Melody Gutierrez is an investigative reporter for the Los Angeles Times. Previously, she covered state government and politics for The Times, the San Francisco Chronicle and the Sacramento Bee. Gutierrez has written award-winning government accountability stories on wasteful spending, pension spiking, rape kit backlogs and failures in the foster care system.
Latest From This Author
The recovery of a beloved memento — a heart-shaped rock — from the ashes of their home brings a measure of hope to an El Medio Bluffs family.
Las Vegas police investigating Cybertruck explosion outside Trump Towers
The body of Andruw Cornett, 19, was recovered Tuesday at Thermalito Afterbay in Northern California, where he went missing with his brother while duck hunting.
California vowed to shut down colonies where hundreds of captive dogs supply blood for veterinary care. But blood from the closed colonies is still crucial for saving lives.
Following a Times investigation, California stopped destroying records that contain key details about the state’s underground puppy market.
A Times investigation of California’s underground puppy resale market “raises serious alarms about the inhumane treatment of pets,” Gov. Newsom’s office said.
The Times obtained scores of dog export records, law enforcement and animal control investigative files and federal inspection reports.
California’s puppy pipeline: Where is your dog from?
A Times investigation has found that truckloads of dogs from profit-driven mass breeders pour into the state from the Midwest, feeding an underground market where they are resold by people claiming to be small, local home breeders.
A Times investigation found California officials destroy veterinary records that track dogs imported into the state.