{"id":365617,"date":"2026-06-18T12:14:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T12:14:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/365617\/"},"modified":"2026-06-18T12:14:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T12:14:10","slug":"back-in-the-bay-area-canines-once-sent-to-mirandas-rescue-seek-new-homes-the-mercury-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/365617\/","title":{"rendered":"Back in the Bay Area, canines once sent to Miranda\u2019s Rescue seek new homes \u2013 The Mercury News"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN JOSE \u2014 The two dogs eagerly sat for treats, ran up and down an A-frame ramp and licked up whipped cream from the ground Wednesday morning inside a grassy enclosure at the San Jose Animal Care Center.<\/p>\n

Jaqueline, a 2-year-old gray pit bull, and Chipmunk, a 4-year-old black and white pit bull, returned to the care of San Jose Animal Care and Services last week from a Northern California animal rescue in the wake of claims that the rescue\u2019s operator had killed some of the dogs in their care<\/a>, then buried them on the property.<\/p>\n

It was only a few days after allegations against Fortuna-based Miranda\u2019s Rescue emerged that the team at SJACS sat down to discuss the situation of the four San Jose dogs that were still on the property.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a very passionate and compassionate group as far as our team goes,\u201d said Monica Wylie, deputy director of SJACS. \u201cThey just wanted our dogs back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Chipmunk,Chipmunk, 4, Labrador mix, plays at San Jose Animal Care Services in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, June 17, 2026. Chipmunk was taken back by SJACS from Miranda’s Rescue in Fortuna, which has been allegedly shooting some dogs in its care. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

As Bay Area shelters have grappled with the news of the allegations against the once-trusted rescue, some have jumped into action to bring their dogs home. SJACS brought four dogs back from Miranda\u2019s Rescue on June 10, Wylie said. In the East Bay, one dog has returned to Oakland Animal Services, said Joe DeVries, director of Oakland Animal Services.<\/p>\n

Scrutiny into Miranda\u2019s Rescue emerged last month after the Humboldt County Sheriff\u2019s Office began investigating the facility in response to evidence uncovered by two local women that the owner of the rescue had allegedly purposely shot dogs on his property. Investigators are probing the possibility that the operator may have been financially motivated, clearing out space to accept more dogs from shelters across the state \u2014 and the $400 to $1,450 payment that came with each dog.<\/p>\n

The sheriff\u2019s office did not respond to a request for updates on the investigation. Miranda\u2019s Rescue did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

The allegations sent shockwaves through Bay Area shelters, who collectively sent more than 1,200 dogs to Miranda\u2019s Rescue between 2020 and 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Though discussions about how to go about retrieving the four dogs who had formerly been in the care of SJACS began just days after the allegations against Miranda\u2019s emerged, there were several \u201cconsiderations and concerns\u201d in bringing them back to San Jose, Wylie said. These included logistical issues like being able to send two animal control employees to embark on the several-hour long drive. The team then had to get permission from Miranda\u2019s Rescue to retrieve the dogs, he added.<\/p>\n

When the dogs returned to San Jose last week, the four were given evaluations, which did not reveal any medical concerns.<\/p>\n

Jaqueline and Chipmunk are already listed for adoption and will be available alongside other dogs at an adoption event the shelter is hosting on Saturday with waived adoption fees.<\/p>\n

Chipmunk came to SJACS in February after being found tied to a pole, according to his biography. He is an \u201caspiring agility dog and will happily run up the \u2018A-frame\u2019 without being prompted.\u201d He has a \u201cvery smiley face,\u201d Wylie added.<\/p>\n

Jaqueline is a \u201chappy and wiggly\u201d pitbull who \u201ccomes when she\u2019s called, sits for treats and leans into pets,\u201d according to her biography.<\/p>\n

The other two dogs, whose names Wylie did not share, are undergoing further evaluation into their behavior and any safety risks they may pose, she said. That evaluation will determine those dogs\u2019 \u201cnext pathway,\u201d including whether they are adoptable candidates or whether the \u201cmost appropriate option may be humane euthanasia.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know how we take care of our animals and just wanted to have the eyes on them, take stock of their condition and then get them moving along on their appropriate pathway,\u201d Wylie said. \u201cWe care deeply about all the animals in the community we serve, and our priority is to provide the highest quality of animal care and a humane place for the animals to stay short-term.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wylie added that none of the deceased dogs that have been found during the Humboldt County Sheriff\u2019s Office investigation have been traced back to their shelter.<\/p>\n

DeVries, from OAS, confirmed that the dog now in the shelter\u2019s care was voluntarily returned by a person who adopted the dog from Miranda\u2019s and asked if the shelter wanted it returned.<\/p>\n

\"EdwardEdward Robinson, a coordinator at SJACS, plays with Jaqueline, 2, pit bull, right, and Cootie, 3, pit bull mix, at San Jose Animal Care Services in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, June 17, 2026. Jaqueline was taken back by SJACS from Miranda’s Rescue in Fortuna, which has been allegedly shooting some dogs in its care. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe dog is thriving,\u201d DeVries said, adding that the animal was already up for adoption again alongside many other pooches at the shelter. \u201cThere\u2019s so much unknown about the dogs that went to Miranda\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond being \u201ca little freaked out,\u201d anxious and a bit dirty, the midsized dog came back in fine condition, DeVries said.<\/p>\n

Shelters are not the only groups who have taken steps to save dogs. A San Jose rescue brought back Oliver, a 4-year-old pitbull<\/a> who returned with cuts and scars on his face after his time at Miranda\u2019s Rescue.<\/p>\n

Lisa Jenkins, manager of the County of Santa Clara Animal Services Center, said that the shelter has been in communication with Humboldt County Animal Control, which has been on-site at Miranda\u2019s Rescue to assess the welfare of the animals in the rescue\u2019s care, and that \u201cno concerns about the quality of care have been reported to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause we know these dogs have previously struggled in a shelter setting, we have reached out to our established rescue partners to identify potential placement options, and we are open to working collaboratively with the rescue and the broader rescue community to facilitate transfers,\u201d Jenkins said.<\/p>\n

Steve Burdo, public information officer for Contra Costa Animal Services, confirmed that no dogs that it had sent to Miranda\u2019s were still on the property. Several other shelters did not respond to inquires this week.<\/p>\n

DeVries added that there is no way for the shelter to tell which other dogs from Oakland have been adopted out because Miranda\u2019s Rescue \u201cdidn\u2019t provide people with their microchip numbers,\u201d so only a handful of dogs chipped to Oakland have been re-chipped to the dogs\u2019 new owners.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really frustrating,\u201d DeVries said. \u201cWe know a lot of them didn\u2019t make it, but we\u2019ll never know who\u2019s thriving and who met a really unkind fate.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN JOSE \u2014 The two dogs eagerly sat for treats, ran up and down an A-frame ramp and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":365618,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[389,2113,184,7,8,332,181,971,23,100,143,4822,4824,88,90,89,198,200,420],"class_list":["post-365617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-jose","tag-alameda-county","tag-animals","tag-bay-area","tag-california","tag-california-news","tag-east-bay","tag-latest-headlines","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-oakland","tag-pets","tag-pets-and-animals","tag-san-jose","tag-san-jose-headlines","tag-san-jose-news","tag-santa-clara-county","tag-south-bay","tag-things-to-do"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=365617"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365617\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/365618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=365617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=365617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=365617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}