This is hard to write.

It is hard to read.

For anyone who has ever sent a dog to a rescue, trusted a transfer partner, relied on a “sanctuary,” or believed that getting a dog out of a crowded shelter meant that dog was safe, it should be impossible to ignore.

Miranda’s Rescue in Fortuna, California, is now the subject of an active multi-agency investigation involving the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office, the California Department of Justice, the California Attorney General’s Office, the FBI, USDA, Cal Poly Humboldt Anthropology Department, the Animal Legal Defense Fund, and forensic veterinarians.

Authorities are investigating allegations involving animal cruelty, fraud, and related conduct. The investigation remains active, and as of the latest public reporting, no criminal charges have been announced.

This is still an investigation, and public language needs to stay precise: alleged, reportedly, under investigation, unaccounted for, according to investigators.

The facts already publicly released are horrific.

According to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, investigators served a second search warrant at Miranda’s Rescue in June 2026, including excavation of the property for deceased dogs believed to be buried in mass graves. During that operation, investigators recovered 117 intact canine remains from two dig sites, plus 21 canine skulls, hundreds of bones, and six loose microchips from another nearby location. Seventy of the intact dogs were X-rayed on site, and many showed evidence of bullet fragments. USDA and forensic veterinarians preliminarily determined that many of the examined dogs died from gunshot wounds. Investigators also reported finding an area inside a barn where dogs were believed to have likely been killed, along with more than 600 dog collars.

At the June 29 press conference, Sheriff William Honsal said records showed at least 918 surrendered dogs were transferred to Miranda’s Rescue from January 2025 through April 2026. Only 116 had records confirming adoption. Another 71 dogs were reportedly on the property when the Sheriff’s Office visited on May 20, with 45 still there at the time of the briefing. That left 731 dogs unaccounted for under the sheriff’s accounting. Investigators also reported recovering 91 microchips from the scene.

Seven hundred thirty-one dogs.

And this is the part everyone in rescue needs to sit with: a rescue transfer is not an outcome.

A rescue transfer is only a change in custody until the dog’s outcome is verified.

This is not just about one man or one property

It would be easier to tell ourselves this is one terrible person, one terrible facility, one terrible exception.

But that would let the rest of the system off the hook too easily.

Miranda’s Rescue reportedly accepted dogs from public shelters, rescues, private owners, and municipalities. Some dogs were sent there because they were large, behaviorally challenging, harder to place, or out of time. Some were likely sent there because someone believed they were being given a second chance. Some were sent with money.

Oakland Animal Services and Friends of Oakland Animal Services publicly stated that OAS sent 827 dogs to Miranda’s Rescue since 2020, and FOAS paid $376,000 in fees. Their own FAQ says Miranda’s charged a fee to accept dogs and represented that the money was needed for housing, feeding, and care. FOAS/OAS also wrote that they now believe Miranda’s was “actively deceiving” them by saying dogs had been adopted when some had not.

San José Animal Care & Services says 179 dogs were transferred to Miranda’s Rescue from 2018 to April 2026. San José has since discontinued the relationship and says officers retrieved all remaining San José dogs from Miranda’s Rescue on June 10. San José also states it does not have complete information on every dog transferred there.

Napa County says it transferred an average of 16 dogs per year to Miranda’s Rescue from 2020 to 2025, suspended transfers after learning of the investigation, and began updating rescue partner agreements and evaluation processes while developing a dog foster program to reduce reliance on transfers.

Sacramento County’s Bradshaw Animal Shelter says it ended its relationship with Miranda’s Rescue in March 2025 and that dogs from Bradshaw were not authorized to be transferred there after that. But according to Bradshaw, some dogs still reached Miranda’s through third-party rescue organizations without the shelter’s knowledge or authorization. Bradshaw says it recovered one dog and is still working to recover the two remaining dogs.

KQED reported that Sacramento County filed a legal demand to retrieve dogs that allegedly reached Miranda’s Rescue through “straw” rescues without the county’s approval or knowledge.

That should scare every shelter and rescue.

Because if a dog can be pulled by one organization and quietly transferred to another facility without written authorization, updated records, adopter proof, or microchip accountability, then we do not have a rescue system. We have a game of telephone with living animals.

“No-kill” language cannot replace transparency.

Miranda’s Rescue described itself publicly as a no-kill rescue, adoption, and sanctuary facility. Its nonprofit records show it was a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) animal welfare organization, with IRS Form 990 data available through ProPublica. Its 2024 filing lists $471,080 in revenue, $671,516 in expenses, $451,019 in total assets, and compensation for key officers including Shannon Miranda as president.

A nonprofit status is not proof of safety.

A sanctuary label is not proof of care.

A “no-kill” claim is not proof that animals are alive.

A nice property is not proof of ethics.

A sad rescue story is not proof of an outcome.

And adoption posts, vague updates, and “he found a great home” language are not enough when a dog has disappeared from all verifiable records.

This is not about attacking ethical rescues. Good rescues are exhausted, underfunded, and drowning. Good shelters are trying to make impossible decisions with too many animals and not enough space. Good advocates are trying to save dogs who would otherwise die.

When a rescue takes a dog, there should be a paper trail. When money changes hands, there should be a paper trail. When a dog is adopted, there should be proof. When a dog is euthanized, there should be veterinary documentation. When a dog is transferred again, the original agency or rescue should know where that dog went.

Hope is not a verification process.

Where is Leo?

This investigation has also reached Beezy’s Rescue personally.

We took in a dog named Leo as an owner surrender after he came from a home with multiple intact dogs, all of whom were from the same litter. Those dogs were not altered, and serious fights began occurring in the household as they reached maturity. After some digging, we learned where Leo had originally come from, and we returned him to the rescue that had first taken in his litter and adopted him out.

We have since been informed that Leo was later transferred from that rescue organization to Shannon Miranda of Miranda’s Rescue.

At this time, we do not have confirmed information about Leo’s outcome.

Because this is an active investigation and many dogs are currently unaccounted for, we are treating Leo as potentially missing. He may have entered a facility now under investigation, and that alone requires answers.

If you handled Leo, transported him, owned him, fostered him, pulled him, transferred him, or if you have screenshots, adoption posts, microchip information, veterinary records, contracts, payment records, or messages about him, please preserve all of it and contact the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office.

What people should do right now

If you sent a dog to Shannon Miranda or Miranda’s Rescue, or if your shelter, rescue, transporter, adopter, foster, client, or former rescue partner did, contact the proper authorities immediately.

Do not only post online.

Do not assume someone else already reported it.

Preserve what you have and send it through official channels.

Save:

Animal name and aliases
Shelter ID
Microchip number
Intake date
Transfer date
Transport date
Original shelter, rescue, or owner
Contracts
Invoices
Receipts
Venmo, PayPal, Zelle, or check records
Texts
Emails
DMs
Screenshots
Photos and videos
Vet records
Behavior notes
Claimed adoption updates
Claimed euthanasia updates
Any refusal to return the dog
Any refusal to show the dog
Any vague “adopted” claim that was never verified

Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office has asked anyone with information about an animal under the care of Miranda’s Rescue to contact them at HSO@co.humboldt.ca.us or 707-445-7251.

What needs to change in rescue

This case is not only about what may have happened at Miranda’s Rescue.

It is about the gaps that allowed dogs to disappear.

Every shelter, rescue, and advocate should be asking:

Who is allowed to pull dogs?

Who is allowed to re-transfer dogs?

Does the original agency have to approve a re-transfer?

Are microchips updated?

Are adopters verified?

Are euthanasia decisions documented by a veterinarian?

Are transfer partners visited in person?

Are sanctuary claims audited?

Are high-volume intake numbers compared against actual adoption outcomes?

Are dogs being sent out because they are truly safe, or because everyone is desperate for space?

These questions are not attacks. They are basic responsibility.

Some things are obvious red flags. Some things are not red flags yet, but they need more questions asked.

Ask.

If a rescue is offended by basic questions, that is information.

If a facility will not let you visit, that is information.

If no one can show current photos or videos, that is information.

If dogs are always “adopted” but adopters are never documented, that is information.

If a place takes hard dogs from everywhere but does not have transparent outcomes, that is information.

If a rescue accepts money to take in dogs but cannot clearly show where those dogs went, that is information.

If dogs can be transferred again without written permission, that is a massive failure.

Always visit where your dogs are going

This is the part we cannot soften.

Always visit where your dogs are going.

Not because every rescue is bad.

Not because every sanctuary is lying.

Not because every transfer partner is dangerous.

But because the dogs cannot verify their own safety.

We have to do that for them.

Visit the property. Ask who lives there. Ask who handles the dogs. Ask what happens when a dog is not adoptable. Ask how long dogs stay. Ask who makes euthanasia decisions. Ask what vet is used. Ask for outcome records. Ask for adoption contracts. Ask whether the dog can ever be transferred again. Ask whether you will be notified if the dog declines, bites, gets sick, is euthanized, or is moved.

Ask to see the kennels.

Ask to see the dogs.

Ask to see the records.

And if the answer is no, slow down.

The state of animal welfare in California is beyond strained. Shelters are full. Dogs are sitting for months and years. Large dogs, behavior dogs, medical dogs, and bully breeds are running out of options. Rescues are overwhelmed. Fosters are scarce. Public pressure is brutal. Everyone wants a live outcome.

But a live release is not the same thing as a life saved.

A rescue transfer is not an outcome.

A dog is not safe because the kennel card has changed.

A dog is not adopted because someone said so.

A dog is not alive because we hope they are.

The dogs deserve more than hope.

They deserve proof.

For Leo, and for every dog still unaccounted for

We are heartbroken for the dogs already found.

We are heartbroken for the dogs whose names are now being traced through microchips, collars, records, and memories.

We are heartbroken for the owners, fosters, shelter workers, volunteers, rescuers, and advocates who believed they were sending dogs somewhere safe.

And we are heartbroken because Leo may be somewhere in this story.

So we are asking clearly:

If you sent a dog to Shannon Miranda or Miranda’s Rescue, contact the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office.

If you know of a dog transferred through another rescue to Miranda’s Rescue, contact authorities.

If you have records, preserve them.

If you have screenshots, save them.

If you have microchip numbers, send them.

If you are in rescue, tighten your transfer agreements now.

If you are a shelter, audit your rescue partners now.

If you are an adopter, foster, volunteer, donor, transporter, or advocate, ask more questions.

Not later.

Now.

The dogs deserve that much.

Sources: Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, Lost Coast Outpost, Friends of Oakland Animal Services/Oakland Animal Services, San José Animal Care & Services, Napa County, Sacramento County Bradshaw Animal Shelter, KQED, and ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.