Roundthe-clock animal rescue
When reached by phone Thursday Shannon Miranda had been awake for 36 hours straight.
The founder of area animal shelter Miranda’s Rescue had worked through the night to lay down fresh bedding and fill up food bowls for newly arrived dogs, stack more hay for the horses, and shore up fencing around the chicken coops and duck pens.
“It’s not uncommon for me to work 12-14 hour days,” Miranda said. “But I don’t usually work through the night. I had to last night through, there was just so much to do so I just stayed up and did it.”
The no-kill rescue located in Fortuna has been extra-busy lately. Area wildfires have forced widespread evacuations in neighboring Trinity and Mendocino counties. Ranchers have had to temporarily relocate their horses, goats and other livestock. Everyday pet owners who’ve lost their homes have had to find a place for their dogs and cats to live — while they look for a roof to stay under for themselves.
And Miranda’s Rescue has been a lifeline for all of it.
Miranda said at one point during September, while the August Complex fire raged to the south and the Red Salmon Complex fire burned north, he had well over 250 animals living at his rescue.
“All 70 of our dog kennels were full, and the runs by our barn were full,” Miranda said. “We had 50 cats staying here and I have half-a-dozen pets staying in my house. We’re feeding the dogs four 50-pound bags of food a day right now. We took in around 40 dogs within one or two weeks from fire evacuees — it’s been a massive amount of work, the need is greater than what we have.”
The coronavirus pandemic has made Miranda’s day-to-day all the more demanding. Unable to bring in his normal amount of volunteers because of health precautions, Miranda has been left with more than his already huge workload.
Money and supplies have been tight. Miranda, who usually takes in all animals in need, had to turn away several people trying to bring their horses in back in September. Miranda said he is happy to take in all the animals he can, but asks that folks try to help by donating money for supplies, or food for the animals they bring when able.
“My voicemail just kept filling up with people in need,” Miranda said. “I have to be strict with the horses, you have have them cooped up or they might kick each other and really hurt each other. Some folks were upset, but I can only do what I can do.”
Miranda said he risked his own health during the height of the fires to take in all the animals he could.
“I drove out to the Willow Creek area a few weeks ago to rescue (a few animals) and the smoke was so bad … it set off my asthma and I had to go to the hospital. But once I got out I went right back. I just wore two masks and kept on going.”
Miranda said he’s always felt a need to help.
“The thought of an animal waiting in a pen as a fire approaches makes me shake. I can’t sit still when I think about that,” Miranda said. “I just go into overdrive and do what needs to be done.”