What was supposed to be a safe haven for unwanted dogs is now the center of a chilling criminal investigation, after Humboldt County detectives say they dug up eight dead dogs at Miranda’s Rescue in Fortuna, some apparently shot and buried on the property.
Investigators are now trying to determine whether dogs transferred in from municipal shelters across California, including Oakland and Berkeley, were killed and secretly buried. A search warrant was served at the Sandy Prairie Road property on May 1, and detectives say they seized evidence while county animal control officers remain on site monitoring the animals that are still there. Oakland and other municipal shelters have halted transfers and are scrambling to account for the dogs they previously sent north.
Search warrant followed ‘credible information’
According to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, deputies received what they described as “credible information” on April 22 that something was very wrong at Miranda’s Rescue. That tip led to a court-approved search warrant, which was executed on May 1.
The agency says its Major Crimes Division is now leading the probe. Humboldt County Animal Control is scanning and monitoring animals on the property as part of the investigation, while detectives urged anyone who knows more about what happened at the rescue to contact their tip line.
Affidavit describes bullets, microchips and a profit motive
An affidavit reviewed by Oaklandside says investigators recovered eight dog carcasses from a burial site on the property, some with what appeared to be bullet wounds. Microchips traced several of the dogs back to shelters in Oakland and Berkeley. In the affidavit, Detective Julian Aguilera wrote that he believed that the rescue operator murdered these dogs so that he could accept more from Oakland Animal Services for financial gain. That allegation is now at the heart of the case.
Oakland slams the brakes on transfers
Joe DeVries, director of Oakland Animal Services, told KQED that his agency sent about 205 dogs to Miranda’s Rescue in 2025 alone. As soon as Oakland officials heard about the allegations out of Humboldt County, they say they froze all future transfers…