UPDATE, 4:39 p.m.:

After this post was published, Shannon Miranda sent the Outpost a copy of an Aug. 6 letter from his attorney, Allison Jackson, to Humboldt County Planning and Building Director John Ford in which she disputes his interpretation of the conditional use permit for Miranda’s Rescue.

While Jackson agrees that no dogs will be kept on the northern parcel of the property, and she says the permit situation with the trailer will be resolved, she challenges Ford’s conclusion that euthanasia is prohibited at Miranda’s Rescue. Jackson argues that “it is simply not remotely reasonable” to interpret the project description’s ban on “euthanasia facilities” to mean that no animal can ever be euthanized onsite. 

Euthanasia is permitted by right on all parcels in the county, Jackson says in the letter, though she adds, “I do not foresee this type of action [at Miranda’s Rescue] in the near future given the fact that the Rescue has not been accepting animals since the first week of May and is only operational for adoptions of existing animals.”

Jackson also challenges county staff’s position that animal burial is prohibited at the property. 

“Burial is permitted on any parcel in this county … and occurs daily,” Jackson says.

She cites a letter from the county agricultural commissioner saying as much and outlining the rules for doing so. 

Read Jackson’s full letter by clicking here.

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Original post:

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The Humboldt County Planning and Building Department has suspended the conditional use permit for Miranda’s Rescue after staff found that the Fortuna animal rescue organization, which is at the center of a multi-agency criminal investigation, has been violating the terms of the permit for years. 

In an email to the Outpost, Planning and Building Director John Ford said the suspension means Miranda’s Rescue cannot take in or adopt out any animals until the violations are resolved. We left a voicemail for owner Shannon Miranda around noon today, asking how many animals remain onsite and what he plans to do about the permits suspension. We had yet to get a response by the time this post was published.

The conditional use permit for Miranda’s Rescue, issued in 2003, allowed Miranda to operate “a domestic ‘companion’ animal rescue facility” on just two agricultural parcels outside of Fortuna city limits. Those two parcels are highlighted in the image below.

However, investigators with the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office have testified in sworn affidavits that six different parcels are being used for rescue-related activities. Only three of those parcels are owned by Miranda’s Rescue or Miranda himself.

Below is a map of all six parcels that investigators have associated with Miranda’s Rescue operations, followed by a satellite image showing the same area.

Staff in the county’s Planning and Building Department only learned about these violations after the criminal investigation began, according to a story published Thursday in the Times-Standard. That investigation, which involves the FBI, the California Attorney General’s Office and other state and federal agencies, included a multi-day excavation and search that unearthed the remains of at least 138 dogs. Inside a barn on the premises, investigators found blood spatter, spent .22-caliber rifle cartridges and more than 600 dog collars.

Both the barn and the mass burial site are located on APN 201-191-002, outlined below:

The Planning and Building Department has informed Miranda that he may no longer use this portion of the property, even if the suspension on the conditional use permit is lifted, Ford confirmed to the Outpost.

Furthermore, Miranda’s Rescue’s conditional use permit explicitly prohibited euthanasia facilities onsite, the Times-Standard reported. And while county code doesn’t include a definition of “euthanasia facilities,” Ford said he believes Miranda was violating the terms of the permit when he killed dogs by shooting them in the head. (Miranda has admitted to killing as many as 10 per month, according to court records.)

Ford also concluded that the disposal of dog carcasses onsite violated the terms of the permit, and county staff found that an unpermitted trailer has been located on Miranda’s Rescue property.

Ford told the Outpost via email that most of the permit violations have already been resolved. That includes the prohibition on euthanizing or burying dogs onsite and on using APN 201-191-002 for rescue operations. As such, getting the permit reinstated is merely “a matter of the trailer being permitted or removed,” Ford said.

Law enforcement and federal agencies continue to investigate Miranda over allegations of animal cruelty, fraud and theft. To date, the investigation has found that shelters across California and beyond sent hundreds upon hundreds of dogs to Miranda’s Rescue every year — including 827 dogs from the Oakland Animal Shelter alone since 2020. Miranda charged $500 to $1,000 or more per dog surrendered, and he is suspected of routinely killing dogs to make room for more.

Miranda has denied those allegations.

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