Judge fines Forks' dog shelter

Mary Bruno

Mary Bruno Jul 1, 2025

Feb 6, 2018

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                <h1>Judge fines Forks' dog shelter</h1>
                <h2><p>Clallam County Superior Court judge George Wood ruled Friday that the Forks charity that raised $360,000 for a dog shelter violated the state's Charitable Solicitations Act. According to the Attorney General's office, Judge Wood found that the Olympic Animal Sanctuary committed 48 violations when it</p></h2>
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               <p>By <a href="/author/mary-bruno-crosscut-com/">Mary Bruno</a></p> 
              <p><time datetime="2025-02-04T05:00:00-08:00">Feb 6, 2018</time></p>
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            <p>Clallam County Superior Court judge George Wood ruled Friday that the Forks charity that raised $360,000 for a dog shelter violated the state's Charitable Solicitations Act. According to the Attorney General's office, Judge Wood found that the Olympic Animal Sanctuary committed 48 violations when it failed to register with the Secretary of State and could not produce records of how the donations were spent.</p><p>The attorney general's office is seeking fines of $2,000 per violation, or a total of $96,000, plus an extra $20,000 in costs and fees. Former executive director Stephen Markwell no longer operates the Sanctuary and has surrendered the dogs to a shelter in Arizona.</p>
          </article>

Clallam County Superior Court judge George Wood ruled Friday that the Forks charity that raised $360,000 for a dog shelter violated the state's Charitable Solicitations Act. According to the Attorney General's office, Judge Wood found that the Olympic Animal Sanctuary committed 48 violations when it failed to register with the Secretary of State and could not produce records of how the donations were spent.

The attorney general's office is seeking fines of $2,000 per violation, or a total of $96,000, plus an extra $20,000 in costs and fees. Former executive director Stephen Markwell no longer operates the Sanctuary and has surrendered the dogs to a shelter in Arizona.

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By Mary Bruno

Mary was Crosscut's Editor-in-Chief and Interim Publisher. In more than 25 years as a journalist, she has worked as a writer, editor and editorial director for a variety of print and web publications,