East of Eden Rescue Statement Regarding Miranda’s Rescue

East of Eden Rescue, like others in the rescue community, is appalled by the recent discoveries at Miranda’s Rescue. We grieve with those who have lost animals, and we stand in support of those working for change and justice.

In the interest of full disclosure, EoE has never transferred an animal to Miranda’s. However, several years ago, we had a dog with severe behavioral issues. We were looking for alternative solutions, and heard about Miranda’s. We knew nothing about them, other than that they were located in far northern California and took animals “for a fee”. We did some additional research, and although there was nothing specific we learned, things didn’t seem to add up. Fortunately, another option presented itself, so we did not have to pursue the Miranda’s route. We do realize that many other rescues did not have this luxury. Miranda’s is what happens when split-second decisions need to be made, and there are few alternatives. The dog in question is still alive and thriving. His undesirable behavior has improved significantly. Nevertheless, his case has been extremely costly and difficult to implement. We have come to find that this level of effort is necessary for cases such as his.

This experience did result in a radical policy shift. We realized that we had become severely overextended, so we cut our inventory drastically. Today, we do not take in an animal unless we have rock-solid foster space. We do not accept dogs into our rescue without a positive temperament test from a certified trainer. We never get ahead of ourselves financially. Our philosophy is this: better to do a few rescues well than many badly. Yes, we are smaller than we used to be, but we operate sustainably and are well positioned to carry our mission into the future.

The dog in question is still alive and thriving. His undesirable behavior has improved significantly. Nevertheless, his case has been extremely costly and difficult to implement. We have come to find that this level of effort is necessary for cases such as his.