kitty back. He said that was impossible, it had been adopted already. She saw no post offering the kitty, or celebrating its adoption – it was just gone. That spark of doubt became a flame as years ticked by, and her persistence has finally exposed the dark side of an operation that has woven itself into the fabric of local volunteers, and business and city government sponsorships.
Miranda’s Rescue is self-described on Facebook as a “no-kill rescue, adoption and sanctuary” where unwanted dogs could begin a new life, adding “Miranda’s Rescue has been recognized by the California State Assembly as the “Best Sanctuary for Abused Animals in Northern California,” and named a Red Cross “Humboldt County Hero” in 2007.
But recent posts are decidedly grim. The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office investigation alleges that many (perhaps the majority) of the dogs entrusted to Miranda’s Rescue were never adopted, but were shot, buried on the property, and falsely reported to have found loving “forever homes.”
Fees charged to private citizens and shelters to buy safe harbor for animals needing homes ranged from $400 to $1,500 or more per dog. Detectives now allege that, instead of receiving care and hope for a forever home, many have lain in mass graves on the rescue’s land.
One family turned to Miranda’s when their late mother’s two Rottweilers (Peter and Tinkerbelle) needed a future. They didn’t take the dogs to a municipal shelter, where large breed dogs face long odds. On April 8, 2025, they paid Miranda $3500, believing the pair would be placed and loved. The dogs were never posted as available for adoption, or posted as adopted. Their outcome remains shrouded in doubt.
Thankfully, local Jennifer Raymond persisted; her reports weren’t taken seriously for years. She bought the adjoining property, employed trail cams, watched and waited. When she and a friend observed what she described as bodies being dumped into a hole, she acted. After dark, she went there and dug. She described bodies as “still warm in the groin area.” She spoke of a puppy, no more than three months old, blood coming from its nose and ears, shot in the head. That hard evidence launched the investigation, which has expanded to include the FBI and the DOJ.
Of more than 900 dogs received reportedly between January 2025 and March 2026, more than 730 remain unaccounted for. That’s just over a year; this operation has been operating for decades. Mass graves have been discovered, with 117 intact dog bodies, 21 skulls, hundreds of additional bones, 91 microchips so far, and more than 661 dog collars in a building where authorities observed blood and spent bullet casings. Necropsy of the exhumed indicates many were shot. At least one microchip scanned from a buried dog had been reported by Miranda as “successfully adopted”, raising many more questions. Veterinarians initially providing euthanasia have reportedly refused to work with Miranda’s, as so many were clearly healthy, adoptable dogs.
A second mass burial site was discovered, with advanced decomp; the grave was covered back up while the initial bodies are processed.
Authorities allege that photographs, adoption records and microchip information were used to convince partner shelters (and owners who surrendered) that dogs had been successfully rehomed when, investigators believe, they had already been killed.
The rescue reportedly received over $500,000 since January of last year through surrender fees – promising both shelters and private citizens that surrendered or transferred pets would receive care, training and permanent placement into loving forever homes, or live out their lives cared for at the rescue. I guess it’s all in how you define permanent placement, and whether that involves a hole instead of a home.
Maui Humane Society remains desperate to know whether animals they transferred are among the victims. Maui Humane does mainland transfers to private adopters and partner shelters, stepping that up when fire devastated the island, sending them to what they assumed was safety.
The Ukiah shelter, among others, pulled recently placed dogs back out of Miranda’s care.
“When a shelter transfers a dog to a rescue, the shelter no longer has a legal right to that animal and ownership transfers to that rescue. With that said, we have been in contact with Shannon Miranda to bring two dogs back to the Ukiah Animal Shelter,” as posted by For the Friends of the Ukiah Shelter on June 28. “The only thing we should be focusing on is the dogs are back at the shelter and still need homes. The shelter is completely full and we need adoptions to happen.”
Detectives allege a simple motive – create space for more incoming dogs, collect more transfer fees, and keep operating while concealing the fate of animals already in its care.
Authorities continue to gather evidence before filing criminal charges which may include animal cruelty, fraud and financial crimes. For now, the rescue is still operating and has a current “GoFundMe” collecting money.
Shannon Miranda denies intentional crimes, stating dogs were euthanized in emergency situations like severe injuries or aggression, and were buried on the property. The sheer number of bodies exhumed so far casts doubt on that assertion, given the number of large breed dogs they took in (notoriously hard to adopt out), including bully breeds with a bite history.
Dogs, cats and other animals who were owner surrenders, or shelter pets who had experienced neglect, abandonment, and were under threat of euthanasia, arrived at Miranda’s Rescue to receive a second chance. How many actually got that chance remains to be seen as the investigation continues. One horse body has been recovered so far.
Owners who surrendered pets and shelters in California, Maui, and beyond continue to work with authorities, determined to discover the fate of each soul who came into Miranda’s care.
Compromised trust will impact shelters and rescues. People (like me) who have donated via rescue threads on Facebook to get a dog out of a high-risk facility into a rescue are wondering where they actually landed.
Sadly, we need more vigilance about donation dollars. I hate realizing there are fraudulent sanctuaries, taking dogs for money and then killing them, but history shows similar things happening in Washington state and elsewhere. The investigation of Miranda’s is just shining a light on that darkness.
The NorCal Bully Breed Rescue posted:
“If you surrendered a dog to Miranda’s Rescue, please reach out to the authorities listed here:
Call 707-268-2539
Email:
Hso@co.humboldt.ca.us
Jaguilera@co.humboldt.ca.us
Ssteele@co.humboldt.ca.us
If you paid a hefty fee and were promised that your dog would be adopted out or would live the rest of their life at this “sanctuary”, he sold you a promise that didn’t happen, and that can be considered fraud.
Without these single individual owner surrenders coming forward, they have no idea of the magnitude of the dogs he killed and the money that changed hands that may be unaccounted for (and most likely is). We know this is difficult. We know you are holding out hope that your dog was adopted. But there is no financial record of the money that was paid to Shannon if you paid him directly through Zelle or Venmo (or cash). He is likely going to get in more trouble for the financial fraud than for animal abuse. Let’s all make sure he pays for what he did.
PLEASE contact the proper authorities and file a report. Also, please be sure to include your dogs collar description and any tag information that may have been on that collar.
Also, please join the following pages on Facebook. Please post your dog there as well.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100067644306682&mibextid=wwXIfr&mibextid=wwXIfr
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61589532659768&mibextid=wwXIfr&mibextid=wwXIfr
The above information is vitally important, because the financial side and the deception of falsifying adoptions may be more prosecutable than the shootings.
These allegations and even more disturbing issues are being explored. The above links will take you to pages trying to answer the question of where are they? For now, Miranda remains innocent until proven guilty.