They've been a Humboldt County institution for decades. If they deliberately killed animals in their care, I'm horrified. But in fairness, Miranda's is a no-kill shelter, so many animals live out their lives and then die there. It isn't surprising that their bodies would be buried or whatever on the property. I hope that's how this turns out.

There are certainly non-nefarious reasons why this facility would have animal carcasses they need to dispose of, and it may be that burying the remains is all they afford to do with them. And people bury dead pets (and human bodies of course) all the time, not like it's inherently some awful thing to so. It's also possible there was a bad disease outbreak, and some sick animals needed to be culled.

When I read 'no-kill' I don't assume there are 0 circumstances under which some animals will end up euthanized, just that it's not done wantonly and based purely on time restrictions.

So, I'm not going to jump to conclusions without hearing the owner's side of the story. However if they're all just recently shot, and their bodies left to rot above ground, that's a very different scenario of course.

I hope he dies screaming.

A lot of these shelters paid him per dog, so he collected a lot of money. He is only licensed to keep 60. Do the math.

“Of all the agreements, Solano County is the only shelter that has a term listed [stating] that Miranda’s Rescue may not euthanize a dog to create space for additional dogs,” Aguilera’s statement says. “In the past year, it is estimated that Miranda has received approximately over 600 dogs from various shelters. This number does not include any animals privately surrendered to Miranda’s Rescue. It is estimated that Miranda’s [Rescue] received approximately $510,000 in payment for caring for these dogs.”
https://lostcoastoutpost.com/2026/may/20/mirandas-rescue-neighbor-says-she-caught-him-camer/

Many of the dogs were reportedly shot to death (bullet holes in the heads).

He lied, stole money, committed fraud, and murdered dogs on a no-kill site.

for the dogs up-keep (fees from other shelters surrounding the dogs, donations, etc). Claiming to be a no-kill shelter.
Other shelters send him dogs and paid a fee per dog. He might have been getting as much as $500 per dog (and more) in surrender fees, from what I can google.

Local article

117 Dogs Recovered, Hundreds of Collars Found in Suspected Kill Site: HCSO Releases Details of Miranda’s Rescue Excavation

Friday, 26 June 2026, 1:58 pm Redhead Blackbelt Staff 49 comments at link

On June 25, 2026, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Division completed a second search warrant operation and follow-up investigation at Miranda’s Rescue Animal Sanctuary, located at 1603 Sandy Prairie Road in Fortuna, California. The search warrant authorized the Sheriff’s Office to search the grounds and buildings associated with Miranda’s Rescue and Shannon Miranda for evidence related to animal cruelty and fraud. This included the excavation of open fields for evidence of deceased dogs believed to be buried in mass graves. The investigative team searched the open field on the east side of the property. The property was also surveyed using ground-penetrating radar. Several locations were identified, and specialized teams excavated sites where anomalies in the soil were discovered. During the excavation, investigators recovered 117 intact canine remains from two dig sites. An additional 21 canine skulls, hundreds of bones, and six loose microchips were located in another dig location near where the intact animals were discovered.

The 117 intact dogs were in various stages of decomposition. Seventy of the dogs were X-rayed on site, and many of those animals showed evidence of bullet fragments. Most of the dogs recovered were microchipped. Analysts are currently reviewing the data obtained from the microchips and are working to identify the dogs associated with those chips. All items were collected as evidence and will undergo further examination as part of the ongoing investigation.

Seventy of the dogs were examined on site by USDA and forensic veterinarians. Based on those examinations, investigators preliminarily determined the cause of death for many of those animals to be gunshot wounds. Due to time constraints, the remaining 47 dogs were not examined on scene. All 117 dogs were collected as evidence.

While digging in the northern area of the same field, investigators located additional deceased canines in advanced stages of decomposition. Investigators attempted to remove animals from that location; however, due to the advanced stage of decomposition, investigators on scene, in consultation with the prosecution team, determined that the evidentiary value of removing the animals from the ground was not justified. Investigators documented the location and observations, and the site was covered, leaving the animals in their final resting place.

More article and local comments at the link: https://kymkemp.com/2026/06/26/156-pm-117-dogs-recovered-hundreds-of-collars-found-in-suspected-kill-site-hcso-releases-details-of-mirandas-rescue-excavation/

Speechless.

Sickening and sad.

What else can I say.

They were killed. Man's best friend, not so much.

bull pucky! track down the owner, and have her confession, or verifiable info on who did.

These poor babies deserved a life or racing across the greens. May they find open arms at the Rainbow Bridge.

Especially considering the number of dead dogs found.
Also, the owner is a man, not a woman. Even though his last name is Miranda.

(He can be fired, "but it is an exceptionally difficult process".)

Getting money from all kinds of shelters that send him hundreds and hundreds of dogs.
He is only licensed for 60 dogs. Most of the dogs he got were pitbulls, so it's a good guess he wasn't adopting them out by the hundreds/thousands.

He has two mansions in Las Vegas now. A familiar face in the casinos.

Another property in Hawaii.

The list goes on and on and on and on!

Prison for life for SHANNON MIRANDA!!!!!

Thanks for that link.

What the hell is wrong with Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal?
Why hasn't Shannon Miranda been arrested yet?

It is sickening! I want to get the hell away from this evil!

The old boy system just loves him. He is after all performing a "community service" in their sick twisted minds!

The cat I now have was from a colony that he was called in to deal with. Luckily, I adopted this feral cat about one year ago. Otherwise, he'd be long gone by the hand of Miranda! Word is that he HATES CATS!

He killed by cat in 2000! He has a story he tells people about some old farmer grieving the death of his wife and he went to Miranda's to adopt a dog/cat. His B.S. story has worked for many years.

He is a pathetic creature!

WTF is wrong with the justice system here is right! That is why I want to get out of this place. I'm done!

Around here, they "rescue" dangerous dogs from the kill list. Then they flip them into the community.

Then, we have the groups who treat Animal Control like ICE agents and hide dangerous strays in the woods.

It's well known there is money to be made.

About people who put money above everything else, no matter what horrible deeds they have to do.

Animals have no choice in where they end up. Some really luck out and end up spending their lives with people like us. I'm afraid the majority do not, and it makes me sick to think about it.

Fry this guy.

This is probably the worst case I've heard of in years but authorities have had to intervene in hundreds of cases over past years in which rescues and sanctuaries were abusing and neglecting animals.

Most times the organization and its founders start off with the best of intentions. But there is never anywhere close to enough money. There are never anywhere close to enough volunteers.

Then there are an overwhelming number of dogs, cats, and other animals small and large that need help and need good homes.

It is easy to lose control and get overwhelmed. There is also a darker side of rescue where an animal is simply an opportunity to collect a chunk of money for that animal's "lifetime support".

Those not involved in rescue would be absolutely astounded by the politics and sometimes outright greed that pollutes animal rescue. This extends from the million dollar salaries of the biggest "rescue" organizations to the local "non-profit" rescue with adoption fees exceeding $1000 to essentially flip an animal with nothing more than a cursory vet exam if that. And the politics can be just as cutthroat as you would find in any company.

I applied for a job at a Humane Society shelter taking care of dogs. The person interviewing me informed me that they put to sleep 27,000 dogs per year and that would be my job. I'm not a psychopath, so I passed on the job. I would have had too much PTSD killing all of those dogs.

In this particular case, the trouble might be that shooting a dog is not necessarily considered cruel, because apparently it's an accepted method of euthanasia in Ca.

This should have been reported way sooner. Those poor doggies didn't deserve a terrible death.

It's a farm. It's probably not unusual for there to be gunshots in rural areas.
As it is, it took a group of private citizens to doing their own investigation for this to come to light.