More than 100 dogs' bodies were recently found buried on a property in California — dogs that were supposed to be saved, not killed. Zora, a dog surrendered by Oakland Animal Services to a group calling itself Miranda's Rescue, was found in a mass grave with a bullet wound to her skull. Investigators believe California shelters sent Miranda's Rescue more than 900 dogs between January 2025 and April 2026, paying the group roughly $510,000 to take them in.

No one checked on those dogs after they were handed over. California doesn't require shelters to inspect, or even follow up with, the "rescues" they transfer animals to. Some shelters send animals away simply to boost their reported "save" numbers, with no way to know if that animal ends up safe, fed, or even alive.

This isn't an isolated failure. Similar horrors have surfaced in Michigan, Arizona, and Texas, where animals pulled from shelters ended up hoarded, starved, or left to decompose in cages meant to protect them.

Anyone who has ever loved a dog or cat knows they deserve better than being shipped off and forgotten. California Governor Gavin Newsom and the California State Legislature have the power to close this loophole now, by requiring every shelter to inspect and regularly follow up with the groups it transfers animals to, and by requiring that all rescue organizations be licensed and held accountable.

Zora can't be saved. The next dog can be, if California acts before another animal is quietly killed instead of rescued.

Sign the petition to demand California inspect and regulate animal rescue transfers, before more dogs and cats disappear into unregulated hands.