Former shelter provider has ties to Humboldt mass dog grave
In late July, Petaluma announced its former “no kill” shelter operator, North Bay Animal Services, allegedly sent dozens of animals to a Humboldt County rescue where authorities found more than 100 dead dogs in a mass grave. The revelation prompted the city to open an investigation into local ties to a Humboldt County criminal case.
Even so, local animal advocates – some who’ve been tracking Petaluma’s animal services for years and think this ordeal could have been prevented – demanded the city do a more thorough look into North Bay Animal Services’ work. During the Monday, Aug. 3, Petaluma City Council meeting, several critics asked the city to do an in-depth financial audit.
The city's investigation is tied to the larger case in Humboldt County, not North Bay Animal Services, to the frustration of local advocates.
“While the City has received numerous complaints and allegations of abuse, misconduct, and embezzlement, no evidence has been presented or submitted to the City of Petaluma, the Petaluma Police Department, or Marin Humane that would support the initiation of a criminal investigation into (North Bay Animal Services) or its employees at this time,” the city said in a July 29 press release.
The city requested full access to North Bay’s records by the end of May. In early July, after over a month delay that the city blamed partly on incompatible digital formats, the city finally began to review transfer records spanning from 2018 to 2026.
At least 46 animals – 37 dogs, seven hens, and two roosters – from Petaluma were sent to Miranda’s Rescue, a nonprofit animal rescue in Humboldt County. Miranda is at the center of a multi-agency investigation of animal cruelty, fraud, and conspiracy after authorities found 117 dogs buried in a mass grave in May.
The extent of the relationship between the former head of North Bay Animal Services, Mark Scott, and Miranda’s Rescue owner Shannon Miranda, is unclear. Scott on Tuesday did not return a request for comment.
The city, according to the press release, “immediately” turned over its records to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Department as part of the ongoing investigation. The city said it is not releasing those animal services transfer records to the public.
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the mass animal grave in conjunction with the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the California Attorney General's Office, and the California Department of Justice.
The critics behind Army of Kindness, a local website run by people with ties to a previous shelter operator, claim they have been tracking animal shelter data and events. They estimate that North Bay Animal Services had more than 300 animals unaccounted for in its records, and it is unclear where those animals went.
North Bay Animal Service’s precipitous fall from grace this year came as North Bay cities cancelled their contracts upon the discovery of 114 neglected animals at a Clearlake shelter it ran. Since June 2025, the Sonoma County Grand Jury has published two grand jury reports criticizing the shelter operator, and most recently, the city of Petaluma’s oversight.
City terminates shelter operator as demands mount
As part of the city’s notice of termination on March 4, the city required North Bay Animal Services by May 31 to provide licensing, animal medical and intake records, as well as bite and enforcement case files.
North Bay provided several documents, yet eight years of animal services data, deemed “the City's most critical outstanding records” were received in an inaccessible format by the deadline.
It wasn’t until July 7 that North Bay Animal Services authorized the company holding its pet records to convert the data into a readable format, according to a city spokesperson.
While critics continue to call for criminal investigations into Scott, the city says that the contractual negligence is independent of civil or criminal liability.
“Any allegations of negligence are evaluated based on available evidence," a city spokesperson said in response to questions from Petaluma Voice. "Negligence, by itself, is not necessarily a criminal offense. Criminal investigations require evidence of conduct that violates criminal law, and the City will continue to assess any new evidence that is presented."
In the March termination notice, the city listed four reasons for the termination, including North Bay’s failure to provide mid-year status reports from at least 2023, 2024, and 2025.
A search of past city council meetings showed that Scott, the organization’s leader, last provided a presentation of audited financials in December 2023 for calendar years 2021 and 2022.
Among the speakers at the Monday council meeting who were calling for a financial audit was Jeff Charter, the city’s former animal services manager and former executive director of the Petaluma Animal Services Foundation, which ran the shelter before North Bay Animal Services.
Having previously run animal services in Petaluma, he pointed to financial inconsistencies in North Bay’s reporting.
“We’ve said all along, there’s lots of smoke here, and we want you to see if there’s fire,” Charter told Petaluma Voice. If the city does an audit and nothing is amiss, he said, "I'll be the first one to admit I was wrong.”
Charter and Scott have a history together. Scott was once an employee at Petaluma Animal Services under Charter. Scott made racial discrimination and other accusations against Charter, just prior to North Bay Animal Services forming and becoming the city’s shelter provider in 2018, Charter confirmed.
Charter, who now lives in Idaho, said he drove all the way to Petaluma to speak at the Monday night meeting.
“I have an interest because I love the Petaluma animal shelter," he told Petaluma Voice. "It was very much a community effort. Everybody got involved. It was the love of my life."
One former North Bay Animal Services employee who asked to remain anonymous helped pen a letter that was read at Monday’s council meeting. The letter claimed employees were told to limit food portions, and several resorted to using their own money to help care for the animals after Scott refused to send supplies on time.
The employee told Petaluma Voice that over the last few years, employees were “begging” Scott to transfer dogs because of overcrowding, and they were unaware of the suspicions around Miranda’s Rescue at the time.
“It was a huge shock when the news came out,” they said. “We’re heartbroken and that’s what mainly made us speak up.”
