# Back in the Bay Area, canines once sent to Miranda’s Rescue seek new homes > Source: > Published: 2026-06-18 11:30:36+00:00 **Getting your** [Trinity Audio](//trinityaudio.ai)player ready...SAN JOSE — 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. 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’s operator had killed some of the dogs in their care](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/05/22/search-warrant-alleges-mirandas-rescue-took-in-600-dogs-generated-510k-in-past-year-2/), then buried them on the property. It was only a few days after allegations against Fortuna-based Miranda’s 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. “We have a very passionate and compassionate group as far as our team goes,” said Monica Wylie, deputy director of SJACS. “They just wanted our dogs back.” 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’s 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. Scrutiny into Miranda’s Rescue emerged last month after the Humboldt County Sheriff’s 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 — and the $400 to $1,450 payment that came with each dog. The sheriff’s office did not respond to a request for updates on the investigation. Miranda’s Rescue did not respond to a request for comment. The allegations sent shockwaves through Bay Area shelters, who collectively [sent more than 1,200 dogs to Miranda’s Rescue between 2020 and 2026](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/05/27/rescue-dogs-killed-mirandas-shelter-bay-area/). 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’s emerged, there were several “considerations and concerns” 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’s Rescue to retrieve the dogs, he added. When the dogs returned to San Jose last week, the four were given evaluations, which did not reveal any medical concerns. 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. Chipmunk came to SJACS in February after being found tied to a pole, according to his biography. He is an “aspiring agility dog and will happily run up the ‘A-frame’ without being prompted.” He has a “very smiley face,” Wylie added. Jaqueline is a “happy and wiggly” pitbull who “comes when she’s called, sits for treats and leans into pets,” according to her biography. 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’ “next pathway,” including whether they are adoptable candidates or whether the “most appropriate option may be humane euthanasia. “We 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,” Wylie said. “We 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.” Wylie added that none of the deceased dogs that have been found during the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office investigation have been traced back to their shelter. DeVries, from OAS, confirmed that the dog now in the shelter’s care was voluntarily returned by a person who adopted the dog from Miranda’s and asked if the shelter wanted it returned. “The dog is thriving,” DeVries said, adding that the animal was already up for adoption again alongside many other pooches at the shelter. “There’s so much unknown about the dogs that went to Miranda’s.” Beyond being “a little freaked out,” anxious and a bit dirty, the midsized dog came back in fine condition, DeVries said. 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](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/06/02/he-gets-a-new-chapter-now-san-jose-pit-bull-returns-from-rescue-accused-of-killing-dogs/) who returned with cuts and scars on his face after his time at Miranda’s Rescue. 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’s Rescue to assess the welfare of the animals in the rescue’s care, and that “no concerns about the quality of care have been reported to us.” “Because 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,” Jenkins said. Steve Burdo, public information officer for Contra Costa Animal Services, confirmed that no dogs that it had sent to Miranda’s were still on the property. Several other shelters did not respond to inquires this week. DeVries added that there is no way for the shelter to tell which other dogs from Oakland have been adopted out because Miranda’s Rescue “didn’t provide people with their microchip numbers,” so only a handful of dogs chipped to Oakland have been re-chipped to the dogs’ new owners. “It’s really frustrating,” DeVries said. “We know a lot of them didn’t make it, but we’ll never know who’s thriving and who met a really unkind fate.”