UPDATE, 3:13 p.m.:

Shortly after this post was published, Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal emailed a response to Miranda’s statement. You can read that response here. 

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Original post:

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The following statement was emailed to the Outpost by Harland Law Firm attorney Allison Jackson on behalf of her client, Shannon Miranda:

Media coverage, social media posts, and law enforcement have continued to distort the truth about Miranda’s Rescue and me. I have fully cooperated with the investigation and provided everything requested, including my records, computers, and phones. I have been forthright and honest. The same cannot be said of the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office or my neighbors, Jenna Moore (aka Chris Jenna) and Jennifer Raymond. 

Because of the investigation, I have not spoken publicly in my defense. However, the inaccurate information and lies circulating about this case have fueled rumors, threats, and hostility toward my family and me. 

Law enforcement, particularly Sheriff Honsal, has become part of the rumor mill, so I will no longer stay silent. Many facts have not been released, and what has been released has been distorted. They are using Gestapo tactics in this investigation, including ransacking my house at 10 p.m. and frightening my family. Despite numerous requests, the Sheriff still has not provided me with the list of items taken from my home and the Rescue property during their searches, as promised. They continue to stonewall me while bending over backward to appease Jenna Moore.

These women claim to have insider information and present it as fact. Sheriff Honsal, his officers, and investigators seem willing to speak with my accusers but not with me. In addition, Sheriff Honsal’s wife, Jodi Honsal, is actively involved in Moore’s and Raymond’s elaborate scheme to discredit me. 

The authorities are selectively releasing information for publicity rather than to reflect the truth, and they are using inflammatory language in doing so. It appears the Sheriff is using me to help his re-election campaign rather than conducting this investigation with integrity.

Several social media pages by Moore, Raymond, and others claim to be sources of truth, but they are not. The two main perpetrators of total lies are Moore and Raymond. They are clearly making things up for clicks, reactions, and to position themselves as avengers, when they are merely bullies and stalkers. In addition, numerous of their vigilante friends and followers are posting death threats and lies. 

Moore and Raymond are profiting from this scheme by selling merchandise branded with their lies to raise funds for themselves, including T-shirts and scented candles. If they are truly honest and honorable, why are they doing this?

This began as a personal vendetta by Jenna Moore, who, for reasons I do not understand, began blatantly harassing me. She and her family trespassed on my property multiple times, dug up buried dogs, illegally videotaped and photographed them, and posted these images on multiple social media sites without any factual information or even the slightest context. She continues to act aggressively, spreading lies and claiming ongoing abuse. 

Let me lay out some of the facts:

• Not releasing the whole truth: One example of Sheriff Honsal not providing all the information is the bin of used dog collars found in the barn. Honsal failed to mention that the collars were donated to the Rescue, many still tagged, for use with incoming dogs. These were NOT collars and tags from dogs that came to the Rescue.
  
  
• The mission of my rescue organization is to provide a final opportunity for dogs that had been slated for euthanasia in municipal shelters. These animals were transferred into my care as a last resort, with the understanding that I had full legal authority and responsibility for all medical and adoption decisions in their best interests and in compliance with applicable laws.
  
  Every decision was made after careful evaluation of each dog’s medical condition, behavioral history, and public safety considerations. While many dogs could be rehabilitated and successfully placed in loving homes, not every dog could be safely or legally adopted. Some adopted dogs were returned because of aggression.
  
  Under county ordinance, a dog that has bitten a person or attacked, seriously injured, or killed another animal may be classified as “potentially dangerous” or “dangerous.” In such cases, the law imposes restrictions that can make adoption unlawful or impossible. As the responsible party, I was legally and ethically obligated to comply with those requirements.
  
  
• Personal opinions, emotions, or public pressure cannot override established laws or my legal obligations. Placing a dog that could not legally be adopted would have violated the law and jeopardized the safety of people, other animals, and the rescue. My responsibility was to act within the law while making difficult decisions in the best interests of the animals in my care and the community.
  
  No matter how badly someone wants to keep dogs from being euthanized, they can’t do so if the law stands as it is. If I place an aggressive dog for adoption, I am breaking the law. 
  
  
• Shelters sent dogs to Miranda’s Rescue drugged and sedated. Many dogs sent to my rescue by metropolitan shelters arrive heavily drugged and sedated. Once they arrive, the dogs are kept safe until the drugs wear off so we can properly evaluate them. Often, the paperwork accompanying the dogs does not reflect the animal’s aggressive behavior. In such cases, we are working blind with these dogs and must take precautions to prevent them from biting someone or maiming or killing another animal. By law, these dogs cannot be put up for adoption if they demonstrate these behaviors.
  
  
• Shelters refused to take their dogs back when notified. When we notified the city shelters that their aggressive dogs were not adoptable and offered to have them pick them up, very few did. 
  
  The rescue business is about saving dogs that were slated for euthanasia at the shelters. My rescue was the last resort for these dogs. I was given these animals with full control over their medical and adoption decisions. We worked diligently to retrain them, but some couldn’t change, no matter how hard we tried.
  
  
• Money received from shelters was used to care for the animals. I have never taken money from shelters for dogs only to put them down to make room for more dogs. I have always taken dogs when asked, trained them, and given them another chance with a loving family. If a dog was untrainable due to aggression, after giving them plenty of time to adjust, they would then be euthanized. If dogs from the shelters were adopted, I often notified the shelter. A number of those dogs were returned by the adoptive family and could not be readopted due to their aggression. I was under no legal or contractual obligation to notify the shelters of their return.
  
  
• The authorities were notified when dogs were euthanized. Whenever I have had to euthanize an animal, I have contacted Rob Patton, the manager of the local animal control office (part of the Sheriff’s Office), beforehand to advise them of the situation. Even when I was told that such notification wasn’t required, I continue to do so because I believe it’s important to maintain a record of these actions. Rob Patton has also inspected Miranda’s Rescue numerous times over the years. We have never received a negative review.
  
  
• All animals have been buried legally. I have followed the law when an animal has been euthanized and buried. Miranda’s Rescue has operated for more than 20 years. During this time, by far the majority of the dogs I have received from shelters have been retrained and placed in loving homes. Of the thousands of dogs that have come through the Rescue, fewer than 5% were not adoptable and were euthanized.

This is not the community I have called home and loved. People who have known me my whole life are vilifying me based on what they have read in the media and on social media. I have been an upstanding citizen in this community, and now that is being erased by lies, rumors, and false accusations. 

I have spent my entire career caring for animals, and I remain committed to placing them in safe, loving homes, even as I fear for my life and my family’s safety.

I ask that you consider the source of what you see and read, avoid jumping to conclusions, and let this play out. I remain committed to cooperating fully and to setting the record straight.

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Before publishing this, the Outpost reached out to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office as well as Jennifer Raymond and Jenna Moore. We have yet to hear back from HCSO or Moore. [See update at the top of this post for Sheriff’s Honsal’s response.]

Reached by phone, Raymond said, “I have no idea what the [supposed] lies are. Everything I have said is the truth. I’m willing to swear in a court of law that what we’re saying is the truth.”

Moore later called and said she agrees with Raymond.

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