Another Day, Another Save: Miranda’s Rescue Helps Hundreds of Animals a Year, Says Its Founder

T Yesterday’s rescue near the Eel River on the left and a truck full of dogs being rescued from LA. [Photos all from Miranda’s Rescue Facebook page]

“Just this year we’ve taken almost 250 puppies from Hoopa,” Shannon Miranda told us in a phone interview this morning.

But, yesterday was one of the more dramatic rescues.

“It was one of my slowest days yesterday in a long time,” Miranda told us. Then he laughed, “Never say, ‘It’s been quiet.'”

He got a phone call from a friend telling him that a dog lost near Benbow might have been found. “It is in the river and its trying to bite,” he said he was told. “So I grabbed my catch pole and I jumped in my truck.”

Shannon Miranda with the dog at the riverbank.

He hurried to Riverwalk Drive in Fortuna and found the spot where a dog (it turned out not to be the dog lost near Benbow) had jumped down towards the river. “He wasn’t really stuck,” Miranda said. “He slid down and was up against an embankment and fell behind a log. But he was really really scared.”

“A woman was trying to catch him,” Miranda said. “But, he didn’t want anything near his head.”

Miranda and several friends spread out to keep the dog from bolting away.

Miranda said he began to approach the dog. “I do this thing where I back up to him and let him smell my back,” he explained. “And at least if he bites, it’s not so bad.”

Eventually, he realized the only way to get the dog to safety was to get him across the water. Miranda managed to get the loop over the dog’s head and got him across the water even though the dog was struggling.

Yesterday’s rescue near the Eel River.

When he got the dog across the water, he spent some time talking to it and scratching it’s head. Eventually, he scooped up the dog. “I lifted him up and he just went stiff,” Miranda explained. “I carried him to the truck.”

He got the dog in a kennel. “A friend’s son fed him chicken,” Miranda said. “He was really hungry.”

The dog is now at the rescue and Miranda is working with him to gain his trust. “I just come by, drop a treat and walk off right now,” he said. “Someone has clearly hurt this guy.”

While this dog is suspicious and fearful, other dogs react differently to capture. Just recently Miranda said that he caught a female stray dog at a shop. He said she was so scared she defecated and threw herself about.

But then, when he got to petting her, “She crawled up and licked my chin.” He added, “I started to cry…When dogs are strays, so many people throw things at them.”

Right now, because of COVID, Miranda said there are a large number of people wanting to surrender their dogs. “So many people who have lost their homes and can’t take care of the dog anymore,” he explained. Landlords won’t allow pets.

Earlier this month, Miranda’s Rescue took a truck full of dogs from Los Angeles. (See photo at the top.) “These poor souls were all going to be euthanized and were out of time and luck,” said a post on Miranda’s Rescue’s Facebook page. “They are all good dogs who deserve a real chance at life. They tested well and [were] on the list for no reason besides no space. We are full, but made room because truly all lives matter. They will now all decompress and become adoptable soon!”

He says he tries to make the people surrendering their pet directly to the Rescue feel better–especially the children. “I do a video [with the pet,],” he explained. “Sometimes I FaceTime.”

He says he feels really bad for the kids who don’t understand what is happening. “They just know their pets gone,” he told us.

He said the number of pets being surrendered is too much to handle for shelters across the nation. “There are so many,” he said. “[Some shelters have] got dogs stacked up in crates…I have 9…10…12 dogs that people are waiting [for a chance to surrender their dog to Miranda’s Rescue].”

On top of more animals needing rescue, prices of food and other supplies have gone up. Miranda, who says his rescue has horses, a camel, and a water buffalo among other hooved critters, tells us, “Hay has more than doubled in price.”

Miranda told us, “If people want to help with our life saving efforts, they can donate through our Facebook page.” Or see here for more options.

In addition, on Saturday, December 4 from noon to 3 p.m. in front of Costco, there will be a donation drop spot for some of their most needed items including kitty litter.

One of the recent horse acquisitions.

If you reach out to him, Miranda, who is helping his ex-wife and the mother of his children deal with Stage 4 breast cancer, might not get back to you right away as he tries to help his family cope with the added stress but he says he usually calls back in 24 hours.

Miranda admits to being exhausted, “There are days I cannot see myself doing anything else,” he said. “Then I have days like where it is overwhelming.”

But he says when he wakes up exhausted he walks down to the kennels. “The dogs are just licking, and tail-wagging and happy to see me.” That, he said, lifts his mood.

The shelter is open by appointment for those who want to donate or adopt and as of Jan 1, Miranda said, his shelter will be opening up Wednesday, Thursday, and Fridays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. They are also going to be be open on Saturday from 10 to 4 and Sunday from 12-4 p.m.