Unmasking Miranda’s Rescue: what happened that we know about 

Humboldt Spay/Neuter Clinic & Humboldt Critters Without Litters founder Jennifer Raymond dug up the evidence

ANIMALS 24-7 on May 22,  2026 mentioned that,  “The Humboldt Lost & Found Pets page on Facebook,  serving Humboldt County,”  in northern California,  “has been flooded for days with desperate messages from individuals,  rescues, and even established animal shelters,  hoping to discover the fate of pit bulls and sometimes other dogs and cats who were transferred to Miranda’s Rescue in recent months and years,  purportedly for adoption.”

(See Amid five California sanctuary fiascos, Suwanna Ranch hosts survivors.)

Just four days later that looks like an understatement.  A quick Google search turns up more than 8,240 postings to social media wondering if various animals who may have been sent to Miranda’s Rescue in recent years are alive or dead.

Tipped off

            ANIMALS 24-7 was tipped off about allegedly inhumane conditions and covert mass killing at at Miranda’s Sanctuary,  south of Fortuna,  California,  on April 15,  2026 by Jennifer Raymond,  74,  a neighboring property owner who alleged that local law enforcement had ignored her complaints.

ANIMALS 24-7 responded with two emails of advice about collecting and presenting actual evidence of criminality,  but acknowledged in our May 22,  2026 coverage of the Miranda’s Rescue investigation that we did not know whether any of our advice contributed to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office finally obtaining a search warrant and entering the Miranda’s Sanctuary property.

ANIMALS 24-7 truthfully still does not know,  but we do believe Jennifer Raymond’s efforts to bring the Miranda’s Rescue situation to light warrant recognition and appreciation––and emulation throughout the humane community,  which should be thoroughly alerted by now that the slogan “We can save them all” is a myth.

(See also How did Miranda’s Rescue manage to disappear so many dogs for so long?)

A pernicious myth

“We can save them all” is not only a pernicious myth,  but will remain a myth,  until and unless high-volume targeted free and heavily discounted spay/neuter eliminates overpopulation of the most problematic animals either entering animal shelters,  or remaining at large when shelters practicing selective or scheduled admission refuse to admit them as the need occurs.

This includes especially pit bulls,  accounting for most of the verifiable Miranda’s Rescue traffic,  and also for most of the traffic involved in many comparable situations,  in which purported mass rescue became mass death at canine concentration camps.

            (See Corinne DiLorenzo, worst convicted U.S. hoarder, violates plea bargain,  Fallen “rescue angels”: Dawn Pennington, Tiffany Woodington, Corinne DiLorenzo,  and “Rescue” hoarding: the “Nutmeg State” becomes the “Nut Case” state.)

40 years of disasters compounded with interest

Similar situations have come to our attention with increasing frequency since November 1987,  when the New York State Humane Association exposed the Animals Farm Home at Ellenville,  New York,  run by Justin McCarthy,  then age 68.

Even after early investigations discovered extreme animal neglect at the Animals Farm Home, McCarthy was described by Newsweek in 1984 as “St. Francis of the Catskills,” and by Reader’s Digest  in 1986 as “a real-life Dr. Doolittle.”

Animal advocates fervently wanted to believe that somewhere,  somehow,  there was a farm in the countryside that could take in and rehome every dog and cat,  if the dog or cat came with a sufficient endowment to cover the estimated costs.

Investigators Samantha Mullen (1939-2012),  Holly Cheever (1950-2025),  and Sue McDonough,  still an avid ANIMALS 24-7 reader,  often posting comments,  were vilified even by several national animal advocacy organizations for challenging McCarthy’s saintly reputation––but they were right.

Convicted of six armed robberies

McCarthy allegedly took in more than 1,000 dogs, 70 cats,  and various other animals between 1981 and 1987,  plus $500,000 in cash.

But the money vanished while most of the animals starved.

Of approximately 475 animals Mullen,  Cheever,  and McDonough reportedly discovered amid the remains of perhaps 200 more animals at the Animals Farm Home,  about 175 were euthanized at the scene as irrecoverable.

McCarthy,  New York Times files revealed,  before founding the Animals Farm Home,  had actually been convicted of six armed robberies.

“We can save them all”

The Best Friends Animal Society was still decades from amplifying the phrase “We can save them all” then.

Today,  however,  113 shelters and rescues in the past 12 months,  exposed as involved in either alleged mass neglect or turning away dogs and cats in need,  have been identified as partners of the Best Friends Animal Society,  in cases logged and documented by Teresa Chagrin of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals as part of an ongoing feature entitled “No-Kill” Policies Slowly Killing Animals.

“No-Kill” is an aspirational goal that can be achieved,  and has been,  by many individual shelters and rescues of acknowledged limited scope,  mostly those specializing in rehoming healthy,  adoptable animals.

“No-Kill” is not an appropriate aspirational goal for animal care and control agencies serving the need of society to be protected from dangerous dogs and diseased animals,  or providing necessary euthanasia service to relieve the suffering of injured and terminally ill animals.

“We can save them all,”  instead of “We can prevent the births of pit bulls,  other dangerous dogs,  and feral cats by committing appropriate resources to the effort,  including to public humane education about the need to prevent those births,”  is simply lying to the public,  creating and contributing to mass neglect situations.

Reaching out

Wrote Jennifer Raymond to ANIMALS 24-7 on April 15,  2026,  “I am reaching out to everyone I can think of regarding a desperate situation.

“I am trying to shut down a so-called rescue that takes in dogs from shelters and private rescues,  as well as individual surrenders,  under the pretense of providing rehab,  training,  and finding permanent loving homes.

“Most of the dogs are killed and buried on the property,”  Raymond charged.

“The owner is a very good actor and is loved by much of the local and rescue community. Law enforcement will not investigate because they do not want to be stuck with the animals.

“Believe me,  I’ve tried,”  Raymond said.

“I’ve filed complaints with animal control as well as a complaint to the [local] grand jury with no positive results.  I also filed complaints with the [California] attorney general and the IRS regarding financial malfeasance , and only received form letter responses.

Taught vegetarian & vegan cooking

“According to information from public record requests,”  Raymond testified,  “this operation took in more than 594 dogs from public shelters in 2025.  Day after day,  I watch the vans pull in.

“I have worked for animals all my adult life,”  Raymond introduced herself,  “teaching vegetarian and vegan cooking for 30 years.

“After retiring,”  Raymond added,  “I began a spay/neuter program that has evolved into two spay/neuter clinics.  I work closely with every rescue in my community,  except the one I am writing about.

“In other words,  I know how to “play well” with others.  This isn’t just a jealousy thing or a personality clash.  Animals are suffering and I am trying to stop it,  but I need help.”

“Insufficient information”

ANIMALS 24-7 tried to help,  but we did not have enough specifics as to who,  what,  where,   to even began.  Which,  in itself,  was a clue as to what Raymond’s efforts might have been lacking.

“At a guess,”  ANIMALS 24-7 responded,  after unsuccessfully attempting to identify the entity in question from the few hints that Raymond had provided,  “your first problem may be providing the various authorities you have contacted with insufficient information.

“That ‘Law enforcement will not investigate because they do not want to be stuck with the animals’ is possible,”  ANIMALS 24-7 explained,  “but law enforcement also needs evidence in order to obtain a search warrant,  which in turn is the beginning point of an investigation by a law enforcement agency.

Info sufficient to get a search warrant

“Beyond that,  while law enforcement may ‘not want to be stuck with the animals,'”  ANIMALS 24-7 suggested,  “law enforcement also will not want to be stuck with 600 or so dead animals and a public asking where they have been amid many complaints.

“Evidence sufficient to obtain a search warrant,”  ANIMALS 24-7 outlined,  “may consist of eyewitness testimony of having seen illegally negligent conditions,  photographs taken from a legal vantage point,  or veterinary testimony based on examination of animals.

“Absent this level of information,”  ANIMALS 24-7 finished,  “you may have an informed suspicion,  but that alone is not enough for a judge to authorize a search warrant.”

Trail camera

Jennifer Raymond replied within the day,  explaining that she currently had a trail camera “on my own property positioned with a view of the hole where he is currently burying dogs.  If I capture animal disposal activity around the hole,”  Raymond asked,  “do you think that would be sufficient evidence?”

Responded ANIMALS 24-7,   “That animals die at a sanctuary,  or anywhere else keeping large numbers of animals,  is not in itself unusual.  The question would be what the animals die from.

“Evidence of starvation,  uncontrolled disease,  or attacks by other animals would be evidence of an offense,  but evidence of dead animals by itself would not mean much.

“California does have strict laws about disposal of animal remains,”  ANIMALS 24-7 noted,  “based on avoiding air pollution and water quality issues.  Those laws,  though,  pertain primarily to urban and suburban areas.  What might apply in your location,  you would have to research.  Enforcement may be at the county level.

Warnings

“A year ago,”  said Raymond,  “I purchased the property next door to this operation,  to better monitor the activities.”

Cautioned ANIMALS 24-7,  “That sounds a bit obsessive,  and would be more likely to suggest to law enforcement that you are pursuing a feud than pursuing an investigation of alleged offenses likely carrying a lesser maximum fine than you paid for the land.”

“Week after week,”  recounted Raymond,  “I watch loads of dogs being delivered by good-hearted people who believe that they are saving their lives.”

“Have you documented the traffic?”  ANIMALS 24-7 asked.  “Just counting the vehicles will not be enough;  you would have to somehow establish the number of animals aboard each truck,  since it is not unusual for trucks to deliver items while remaining mostly empty.”

“Ushered into squalor”

Once inside what turned out to be the Miranda’s Rescue property,  Raymond alleged,  “the dogs are ushered into squalor,  with little food and no human contact except when dry kibble is delivered once a day,  or when the kennels are hosed out every couple of weeks.  This is how they live until they die.”

This,  ANIMALS 24-7 pointed out,  “would have to be documented by affidavits from people who have had direct access to the property.”

Raymond mentioned that Miranda’s Rescue founder Shannon Miranda “has a large home on the adjacent property (for which he pays no taxes) and he and his husband own a home in Las Vegas that they purchased for $1,050,000 in February 2024.”

“That might be circumstantial evidence of something,  or not,”  suggested ANIMALS 24-7.  “There are lots of people in rescue who have substantial income from other sources.”

“Questionable law enforcement procedure”

Lamented Raymond,  “I have filed complaints through the years,  but the only thing that happens is that Shannon is given my name and the nature of the complaint.”

Offered ANIMALS 24-7,  “This suggests questionable law enforcement procedure,  but keeping witness confidentiality is difficult in a small rural community.

“Also,  making complaints without presenting evidence sufficient for law enforcement to obtain a search warrant is a surefire way to brand yourself as a nuisance complainant.

“One complaint supported by irrefutable evidence is worth a thousand complaints supported only by suspicion.”

Case broke

ANIMALS 24-7 heard nothing further about the alleged situation until Erica Bowman of the East Bay Times on May 17,  2026 reported that,  “Shannon Miranda,  the  55-year-old founder of Miranda’s Rescue,  a nonprofit animal rescue in Fortuna, California,  is believed by investigators to have been killing dogs so he could accept more shipments from Oakland Animal Services [and many other agencies] for financial gain.

“The operations manager of Oakland Animal Services,”  Bowman continued,  “told investigators that Miranda was paid $400 to $1,000 for every dog he accepted.  The Oakland shelter alone was transferring hundreds of dogs per year to him — enough to generate at least $178,000 in revenue over three years.

“In the past year,”  Bowman said,  “it’s estimated Miranda received over 600 dogs from various shelters statewide,  totaling roughly $510,000 in payments.”

Confirmed the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office on May 21,  2026,  “The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office’s Major Crimes Division is investigating Miranda’s Rescue over credible allegations of felony animal abuse,  animal cruelty,  fraud and conspiracy,  and is seeking additional information from the public.”

“Looks as if you were right”

“Looks as if you were right about Miranda’s Rescue,”  ANIMALS 24-7 wrote to Jennifer Raymond then,  asking “Can you please fill us in about whatever happened between April 15,  2026,  when we were previously in communication about it,  and when the cop shop got involved a few days ago?”

Responded Raymond in depth and detail,  “Not long after I founded the Humboldt Spay/Neuter Network in 2003,  I began hearing disturbing stories about Miranda’s Rescue – about dogs being shot and dogs disappearing – but no one ever had details or evidence.  As much as I wanted to dismiss the stories as baseless rumors,  I couldn’t help but wonder how this small rescue,  which took in dogs from out of the area as well as from local individuals,  could possibly be finding homes for them all.

“As the stories continued through the years, I became more and more determined to learn the truth. It seemed to me that the only way to do this was to be able to watch what was actually going on at the Miranda facility.  My opportunity to do that came just over a year ago,  when the property next door came up for sale and I was able to purchase it.”

“Outlined in red”

The property,  between the Redwood Highway,  U.S. 101,  and the Eel River,  includes the 3,200-square-foot Victorian mansion,  built in 1870,  a big barn,  and the rest of the surviving remnants of what was once the biggest ranch in the Fortuna area.

At Miranda’s Rescue,  Raymond observed,  “The dogs,  probably about 80 [at a time],  live year-round in outdoor kennels with an igloo for shelter.  They are fed a scoop of dry kibble once a day.  Every 7 to 14 days,  the kennels are hosed out with the dogs in them,”  Raymond alleged,  “leaving many dogs soaked on the coldest days of the year.

“Most of the dogs – especially the large adult dogs – are housed in kennels that are off-limits to the public.  Feeding and cleaning are the total extent of human contact these dogs receive,”  Raymond further alleged.  “No one comes to walk them, throw a ball for them,  or spend any time with them.

“This kennel area is outlined in red in the photo.”

“Hole behind huge blackberry hedge”

Raymond monitored a hole beyond a “huge blackberry hedge separating our properties,”  she wrote.  “I could see it from my property.  I watched as it got smaller over time and eventually the hole was covered and a new hole appeared.  I suspected that the hole was a mass grave for dogs.”

On a covert visit,  Raymond averred,  she dug up a dog,  “whose face was covered with dried blood,”  who “had been shot between the eyes.  I took photos,”  Raymond said,  “then covered the dog back up,  literally covering my tracks,  so it would not be obvious that the hole had been disturbed.

“That night,”  Raymond continued,  “as soon as it was dark,”  Raymond and companion Jenna Moore “headed to the hole with shovels and began digging.  Eventually,  we uncovered eight freshly killed dogs.  The bodies were still warm;  they had all been shot in the head.”

Many of these dogs were not pit bulls,  and several,  at least,  appeared eminently adoptable.

“Puppies still had baby teeth”

“Two were puppies who still had their baby teeth.  We dragged their bodies out of the hole and through the fence onto my property,”  Raymond narrated.

“We scanned them for microchips and discovered that all but one of the dogs had microchips,  meaning they had probably come from shelters.  All but one had been spayed or neutered.

“We contacted the sheriff’s department and told them what we’d found.  The next day,  they came and picked up the bodies,  which are now in a freezer at the Humboldt County Animal Shelter.

“Four days later,”  Raymond wrote further,  “the sheriff’s department raided the rescue and Shannon Miranda’s home on the property.  They seized firearms,  shelter records,  smart phones and computers.  At this time, the case is under investigation and no charges have been filed.

“We tracked the microchips for these dogs,”  Raymond said,  “and were able to find posts about them by volunteers who had worked with them at the shelters where they came from.

“Hideous betrayal”

“Their stories and videos are truly heartbreaking in light of this gruesome discovery,”  Raymond finished.  “Such a  hideous betrayal of these innocent creatures,  and of the people who thought they were saving lives by sending them here.

“Felicia and Farkle were the two puppies we found in the hole.  They still had only baby teeth. Their lives were cut short by cruelty and greed.”

Jennifer Raymond signed off as,  “founder of Humboldt Spay/Neuter Clinic and Humboldt Critters Without Litters.  She believes the only way to end tragedies like this is through spaying and neutering animals to reduce the number of unwanted litters.”

Trespassing

From our own extensive investigative experience,  in Beth’s case as former police officer and animal control officer,  ANIMALS 24-7 recognizes several potentially problematic aspects of Raymond’s investigation;  our own approach,  had we been there,  would have been much more cautious.

First and foremost,  Raymond by her own account was trespassing when she discovered the evidence that was apparently used by the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office to obtain a search warrant.

However,  while law enforcement may not trespass under most circumstances to obtain evidence.  evidence obtained by a private individual while trespassing is admissible in court.  The trespasser may be prosecuted and may even be sued by the property owner,  but the testimony of the trespasser can be used in a criminal prosecution of whoever  committed the alleged crime that the trespasser witnessed.

No charges––yet

As yet,  there are no charges filed against Shannon Miranda,  and therefore is no prosecution of anyone.  This leaves Raymond vulnerable to legal retaliation,  which may be forthcoming.

ANIMALS 24-7 is inclined to suspect,  though,  that legal counsel would advise Miranda against doing anything that might further inflame the court of public opinion,  whose verdict is likely to be swifter and harsher than any potential penalties meted out by a court of law.

At the moment,  Miranda would appear to be most vulnerable to charges associated with taking money under false pretenses and misusing charitable funds.  Proving cruelty to animals might be at least equally difficult,  and a conviction would probably carry a lesser sentence.

All of this,  however,  will most likely take many months and perhaps years to resolve.

Meanwhile,  hundreds of dogs,  mostly pit bulls,  remain unaccounted for,  while at least eight bodies have been excavated.

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