Cops Say They Found 117 Dead Dogs at 'No-Kill' Shelter

The remains of at least 117 dogs were found on the grounds of a California "no-kill" animal shelter, many of them with gunshot wounds, authorities said. The Humboldt County Sheriff's Office said Friday that it also discovered 21 canine skulls, hundreds of bones and other remains during searches at Miranda's Rescue Animal Sanctuary, a 50-acre facility in Fortuna, California, the AP reports. Investigators combing the site on Thursday located an area in a barn where they believe dogs were likely killed, the sheriff's office said. More than 600 dog collars were found nearby, the office said. Sheriff William Honsal called it a "horrific scene." No charges have been filed.

In a statement posted to the shelter's website on June 18, the shelter's founder, Shannon Miranda, said that recent media coverage and online commentary "have presented an incomplete and, in some cases, inaccurate picture of our work." "At Miranda's Rescue, our mission is to save as many animals as we safely can—always balancing compassion for animals with our responsibility to protect families, children, other pets, and the public," Miranda wrote, adding that the shelter "is a no-kill rescue. We do not euthanize animals simply to make space." But, he added, "there are rare circumstances in which euthanasia may be necessary—when an animal is suffering from a terminal condition or when it poses a serious, ongoing danger to people or other animals."

The sheriff's office said it started investigating the shelter after receiving "credible information" in April "regarding allegations of felony animal abuse, animal cruelty, fraud, and conspiracy." Miranda's Rescue collects fees from shelter transfers, as well as donations that it says helps cover the costs of food, housing, veterinary care, medications, facility expenses, and staffing. An affidavit from an earlier search of the property said that the sheriff's office was tipped off by a pair of animal advocates, one of whom owns property adjoining the shelter and used trail cameras to monitor activity near an alleged burial site. The advocates later went onto shelter property and dug up dog remains, the affidavit said.