A sheriff’s vehicle outside Miranda’s Rescue on June 23. | File photo by Ryan Burns.

###

Amid the rapidly proliferating headlines about Miranda’s Rescue, many have questioned why authorities are allowing the purported “no-kill” sanctuary to remain open despite evidence suggesting that hundreds of dogs have been killed and buried on the Fortuna property.

On Friday, the Humboldt County government offered several explanations via a formal response to a cease and desist letter that demands the immediate shutdown of the facility. That letter was sent to various county officials, including the Board of Supervisors, the Planning Commission and the Sheriff’s Office, by a Sacramento animal welfare nonprofit called Fix Our Shelters.

In response to the demand, Deputy County Counsel Destinee Valeska explains that Miranda’s Rescue has been allowed to remain open — under law enforcement supervision — because of criminal due process concerns as well as the government’s limited authority to revoke land use permits.

The cease-and-desist letter, sent by SoCal law firm of Ryther Law Group, LLC, on behalf of Fix Our Shelters, references the “mass graves” recently discovered at the Fortuna-area animal sanctuary and suggests that county officials have shirked their responsibilities. 

“Available evidence strongly suggests Humboldt County received repeated complaints and warnings about Miranda’s Rescue over a period of years yet failed to take timely corrective action,” the letter states.

It goes on say Miranda’s Rescue has been allowed to operate for more than two decades despite owner/operator Shannon Miranda’s apparent failures to comply with the terms of a conditional use permit issued in 2003.

“Miranda’s [Rescue] was approved as a care and adoption sanctuary. Not a killing facility or burial ground,” the letter says. “Yet authorities now reportedly uncovered dogs buried in mass graves, including dogs with gunshot wounds to the head.”

In its response letter, the county acknowledges that certain elements of the conditional use permit for Miranda’s Rescue “were not timely completed.” However, the county notes that the permit’s conditions are limited in scope to such matters as setback compliance, parcel mergers, completion of structural improvements and septic system requirements. 

Miranda, as the permit applicant, has entered into a compliance agreement with the county, vowing to resolve the outstanding permit issues within certain timetables, the county’s letter explains. Those timetables remain in effect through this fall. 

In a phone interview Friday afternoon, Fix Our Shelters President Julie Virga said Miranda’s practices have long been questioned by professionals in the animal community. She recalled an incident in which her organization tried to help a woman who desperately wanted to save a dog with aggression issues.

“She had a lot of money, and she wanted to save this dog,” Virga said. “We were trying to help her. But we were very concerned about really getting [the dog] behavior work, and we didn’t want her getting ripped off.”

Virga said her organization reached out to Shannon Miranda.

“We talked to him, and he said, “‘Give me $2,500; I’ll take it,’” Virga said. “We just had a really bad feeling … but I just think [Miranda] would take whatever the market would bear.”

Virga argued that the cities that contracted with Miranda’s Rescue, including Rio Dell, Fortuna and Ferndale, didn’t conduct proper oversight of operations there, and she said the county needs to step in immediately, especially given the evidence unearthed last week. 

“They are allowing animal neglect and cruelty to continue in their contracted facilities,” Virga said. “That’s a big deal, or it should be a big deal. … And on top of that, the Humboldt County sheriff had been made aware of these complaints on numerous occasions and did nothing.”

The county, in its response letter, says the Planning Department is aware of the ongoing criminal investigation into Miranda and, “in accordance with standard practice,” will allow that investigation to proceed. 

Noting that U.S. residents are considered innocent until proven guilty, the county’s letter says the Planning Department can’t legally revoke the permit based on what the investigation has uncovered to this point:

Once a land use permit is issued and the applicant has taken action to vest the permit through construction and project buildout, the Department’s ability to revoke or suspend the permit becomes more limited and is subject to higher due process protections and more stringent evidentiary requirements.

If Miranda is criminally convicted or pleads guilty, then Planning Department staff can bring the matter to the Board of Supervisors for possible permit suspension and revocation, the county’s letter states.

It also points out that land use permits are tied to the physical property, rather than any specific person. 

“In practice, the Planning and Building Department rarely revokes a permit based on the character of the permit applicant unless it directly relates to the project approval or permit conditions,” Valeska writes in the letter. “This approach reflects the fact that operations may be transferred to a more responsible operator through the normal permit transfer process.”

Virga is not swayed by such “due process” excuses. She rejected Sheriff William Honsal’s previous explanations for the shelter being allowed to remain open during the investigation. 

“Oh, give me a break,” she said. “If they suspect animal cruelty and neglect, [Honsal] has every right to confiscate those animals. … There’s something very wrong with this picture — especially after the recent excavations — that they have not closed down [Miranda’s Rescue] and brought these animals to safety.”

###

PREVIOUSLY