At least 117 dead dogs found in 'horrific scene' at California 'no-kill'
shelter
[June 29, 2026]
FORTUNA, Calif. (AP) — The remains of at least 117 dogs were found on
the grounds of a California “no-kill“ animal shelter, many of them with
gunshot wounds, authorities said.
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office said Friday that it also discovered
21 canine skulls, hundreds of bones and other remains during searches at
Miranda’s Rescue Animal Sanctuary, a 50-acre (20-hectare) facility in
Fortuna, California.
Investigators combing the site on Thursday located an area in a barn
where they believe dogs were likely killed, the sheriff’s office said.
More than 600 dog collars were found nearby, the office said.
Sheriff William Honsal called it a “horrific scene.” No charges have
been filed.
A message seeking comment was left for the shelter’s founder, Shannon
Miranda.
In a statement posted to the shelter’s website on June 18, Miranda said
that recent media coverage and online commentary “have presented an
incomplete and, in some cases, inaccurate picture of our work.”
“At Miranda’s Rescue, our mission is to save as many animals as we
safely can—always balancing compassion for animals with our
responsibility to protect families, children, other pets, and the
public,” Miranda wrote.
The sheriff’s office said it started investigating the shelter after
receiving “credible information” in April “regarding allegations of
felony animal abuse, animal cruelty, fraud, and conspiracy.”
Miranda’s Rescue collects fees from shelter transfers, as well as
donations that it says helps cover the costs of food, housing,
veterinary care, medications, facility expenses and staffing.
An affidavit from an earlier search of the property said that the
sheriff’s office was tipped off by a pair of animal advocates, one of
whom owns property adjoining the shelter and used trail cameras to
monitor activity near an alleged burial site.
The advocates later went onto shelter property and dug up dog remains,
the affidavit said.
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In an aerial view, investigators search for animal remains while
executing a second search warrant at Miranda's Rescue as part of an
active investigation into alleged animal cruelty, fraud, and theft,
in Fortuna, Calif., on Tuesday, June 23, 2026. (Stephen Lam/San
Francisco Chronicle via AP)
“This investigation is just getting started,” Honsal said in a
statement. “There is a tremendous amount of data to process,
witnesses to interview, and evidence to examine.”
Investigators using ground-penetrating radar found 117 intact
remains in various stages of decomposition buried in an open field,
the sheriff’s office said.
They X-rayed 70 of the remains on site and found evidence of bullet
fragments in many of them. The cause of death for many of those
animals appeared to be gunshot wounds, the sheriff’s office said.
Investigators also found additional remains in advanced stages of
decomposition, the sheriff’s office said.
The sheriff’s office said hundreds of dogs were transferred or
turned over to Miranda’s Rescue by private citizens and animal
shelters.
In his statement, Miranda said, “Miranda’s Rescue is a no-kill
rescue. We do not euthanize animals simply to make space.”
However, Miranda wrote, ”there are rare circumstances in which
euthanasia may be necessary — when an animal is suffering from a
terminal condition or when it poses a serious, ongoing danger to
people or other animals.”
“In those situations, we make the most humane and responsible
decision we can, always with public safety and animal welfare in
mind.”
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